From nuclear expansion to climate change, Richard K. Lester taps research study skill to map a course toward a sustainable world.
Reviewing almost a half-century at MIT, Richard K. Lester, associate provost and Japan Steel Industry Professor, sees a “somewhat eccentric professional trajectory.”
However while his path has actually been irregular, there has been a clearly defined through line, Lester says: the development of new science and new innovations, the potential of these advancements to shake up the status quo and resolve some of societys most substantial issues, and what the outcomes may imply for Americas place on the planet.
Perhaps no project in Lesters portfolio better catches this style than the brand-new MIT Climate Grand Challenges competition. Led by Lester and Maria Zuber, MIT vice president for research study, and gone for the height of the pandemic in summertime 2020, this effort is designed to activate the entire MIT research community around tackling “the actually tough, tough problems presently standing in the method of an effective international reaction to the environment emergency,” states Lester. “The focus is on those problems where progress requires applying and developing frontier understanding in the natural and social sciences and innovative innovations. This is the MIT community swinging for the fences in areas where we have a comparative advantage.”
In April, a little subset of this group will become multiyear flagship jobs, augmenting the work of existing MIT units that are pursuing climate research. Lester is bright in the face of these extraordinarily intricate issues.
Creating cross-disciplinary ties and bringing imaginative individuals together around a common goal have proven valuable abilities as Richard Lester has actually stepped into positions of ever-greater responsibility at the Institute, including his present function as associate provost. Credit: Gretchen Ertl
Nuclear to the core
This initiative brings a particular resonance for Lester, who stays deeply participated in nuclear engineering. “The function of atomic energy is main and will require to become much more central if were to succeed in dealing with the environment obstacle,” he says. He likewise acknowledges that for atomic energy technologies– both fission and fusion– to play a crucial function in decarbonizing the economy, they should not simply win “in the court of popular opinion, however in the marketplace,” he says. “Over the years, my research has actually looked for to clarify what needs to be done to conquer these barriers.”
In fact, Lester has actually been campaigning for much of his career for a U.S. nuclear development agenda, a dedication that handles increased urgency as the contours of the climate crisis sharpen. He argues for the quick development and testing of nuclear innovations that can complement the renewable but periodic energy sources of sun and wind. Whether powerful, massive, molten-salt-cooled reactors or small, modular, light water reactors, nuclear batteries or promising new blend jobs, U.S. energy policy must accept nuclear innovation, states Lester, or threat losing the high-stakes race for a sustainable future.
Chancing into a discipline
Lesters introduction to nuclear science was pure happenstance.
“It was a huge part of my life,” he states, and for a time, music beckoned as a career. He toppled into a chemical engineering concentration at Imperial College, London, after taking a job in a chemical factory following high school.
In his second year, Lester talked his way into running a little experiment in the universitys research study reactor, on radiation impacts in materials. “I got connected, and began considering studying nuclear engineering.” But there were couple of graduate programs in British universities at the time. Serendipity struck again. The trainer of Lesters single liberal arts course at Imperial had actually formerly taught at MIT, and suggested Lester take a look at the nuclear program there. “I will constantly be grateful to him (and, indirectly, to MITs Humanities program) for opening my eyes to the presence of this organization where Ive spent my whole adult life,” says Lester.
He got here at MIT with the notion of alleviating the damages of nuclear weapons. It was a time when the nuclear arms race “was an existential hazard in everybodys life,” he remembers.
Lester shifted instructions. “I came to MIT to work on nuclear security, however stayed in the nuclear field because of the contributions that it can and should make in addressing climate modification,” he says.
Putting the climate crisis behind us will take two generations, Lester believes. Credit: Gretchen Ertl
Research and policy
His course forward, Lester thought, would include applying his science and technology proficiency to vital policy problems, grounded in immediate, real-world concerns, and going for broad policy effects. Even as a member of NSE, he joined with coworkers from numerous MIT departments to study American commercial practices and what was needed to make them globally competitive, and after that founded MITs Industrial Performance Center (IPC). Operating at the IPC with interdisciplinary teams of professors and students on the sources of productivity and innovation, his research took him to numerous countries at different phases of industrialization, consisting of China, Taiwan, Japan, and Brazil.
Lesters comprehensive work yielded books (including the MIT Press bestseller “Made in America”), advisory positions with federal governments, structures, and corporations, and unanticipated collaborations. “My interests were constantly relatively broad, and being at MIT made it possible to team up with world-leading scholars and amazing students not just in nuclear engineering, however in numerous other fields such as political science, economics, and management,” he says.
Forging cross-disciplinary ties and bringing creative individuals together around a common objective proved a valuable skill as Lester entered positions of ever-greater obligation at the Institute. He didnt precisely relish the possibility of a desk task. “I religiously prevented administrative functions up until I felt I couldnt keep avoiding them,” he states.
Today, as associate provost, he tends to MITs worldwide activities– a complicated job provided increasing analysis of research study universities globe-spanning research partnerships and education of foreign students. But even in the middle of these consuming tasks, Lester remains dedicated to his home department. “Being a nuclear engineer is a main part of my identity,” he says.
To students getting in the nuclear field almost 50 years after he did, who are understandably “eager to repair whatever that seems wrong immediately,” he has a message: “Be client. The hard things, the ones that are really worth doing, will take a very long time to do.” Putting the environment crisis behind us will take two generations, Lester believes. Present trainees will begin the task, however it will likewise take the efforts of their childrens generation before it is done. “So we require you to be energetic and imaginative, obviously, but whatever you do we likewise require you to be patient and to have stick-to-itiveness– and maybe likewise an ethical compass that our generation has done not have.”
Perhaps no assignment in Lesters portfolio much better captures this theme than the brand-new MIT Climate Grand Challenges competitors. Spearheaded by Lester and Maria Zuber, MIT vice president for research study, and launched at the height of the pandemic in summertime 2020, this initiative is developed to mobilize the whole MIT research community around taking on “the truly hard, difficult issues presently standing in the way of a reliable global action to the climate emergency,” says Lester. Lester has actually been campaigning for much of his profession for a U.S. nuclear development program, a commitment that takes on increased urgency as the shapes of the environment crisis hone. Whether effective, massive, molten-salt-cooled reactors or small, modular, light water reactors, nuclear batteries or appealing new blend tasks, U.S. energy policy need to embrace nuclear innovation, says Lester, or danger losing the high-stakes race for a sustainable future.
The trainer of Lesters single humanities course at Imperial had previously taught at MIT, and suggested Lester take an appearance at the nuclear program there.
