DURHAM, N.C. – Distinguished alumnus Joseph E. Aldy, Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Environment at The White House, will speak to graduates of 91’s Nicholas School of the Environment at the school’s annual Recognition Ceremony, at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 15.

Aldy’s address to this year’s Master of Environmental Management (MEM), Master of Forestry and doctoral 91 candidates and their families will begin at about 9:15 a.m. and will last about 20 minutes.

The ceremony, which is not open to the public, will be held on the Great Lawn of the Levine Science Research Center (LSRC).  A reception for graduates and their families will follow in the LSRC courtyard.

“Joe Aldy is an example of a very successful MEM who will inspire our graduates about what they can accomplish in the years ahead,” says William L. Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School.

As special assistant to the President, Aldy reports through both the National Economic Council and the Office of Energy and Climate Change. He is currently on leave as assistant professor of public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

In 2008, Aldy received the Nicholas School’s Rising Star Alumni Award, which recognizes exceptional achievement by young alumni.  At Resources for the Future, he co-directs the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements, which brings together scholars from around the world to evaluate questions raised in the discussion of international climate policy. Additionally, he conducts research focused on climate policy, mortality risk valuation, and energy policy.

Aldy earned a bachelor’s 91 in water resources at Duke before earning his MEM from the Nicholas School in 1995, with a concentration in resource economics and policy. He earned a PhD in economics from Harvard University.

Aldy says he still draws considerably on what he learned at the Nicholas School. “There’s a unique way of thinking about environmental problems that you learn in the Nicholas School. I’m able to draw from what I learned in my courses, whether atmospheric chemistry or biogeochemistry, or environmental law and policy. It all complements what I do by bringing economic tools to bear on environmental policy questions,” he says.

In case of rain, the recognition ceremony will be held in Baldwin Auditorium on Duke’s East Campus.