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http://www.heinzawards.net/recipients/john-holdren

The Heinz Awards - John P. Holdren - 7th Annual - March 2001

Dr. John Holdren receives the Heinz Award in Public Policy for his prodigious contributions to such complex issues as arms control, sustainable development and global energy resources. Dr. Holdren is that rare scholar who is also a born negotiator, one who is able to inspire colleagues and students to new heights of effort and understanding while possessing the ability to cut to the heart of a problem and offer new perspectives on which consensus can be based. Dr. Holdren’s contributions to public policy are noteworthy, not simply because of their quality and scope, but also because they span a number of disciplines.

He is credited with playing a significant role in mobilizing the international community of policymakers and scientists to take action in the arms control area, where he has been a powerfully effective advocate of U.S. attention to the security of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials in Russia. He has been extremely active in the international policy dialogue regarding global environmental degradation and resource conservation.

He has served in a wide variety of advisory roles for policymakers in state, federal and international agencies since the early 1970s, and he became a member of President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) when it was formed in 1994. Dr. Holdren chaired the first study requested from PCAST, which led to a revision of U.S. policy on cooperation with Russia on nuclear materials protection. Also in the mid-1990s, he co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ reshaping of U.S. policy on the management of this country’s weapons-grade plutonium. And from 1995 into 1999, he chaired a series of PCAST studies on revising U.S. energy research strategy to more effectively address the challenges of the 21st century, including especially the challenge of global warming.

Dr. Holdren has been a member since 1973 of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, an international group of scholars and public figures who meet regularly to discuss ways to reduce the dangers from weapons of mass destruction and to build international cooperation on other common problems. He served as chair of the executive committee of the Pugwash Conferences from 1987 to 1997, and was chosen by his colleagues to give the acceptance speech when the organization shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

Dr. Holdren has been an extraordinarily effective and articulate leader in shaping public policy, not only through his various advisory roles to government but also indirectly, as an educator engaged in training the next generation of leaders in science and technology policy. He is currently at Harvard University, in both the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, which named him as its first Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy. Additionally, he serves as Visiting Distinguished Scientist at Woods Hole Research Center.

Dr. John Holdren has had a profound influence in international efforts to reduce the dangers of nuclear conflict, achieve solid cooperation in energy-technology innovation and shape new understanding and policies relating to a workable strategy to ensure sustainable development of the earth’s resources. He has had an enormous impact on bringing the tools of science and technology to bear on the challenges of formulating public policy to cope with the economic, environmental and security challenges posed by the scientific and technological advances of the 20th Century.

Note: This profile is excerpted from the commemorative brochure published at the time of the awards’ presentation.

UPDATES SINCE RECEIVING THE HEINZ AWARD

October 2010 - John Holdren, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, is this year’s recipient of the Hans A. Bethe Award, a prestigious science award presented by the Federation of American Scientists “for his enduring work on complex global issues that hinge on science and technology, such as the causes of climate change, analysis of energy technologies and policies, and ways to reduce the dangers from nuclear weapons.” - The Washington Post

December 2008 - John P. Holdren, a physicist and environmental policy professor at Harvard, has been appointed as the president’s science adviser in the role of director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, and will additionally serve as co-chairman of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. - The New York Times

July 2006 - Holdren co-writes article with Alan Leshner stating that there is no doubt about the reality of climate change and that the United States, “as the largest emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet, needs to become a leader in developing and deploying serious solutions.” - The San Francisco Chronicle

February 2006 - John Holdren takes office as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

June 2005 - John Holdren becomes the second director of the Woods Hole Research Center. The organization, which focuses on environmental research with an emphasis on “preserving forested regions such as the Amazon River Basin in Brazil,” was established in 1986 by George Woodwell, another Heinz Award recipient and the man who Holdren will succeed as director. - The Boston Globe

March 2005 - Holdren and the National Commission on Energy Policy, which he co-chairs, release a report that endorses the use of “biomass electricity and biofuels as a strategy to meet U.S. energy needs.” The report, which was entitled Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America’s Energy Challenges combines two years worth of research with conscious proposals for United States’ energy future. - BioCycle

December 2004 - John Holdren is elected to the office of president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

July 2003 - Holdren serves on a panel of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that address the future of nuclear energy issue. The report concludes that “the nuclear option should be retained precisely because it is an important carbon-free source of power.” - U.S. Newswire

February 2003 - Holdren co-chairs a panel with Nikolai Laveroc, of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Russia, which was called “to appoint a joint committee to develop a roadmap for submarine dismantling”, that would focus on fuel conservation. The panel is also to serve as an example of strategic cooperation between Russia and the United States, hopefully serving other agendas like “nonproliferation, nuclear safety and environmental security.” - Nuclear Waste News