Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Chu, who runs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, has been chosen by President-elect Barack Obama as energy secretary, CNN reported, citing three unidentified people.

Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics for developing ways to “cool and trap atoms” with lasers, according to the laboratory’s Web site.

Last Updated: December 10, 2008 16:18 EST