SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Obama Chooses Harvard Physicist as Science Adviser

from the Boston Globe (Registration Required)

In a sign that President-elect Barack Obama intends to elevate science to greater prominence, John P. Holdren, a Harvard physicist widely recognized for his leadership on energy policy and climate change, will be appointed White House science adviser this weekend, the Globe confirmed yesterday.

A representative from one of the institutions with which Holdren is affiliated said Obama will announce Holdren's selection during a Saturday morning radio address. That person, who has direct knowledge of the appointment, declined to be named. Representatives for Obama and for Harvard refused comment.

The news, coming in the same week as Nobel laureate physicist Steven Chu's appointment as secretary of energy, was heartening for the scientific community. Many scientists have objected to the Bush administration's policies, from restrictions on embryonic stem cell research to the pace of action on climate change.