Energy Policy

A retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general, Jefferson Davis Howell Jr., served as director of the Johnson Space Center from 2002 to 2005, where he was responsible for planning and directing all of the center's programs, including the space shuttle and International Space Station. He also oversaw spacecraft engineering and design, flight crew training, space and life sciences research and mission operations. As Johnson Space Center director, Howell received numerous awards, including the 2003 Gold Knight of Management Award from the National Management Association, NASA's Outstanding Leadership Award (2003), and NASA's Distinguished Service Medal (2005). He has also received the UT Austin Graduate School's Outstanding Graduate Alumnus Award.

Prior to 1998, Howell served with distinction for 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1995 he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as commander, Marine Forces Pacific, and commander, Marine Corps Bases, Pacific. As part of this assignment, he was designated commander of U.S. Marine Forces, Korea, and commander of U.S. Marine Forces, Central Command. Howell is the recipient of numerous military decorations and awards, including the Department of Navy's Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V." In 1980 he received the John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership from the Navy League of the United States.

David J. Eaton received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering and geography from Johns Hopkins University. He teaches courses on systems analysis, environmental and energy policy and nonprofit management at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. He has lectured in 20 countries and conducted field research in 15 nations. Dr. Eaton has written about rural water supply, international water resource conflicts, energy management, environmental problems of industries, management of emergency medical services, applications of mathematical programming to resource problems, insurance and agriculture. His research focuses on sustainable development in international river basins, evaluation of energy and water conservation programs and prevention of pollution. Among his publications are the NAFTA Handbook for Water Resource Managers and Engineers, "Emergency Medical Services in Travis County, Texas" and "The Impacts of Trade Agreements on State Provincial Laws."

Dr. Eaton's current research concerns U.S.-Mexico environmental cooperation, new methods for evaluation of air pollution emissions, joint management by Palestinians and Israelis of shared groundwater, and water conservation in Texas. The Texas Department of Insurance used research on tort reform directed by Eaton as evidence to justify rebates of more than $1.3 billion for liability insurance in Texas from 1997 to 1999.

Joshua Busby is a distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center, nonresident fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a senior research fellow at the Center for Climate & Security. He was on leave in 2021–22 serving as a Senior Advisor for Climate at the U.S. Department of Defense and is serving in a part-time capacity in that role through June 2023.

Dr. Busby has published widely on climate change, global health, transnational advocacy movements and U.S. foreign policy for various think tanks and academic journals, including International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Security Studies and Perspectives on Politics. His first book, Moral Movements and Foreign Policy, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. His second book, AIDS Drugs for All: Social Movements and Market Transformations, with co-author Ethan Kapstein, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013 and won the 2014 Don K. Price Award (the American Political Science Association's award for the best book on science, technology and environmental politics).

Dr. Busby was one of the lead researchers on a five-year, $7.6 million project funded by the Department of Defense called "Climate Change and African Political Stability" (CCAPS). He is the principal investigator of another DOD-funded project, "Complex Emergencies and Political Stability in Asia" (CEPSA) — a three-year, $1.9 million grant. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received his Ph.D. in political science in 2004 from Georgetown University.