The critical minerals trap behind directed-energy weapons

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this article that notes the Pentagon’s most promising answer to the munitions crisis requires materials controlled by the adversary it is designed to deter.
June 4, 2026

The impacts of the Iran War on coal

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authored this article that examines how the Iran war is pushing Asian countries back toward the utilization of coal as an energy source.
May 12, 2026

How the Iran War makes a Taiwan crisis more likely

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, and Jahara Matisek, research fellow at Payne, co-author this article that makes the argument that the Hormuz crisis is showing China how maritime pressure can weaken rivals.
April 30, 2026

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