Steven E. Koonin was educated at the California Institute of Technology, receiving a B.S. in physics in 1972, and at MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1975. He then joined the Caltech faculty in 1975, became a full professor in 1981, and served as Chairman of the Faculty from 1989-1991. Koonin also held the position of Vice President and Provost of the Institute. The renowned theoretical physicist became British Petroleum's Chief Scientist in March 2004.

His research interests include theoretical nuclear, many-body, and computational physics, nuclear astrophysics, and global environmental science.

He recently told Science magazine he's pushing BP on a broad array of issues, including novel energy technologies, carbon sequestration, and the environment. "BP, and the world, need carefully thought-out, technically informed strategies to manage the looming issues of availability and continuity of energy supply, as well as environmental impacts," Koonin says.