The hidden supply chain risk in AI: US reliance on China’s yttrium

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authored this article focused on how yttrium is needed for helping cool the giant natural gas turbines that power many data centers.
April 9, 2026

The Iran war just exposed America’s hidden AI chokepoint: Helium

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authored this article examining the impact to helium resources from the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
March 23, 2026

When the Cloud Becomes a Target: The Future of War Is Your Internet

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-wrote this opinion piece on the importance of treating data centers as critical infrastructure, prioritizing geographic dispersion and moving beyond a cybersecurity-only approach.
March 9, 2026

How to supercharge the US military’s arsenal

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authored this article which says that more capital-sensitive procurement policies and deeper AI integration will allow the defense industrial base to make a comeback.
February 11, 2026

Seabed sabotage, germanium, and the future of American digital power

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this piece that makes the argument that it’s not solely the vulnerability of undersea cables that constrains U.S. digital and military power, but China’s leverage over ....
January 23, 2026

Why the US military could lose the contest for materials crucial to AI

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Publicy Policy, co-authors this article that notes competition for power, land, and metals risks sidelining U.S. military needs as commercial AI outpaces national security planning.
January 19, 2026

Venezuela’s coltan and the quiet fragility of tantalum and niobium

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, and Greg Clough, deputy director at Payne, co-author this article about the importance of Venezuela's coltan reserves.
January 13, 2026

Maduro’s capture won’t disrupt global oil markets

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, is a co-author on this examination of how regime change in Venezuela will, or won't, impact international oil markets.
January 6, 2026

The superalloy dilemma: can America break its mineral dependency?

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this article that analyzes a new “super alloy” made of niobium, tantalum, titanium, and hafnium.
January 5, 2026

AI’s dirty secret: why diesel still powers the digital age

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this piece examining the use of diesel generators to power data centers.
December 17, 2025