Knowledge Tree
Steven E. Koonin
Also known as: Steven Koonin
Facts (23)
Sources
Department of Energy Issues Report Evaluating Impact of ... energy.gov Jul 30, 2025 9 facts
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin served as Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy from 2009 to 2011.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin previously served as a University Professor at New York University, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Trustee of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin is a Governor of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and has served in similar capacities for Los Alamos, Sandia, Brookhaven, and Argonne National Laboratories.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin served as Chief Scientist for British Petroleum from 2004 to 2009.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin holds a BS in Physics from Caltech and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the JASON group of government advisors.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin served as a professor at Caltech from 1975 to 2004, serving as Vice President and Provost for the final nine years of that tenure.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin is the Edward Teller Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
claimDr. Steven E. Koonin authored the 2021 book 'Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters', the 1985 textbook 'Computational Physics', and approximately 200 peer-reviewed papers covering physics, astrophysics, scientific computation, energy technology and policy, and climate science.
The Energy Department "Red Team" Critique of Greenhouse-Gas ... revkin.substack.com Jul 31, 2025 6 facts
claimSteven E. Koonin served as Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy (2009-2011), as Chief Scientist for British Petroleum (2004-2009), and as a professor at Caltech (1975–2004, including nine years as Vice President and Provost).
referenceSteven Koonin authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in 2017 regarding climate change.
claimThe report was produced by a team of independent scientists consisting of John Christy, Judith Curry, Steven Koonin, Ross McKitrick, and Roy Spencer.
claimThe report produced by John Christy, Judith Curry, Steven Koonin, Ross McKitrick, and Roy Spencer was created without editorial oversight from the Department of Energy or other government entities.
claimSteven E. Koonin is the Edward Teller Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the JASON group of government advisors.
claimSteven E. Koonin has been a long-time proponent of a 'red team' approach to clarifying climate conclusions.
DOE reframes climate consensus as a debate - E&E News eenews.net Jul 31, 2025 4 facts
perspectiveThe Department of Energy (DOE) report co-authored by Steven Koonin is described as a “red team” report without the “blue team” component, according to Matt Burgess, an economist who studies environmental policy at the University of Wyoming.
claimThe Department of Energy Climate Working Group report includes contributions from John Christy and Roy Spencer (University of Alabama, Huntsville), Steve Koonin (former DOE official and former BP scientist), Judith Curry (former Georgia Tech climate scientist), and Ross McKitrick (economics professor at the University of Guelph).
quote“I think that the science has for a long time not been well represented to nonexperts. The people who have been misrepresenting should be embarrassed by it, but they’re not,” said Steven Koonin.
perspectiveSteven Koonin wanted to challenge the science behind the endangerment finding while highlighting uncertainties in established bodies of science, including the National Climate Assessment and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
How a major DOE report hides the whole truth on climate change politico.com Sep 27, 2025 2 facts
Scientists Say New Government Climate Report Twists Their Work wired.com Jul 30, 2025 2 facts
accountIn 2014, the American Physical Society (APS) convened a "red team versus blue team" exercise to evaluate the merits of mainstream climate science claims versus those of contrarians, an exercise organized by Steve Koonin.
claimSteve Koonin resigned from his leadership role at the American Physical Society after the organization refused to adopt a modified statement on climate science that he proposed following a 2014 "red team versus blue team" exercise.