Nobel Laureate to Deliver Fall Commencement Address at NC State

Nobel Prize winner and NC State alumnus Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, a world leader in the study of climate change, will deliver NC State’s commencement address on Saturday, Dec. 17, at the RBC Center in Raleigh. The commencement ceremony will begin at 9 a.m.

During the ceremony, Chancellor Randy Woodson will confer honorary degrees on behalf of NC State to Pachauri and two other distinguished recipients: Robert G. Stanton, former director of the National Park Service and longtime conservation professional, and Rev. Ray A. Buchanan, co-founder and international president of Stop Hunger Now.

Pachauri currently serves as chief executive of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) – which performs original research and disseminates knowledge in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology and natural resource conservation – and as chancellor of TERI University. In 2002, Pachauri was elected chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2007, Pachauri and his IPCC colleagues, along with former Vice President Al Gore, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A noted climate scientist, Pachauri has served on several international and national boards and committees, including the Economic Advisory Council to India’s Prime Minister; the Advisory Board on Energy, which reported directly to India’s Prime Minister; the Advisory Board for the Clinton Climate Initiative; the International Advisory Board for Toyota Motor Corporation, and several others. In 2009, he was appointed the first director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute. He is also on the board of the Global Humanitarian Forum founded by the former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. In 1999, he was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Japan and continues to hold this appointment. Since 1992, he has been president of the Asian Energy Institute. He was president (1988) and chairman (1989-90) of the International Association for Energy Economics.

Pachauri was conferred with the “Padma Vibhushan,” India’s second highest civilian award, for his services in the field of science and engineering in 2008, after being acknowledged for his immense contributions to the field of environment with the “Padma Bhushan” award in 2001. He was also bestowed the “Officier De La Légion D’Honneur” by the Government of France in 2006. Pachauri was educated at the La Martiniere College in Lucknow and the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar. He earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering, and Ph.D.s in industrial engineering and economics, at NC State. Pachauri will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences Degree.

Robert G. Stanton is a senior advisor to the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Stanton advises Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on environmental, educational, organizational and management challenges and opportunities, and works closely with bureaus and offices in advancing departmental goals. He also represents the secretary and the Interior Department on Presidential Interagency Policy Review committees, boards and commissions. Prior to assuming his current position in 2010, Stanton served as deputy assistant secretary for policy and program management in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. Stanton was the first director to undergo confirmation hearings before the United States Senate and the first African American to serve as director of the National Park Service, the federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historic properties. Stanton earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, and did his graduate work at Boston University. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree.

Rev. Ray A. Buchanan is co-founder and international president of Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief agency that has provided more than $70 million of direct aid and 53 million meals to people in 72 countries. An ordained minister, Buchanan is fueled by the vision of ending hunger in his lifetime. To that end, he has dedicated his life to helping those in the greatest need. He created Stop Hunger Now in 1998 as an entrepreneurial model for providing rapid, cost-effective responses to international crisis situations. Prior to founding Stop Hunger Now, Buchanan had an 18-year career as the founder and co-director of the Society of St. Andrew, a Virginia-based domestic food-relief organization. Buchanan also served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. A native of Texas, Buchanan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Divinity from Shenandoah University and Conservatory. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

– kulikowski –