In a Critical Time: Policy Options to Mitigate Disruption Risks in Critical Material Supply Chains

Abstract: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the vulnerabilities of supply chains that lack diversity and are dependent on foreign inputs. This talk presents a short, exploratory analysis summarizing the state of critical materials — materials essential to economic and national security — using two case studies and policies available to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to increase the resilience of its supply chains in the face of disruption.

Bio: Dr. Jonathan Brosmer is an associate physical scientist at the RAND Corporation. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles where his dissertation focused on rare-earth organometallics and small-molecule activation. While at RAND, his work has focused on topics including Air Force acquisition and logistics, cyber, command and control, and critical materials.

Bio: Dr. Fabian E. Villalobos (he/him/his) is a Full Engineer at the RAND Corporation and a Professor of Policy Analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School with a background in Materials Science and Chemical Engineering. His interests lie at the intersection of technology, economics, and geopolitics. He primarily focuses on issues in the national security and homeland security sectors. His work at RAND has included topics on emerging technologies, logistics, acquisitions, the defense industrial base, and China. Villalobos has specific interest in vehicle electrification policy, critical minerals supply chains, and their impacts on Earth system evolution and international relations. He is a co-inventor and co-author of patents. Previously, he worked in industry at startups and established manufacturers alike supporting R&D, product development, quality assurance, business development, and more.