Dr. Michael Baskin
Strategic Partnerships Manager for the Department of Defense, NREL

Michael Baskin is a specialist in energy security with a particular focus on the U.S. Department of Defense. He previously served as the first Professor of Energy Studies at Marine Corps University, where he created energy security curriculum and innovation programs for students from multiple schools and colleges. From 2013-2015 he also served as a Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he catalyzed the Solar Ready Vets program, led a renewable energy sector hiring commitment for the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative, and was a liaison between the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Dr. Baskin was awarded the 2018 Harvard Program on Negotiation Raiffa Prize for top doctoral study for his study titled, “Commanders as Negotiators: The Marine Corps and Marine Corps Infantry Battalion Commanders in Helmand, Afghanistan, 2008-2014.” He previously won the Morris Abrams Award in International Relations, was a Graduate Research Fellow at the Harvard Program on Negotiation, and was an Energy Security Fellow with Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE).

Dr. Baskin has published articles spanning energy, negotiation, and veterans affairs in Greentech Media, War on the Rocks, Modern War Institute, the Harvard Program on Negotiation, and Military Times. A former U.S. Army infantry officer with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, he holds a PhD in International Affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, an MA (Magna Cum Laude) from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, and a BS (Superintendents Award) from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.