Michael A. Levi was a Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Economic Policy in the

Obama White House Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican n ...

. He was previously the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and environment at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

(CFR), a nonpartisan foreign-policy

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

and membership organization, and director of its Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies. He is an expert on energy and climate, highly regulated technology, and defense and security policy.

Education

Levi holds a BSc (Hons.) in mathematical physics from Queen's University, and an MA degree in physics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he studied

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...

and cosmology. He also holds a PhD in war studies from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

where he was the SSHRC William E. Taylor fellow.http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-levi/2/631/508

Career

Levi was previously a fellow for science and technology at the Council and, before that, a nonresident science fellow and a science-and-technology fellow in foreign policy studies at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...

. He was previously director of the flagship Strategic Security Project of the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

Books

Dr. Levi is author of ''The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America’s Future'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, May 2013 ). In ''The Power Surge'', Levi details two unfolding energy revolutions in the United States, and the implications that they might have for America’s economy, national security, and environment. Levi uses historical analysis, scientific data, and on-the-ground reporting to establish that America’s energy future need not be a

zero-sum game Zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation which involves two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is e ...

. He argues that the best path forward lies in a strategy that increases "opportunities for energy production of all kinds, while penalizing dangerous energy consumption that would worsen climate change and sustain U.S. dependence on oil." Levi is also the author of the book ''

On Nuclear Terrorism In his 2007 book ''On Nuclear Terrorism'', author Michael A. Levi surveys the issue of nuclear terrorism and explores the decisions a terrorist leader might take in pursuing a nuclear plot. Levi points out the many obstacles that such a terroris ...

'' (Harvard University Press, 2007) and coauthor with

Michael E. O'Hanlon Michael Edward O'Hanlon (born May 16, 1961) is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, specializing in defense and foreign policy issues. He began his career as a budget analyst in the defense field. Biography Education and early career O ...

of ''The Future of Arms Control'' (Brookings Institution Press, 2005). His 2005 monograph with Michael D’Arcy, ''Untapped Potential: U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation with the Islamic World'' was the first comprehensive study of science and technology in the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

. His recent writings include studies of natural gas exports, the Canadian oil sands, and the global politics and economics of clean energy innovation.

Other

Levi has been invited to testify before Congress where he presented expert scientific evidence to the National Academy of Sciences. Levi was project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on climate change, co-chaired by former governors Tom Vilsack and George Pataki. He participated in the 2010 Hertog Global Strategy Initiative, a high-level research program on

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...

. His essays have been published in ''Foreign Affairs'', ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'', ''Nature'', ''Scientific American'', among others. His op-eds have appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', and ''Financial Times''. Dr. Levi previously wrote a monthly online column on science and security for the ''New Republic'', and served as a technical consultant to the critically acclaimed television drama ''24''. He currently writes
blog
on energy, climate, and nuclear issues.

Publications

The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future (Oxford University Press, May 2013
)
''America's Energy Opportunity; How to Harness the New Sources of U.S. Power''
May/June 2013

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

A Strategy for U.S. Natural Gas Exports 2012 How to Salvage the Climate Conference Copenhagen's Inconvenient Truth
September/October 2009

referring to the

United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

Stopping Nuclear Terrorism: The Dangerous Allure of a Perfect Defense

References

External links

55-min YouTube video of Levi's interview to University of California Berkeley 'Conversations with History'"Energy, Security, and Climate"
CFR's expert blog
Charlie Rose Program: The Future of Nuclear PowerMichael Levi Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, Michael A. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Queen's University at Kingston alumni Princeton University alumni Alumni of King's College London Brookings Institution people Nuclear terrorism Energy security Geopoliticians