Are you a current student (undergraduate or graduate) at the University of Texas at Austin, the Colorado School of Mines, or the U.S. Naval War College with an interest in critical minerals, national security, and the clean energy transition? You’re eligible to write an essay of no more than 2,000 words on this topic for a $3,500 prize.
The subject of the essay can be broad or narrow, tackling a particular substantive dimension (such as cyber risks of the clean energy transition or workforce development in minerals) or a particular geographic focus (such as risks of instability in the lithium sector in Bolivia). Please review publications from the team and memos from our previous workshops for examples of what kind of work is relevant.
Requirements: The essay must be less than 2,000 words and should be solo-authored. Proof of current student status in Spring 2025 will be required. Essays with plagiarism will not be considered and all sources must be cited accordingly.
Essays must be submitted as Word documents to Dr. Joshua Busby at busbyj@utexas.edu no later than 11:59 pm CT on Friday, March 14, 2025 to be considered for this award.
The Critical Minerals leadership team will review submissions and decide on the awardee, no later than the end of the spring semester in May 2025.
Please direct any questions about the contest to Dr. Joshua Busby at busbyj@utexas.edu. Good luck!
Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Joshua Busby recently co-authored a piece in The National Interest titled “No Easy Solutions to Europe’s Geopolitical Trilemma.” Busy examines the mounting strategic pressures facing the European Union as it seeks defense, economic, and energy autonomy amid growing uncertainty from Russia, China, and the United States. “Thankfully for Europe, it is wealthy enough to continue restricting...
Dr. Joshua Busby, the former Senior Advisor for Climate at the U.S. Department of Defense and a Distinguished Scholar at the Strauss Center, recently spoke on The India Energy Hour Podcast, addressing questions regarding India’s energy security while phasing down inefficient coal power plants. “If the international community truly prioritizes a clean energy transition in the Global South, including but not limited to India,...
Alan Kuperman, Strauss Distinguished Scholar and coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project, appeared in News Network’s article “US research on bomb-grade uranium alternative in Navy vessels advances” regarding technological advancements in the U.S. military to lower uranium and nuclear proliferation risks. “The program is vital to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, is making rapid progress, and will be...