Opening Convocation: Rush Holt '70

Carleton's opening convocation is an annual all-college assembly celebrating the beginning of the academic year and recognizing academic achievement. This year's address was delivered by U.S. Representative Rush Holt, who has served Central New Jersey in Congress since 1999. Holt serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Natural Resources, where he serves as the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources helping to develop a long-term strategy to decrease our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and protect our environment for future generations. He has also been the Chairman of the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, created to strengthen oversight of the intelligence community by ensuring that policymakers receive accurate assessments, civil liberties are safeguarded, and the intelligence community is protecting Americans. Holt earned his B.A. in Physics from Carleton College and completed his Master’s and Ph.D. at NYU. He has held positions as a teacher, Congressional Science Fellow, and arms control expert at the U.S. State Department where he monitored the nuclear programs of countries such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and the former Soviet Union. Prior to launching his congressional campaign, Holt was Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the largest research facility of Princeton University and the largest center for research in alternative energy in New Jersey. He has conducted extensive research on alternative energy and has his own patent for a solar energy device. Scientific American magazine named Holt one of the 50 national "visionaries" contributing to "a brighter technological future." Holt was also a five-time winner of the game show "Jeopardy." In February 2011, he beat Watson, IBM’s computer system in a simulated round of Jeopardy at an event to promote innovation.