As the Boston University Class of 2007 graduates stood at the brink of entering a new chapter in their lives, they were urged by a Nobel-winning physicist to be more energy-conscious to ease the effects of global warming yesterday at the 134th Commencement on a drenched Nickerson Field.
“I truly believe that this problem is the single-most important problem that science and technology must solve in the coming decades,” said Commencement speaker Steven Chu, a 1997 Noble Peace Prize winner in physics and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — the oldest of the U.S. Energy Department’s National Laboratories.
Chu predicted the Earth’s temperature will increase between one and six degrees in the next century, creating a ripple effect of more water shortages, melting mountain glaciers and random, violent weather.
“You might ask, is it possible for a world with 10 billion people to sustain a similar lifestyle as the United States?” he said. “I actually think the answer is yes, if we become smarter in our use of energy and in development of new carbon-neutral sources.”
Rain poured on the caps and gowns of thousands of graduating seniors as President Robert Brown opened the ceremony and welcomed the second class he has presided over since taking his post in September 2005. Chu took note of the nasty weather in his speech, tying the May showers into one of the many effects he said global warming has on the planet.
At the Baccalaureate Service at Marsh Chapel earlier in the morning, Bill Kovach, senior counselor to the Project for Excellence in Journalism and a former Washington Bureau Chief for The New York Times, stressed the importance of questioning news reports and assessing information for its truth. He was awarded with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Student speaker Walter Smelt said BU offered him so many resources during his four years that it was impossible to use them all, and told his peers to remember the different professors who impacted their lives.
“If my education has been all over the map, so the matter,” the UNI senior said.
The ceremony remained on schedule despite the rain, which differed from last year’s commencement, which was almost shortened by half in scheduled speeches and award presentations because of wet weather.
President emeritus John Silber presented Metcalf Awards to three BU professors – SMG associate professor Jeffrey Beatty, CFA associate professor Penelope Bitzas and CAS professor Eric Widmaier. The annual award is one of BU’s highest teaching honors and includes thousands of dollars in prize money.
Honorary degrees were also presented to several people from different fields, including American painter and BU alum Brice Marden and women’s health advocate Judy Norsigian, co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves. Recipients also included Dr. Samuel Their, former CEO of Partners HealthCare System, Inc., and BU Trustee Peter Vermilye, Fortis Investments’ senior adviser and portfolio manager.
The crowd cheered as Provost David Campbell and the deans of the colleges announced their plans to present the graduates with their degrees, which was followed by Brown welcoming the thousands of students in front of him to the alumni community. They had individual department ceremonies throughout the day and into the evening.
