Lynn Orr in Finland

Lynn Orr, ’69, has worked on energy research for his entire career.  He and his students study how complicated fluid mixtures move around in the porous rocks of Earth’s crust.  He also led university-wide energy research efforts through the Global Climate and Energy Project and the Precourt Institute for Energy. That work turned out to be good training for a two-year assignment as Under Secretary for Science and Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, the largest supporter of the physical sciences and applied energy research for the country, from which he then returned to Stanford for teaching and research.

Lynn’s prior service as Dean of the School of Earth Sciences convinced him that Travel/Study trips provide the best classroom ever—the Earth itself—to illustrate the grand themes of Earth Sciences. Northern lights in Finland will illustrate in a beautiful way the constant flow of energy streaming from the sun and provide us with an opportunity to contemplate the exquisite balance of the capture of incoming sunlight with reflection by ice and snow to determine Earth’s climate. The natural systems that evolved and support life on Earth are intimately tied to that balance and the human activities affect them. He will discuss the coevolution of life and climate, the deep geologic history of climate, more recent impacts of climate change in the high Arctic, and the transition to clean energy systems that will help us reduce the adverse effects of climate change in the future.

Academic Appointments

• Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council, Energy Science and Engineering

• Affiliate, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Administrative Appointments

• Professor Emeritus, Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University (2014–present)

• Under Secretary for Science and Energy, U.S. Department of Energy (2014–2017)

• Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University (2009–2014)

• Founding Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University (2009–2013)

• Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University (2005–2014)

Honors & Awards

• Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Minnesota (2020)

• Honorary Membership, Society of Petroleum Engineers (2019)

• Robert S. Schechter Award and Lecture, University of Texas at Austin (2018)

• Aurel Stodola Medal and Lecture, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich (2017)

• Izatt Christensen Award and Lecture, Brigham Young University (2017)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Member, Advisory Board, Energy Futures Initiative (2017–present)

• Member, Board of Directors, ClimateWorks Foundation (2017–present)

• Member, Board of Directors, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (2017–present)

• Member, Advisory Committee, Climateworks Foundation (2011–2014)

• Member, Division Committee for the Division of Earth and Life Sciences, National Research Council (2012–2014)

Professional Education

• Ph.D, University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering (1976)

• B.Sc., Stanford University, Chemical Engineering (1969)