Last Updated: April 2008
Michael Webber is the Associate Director of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy in the Jackson School of Geosciences, Fellow of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he trains a new generation of energy leaders through research and education. Prior to joining UT-Austin, Michael studied policy issues relevant to energy, innovation, the U.S. industrial base, and national security at the RAND Corporation. Previously, he was a Senior Scientist at Pranalytica, a startup making high-fidelity sensors for homeland security, industrial and environmental monitoring applications. Michael has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific articles; been awarded two patents; and given dozens of lectures, speeches, and invited talks in the U.S. and Europe, including briefings for members of Parliament, senior decision makers in government, and executives in the private sector.
Michael’s educational background includes a B.A. with High Honors (Plan II Liberal Arts)
and B.S. with High Honors (Aerospace Engineering) from UT-Austin, and an M.S.
(Mechanical Engineering) and Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Electrical
Engineering) from Stanford University, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow
from 1995-1998. In 2005, Michael was recognized by the College of Engineering at UTAustin
as an Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate, and in 2006 was honored as the
Commencement Speaker for the spring graduation ceremony. Michael was selected as a
Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly (founded by President Eisenhower) in
2006 and an American Memorial Marshall Fellow of the German Marshall Fund for 2007.
From 2004 to 2006 he was a board member for the Hope Street Group, which is a nonprofit
bi-partisan national organization for young professionals interested in promoting
policies that expand opportunity and economic growth.
Research by Webber’s research group has been featured in the New York Times, Popular
Mechanics, MSNBC, and many prominent media outlets. His commentary on American energy policy and international affairs have been published in daily and Sunday editions of
the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle, and featured in a documentary about biofuels by
the PBS national weekly newsmagazine NOW. Michael lives in Austin, Texas with his wife
and three children.