United Press International: The nomination of Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama for the position of energy secretary is to be applauded. If confirmed, Chu will become the first professional scientist to run the Department of Energy, thereby bringing fresh scientific thinking into the agency. The nomination, along with the selection of other top science advisors, shows the determination of the Obama administration to end eight years of official hostility to science …