APAM Alum, Ralph Izzo, Speaks at Class Day

Feb 03 2011

Feniosky Peña-Mora, Dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering at Columbia University, announced that APAM alumnus Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President, and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) in New Jersey, will be the keynote speaker for Columbia Engineering’s Class Day ceremony, which will be held on Monday, May 16, 2011.

Dr. Izzo, who earned his BS and MS in mechanical engineering and his PhD in applied physics from Columbia Engineering, has held the top post at PSEG, an energy and energy services company, since April 2007. Prior to that, he served as president and chief operating officer of PSEG from October 2006, when he was also elected to the Board of Directors. He joined PSEG in 1992.

Dr. Izzo is a well-known leader within the utility industry, as well as the public policy arena. His public policy experience includes service as an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. He also served four years as a senior policy advisor in the Office of New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean, specializing in energy, science, and technology.

“Ralph Izzo is a national leader in the fields of energy, nuclear policy, and climate change, all areas that greatly impact the world today,” said Dean Peña-Mora. “He exemplifies how engineers are making a difference across the globe, helping to solve complex problems that we all are facing and making the world a better place in which to live. I know his message will inspire the class of 2011 to go out and be socially responsible leaders in engineering and applied science.” In addition to his degrees from Columbia Engineering, Dr. Izzo also earned an MBA from Rutgers University Graduate School of Management. He began his career as a research scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, performing numerical simulations of fusion energy experiments. He has published or presented more than 35 papers on magnetohydrodynamic modeling. Dr. Izzo was elected chair of Rutgers University Board of Governors in June 2010. In 2009, he was inducted into Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He is also a member of the board of directors for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Utilities Association, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Center for Energy Workforce Development. (This article was originally published on the Columbia Engineering web site).
 

Speech Delivered by Ralph Izzo at Class Day 2011

Stay up-to-date with the Columbia Engineering newsletter

* indicates required