Pathways to impact: a coterm perspective

On Oct. 21, I had the honor to host the opening of Stanford Climate Week with President Levin’s remarks and a fireside chat with Professor Steven Chu.

President Levin emphasized that environmental research and education at Stanford dates back many decades. “In all the things that I’ve seen at Stanford over 35 years, it [the creation of the Doerr School of Sustainability] was in many ways the most exciting, unifying thing that happened on campus,” he said. “What I love about this innovation, having a Climate Week at Stanford, is that it recreates a little of that magic of the creation of the Doerr School because it brings together events all across the entire university.”

Throughout my years at Stanford, I’ve had the privilege of learning from Prof. Chu as a student in his classes and in his lab. Our conversation during Climate Week felt no different than another one of his insightful “office hours” sessions, with the caveat that we were in front of a large audience. 

We began by discussing his career development, from physics to biophysics and then to climate and energy. To me, Prof. Chu is the embodiment of “learning never ends,” and he encouraged students to be curious. He urged us to think not only about the breakthroughs, but also about the entire “climate capital stack” – scaling from research to deployment, in order for the U.S. to lead in climate tech innovation. We also delved into various climate technologies, including the science and financing of fusion and AI’s constructive and detrimental impacts on climate.

As we wrap up Stanford Climate Week, I’m reminded of this year’s theme, “Pathways to Impact.” For Prof. Chu, that was science and policy; for others, it might be entrepreneurship and investing. I think of my Stanford journey as defining my unique pathway to impact, and I’m grateful to be part of the growing climate scenes on campus over the years. As a coterm student, I’m thrilled to see the ever-increasing number of new students now passionate about climate. I’m looking forward to future Stanford Climate Weeks and the impact on climate solutions by the Doerr School of Sustainability and Stanford University at large.