U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Aug. 9 told employees at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory that they and their colleagues at other national laboratories are engaged in critical work from finding new energy to aiding in national security.
This was Perry’s first visit as the head of the Department of Energy to the government-funded lab located on Princeton University’s Forrestal campus in Plainsboro.
“The things you do, the projects you work on, the science you are developing, has the potential to change the world,” he said. “That is the incredibly exciting thing I find about being in this role I’m in.”
In his remarks, Perry touched on the potential game-changing work of finding new energy.
“If we are able to deliver fusion energy to the world, we’ve changed the world forever,” he said.
Later, he touched on the national security facet of the work that goes on at the labs, stating that they play an “intricate role” in “the tracking of nuclear materials around the world.”
“As we watch the gyrations of the world we live in today, with what’s going on with Iran, North Africa, you all play a very important role, the Department of Energy plays an incredibly important role as we deal with and … that we’re successful in being able to demilitarize a part of the world, that you can play a role in that, to have a role that changes the world,” Perry said.
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber met Perry earlier in the day and introduced him before the secretary spoke to the employees.
“I can say without a doubt that he shares our commitments to innovation, to service and, importantly, to fusion,” Eisgruber said. “His leadership of the United States Department of Energy has shown a clear commitment to innovation and to the critical research that takes place at national labs like this one.”
Perry’s New Jersey visit also included visiting with President Donald J. Trump, who was vacationing in the state at his golf club in Bedminster.
During his short talk at the lab, Perry answered pre-submitted questions, including which NFL team he roots for as the former Texas governor – the Dallas Cowboys or the Houston Texans. Referencing his alma mater, Texas A&M University, Perry said he supported the team that “[drafts] the most Texas Aggies.”
Perry, 68, has had a long career in public life that included serving 14 years as the governor of Texas.
In his remarks, he shared some details of his life growing up as the son of tenant farmers in a town where the nearest post office was 16 miles away.
“To say I came from rural Texas would be an understatement,” he said.
Perry called being governor of his home state the “best job” he ever had or will have, but said his current post was equally gratifying.
“But the coolest job … I ever had is this one and it’s because of these national labs,” he said. “You are part of an amazing infrastructure in this country.”
