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Valerie Thomas

Professor of Industrial Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Valerie Thomas, Ph.D., is the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems and Professor in the H. Milton School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy.

Dr. Thomas's research interests are energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Current research projects include low carbon transportation fuels, carbon capture, building construction, and electricity system development. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Physical Society. She has been an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow, a Member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, and a Member of the USDA/DOE Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee.

She has worked at Princeton University in the Princeton Environmental Institute and in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, and at Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

Dr. Thomas received a B. A. in physics from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Economy

U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Iran War Escalates, Oil Surges Past $115

U.S. stock index futures declined Sunday evening as the ongoing Iran conflict intensified, with Yemens Houthi militants entering the war and sending oil prices sharply higher. The developments rattled investor confidence...

U.S. Treasury Eyes Private Credit Oversight Through Insurance Regulator Talks

The U.S. Treasury Department is preparing to hold a series of meetings with domestic and international insurance regulators in the coming weeks, focusing on growing concerns within the $2 trillion private credit market....

Middle East Conflict Drives Dollar Surge as Yen Hits Critical Threshold

The U.S. dollar maintained its strong position on Monday, heading toward its best monthly performance since July, as escalating Middle East tensions continued to unsettle global financial markets. Investors fleeing to...

WTO Digital Trade Moratorium Expires Amid Stalled Negotiations

The long-standing global moratorium on customs duties for digital downloads and streaming services has officially lapsed, according to a senior World Trade Organization official. The expiration marks a significant turning...

Oil Prices Surge Amid Middle East Tensions as Houthi Attacks Escalate Conflict

Global oil prices climbed sharply at the start of Mondays trading session following a significant escalation in Middle East hostilities. Yemens Iran-backed Houthi group launched a missile barrage targeting Israel over the...

Politics

Trump Hints at Rift With Gabbard Over Iran Nuclear Policy

President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged a rare internal disagreement within his administration on Sunday, suggesting that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard holds a softer stance on Irans nuclear program...

Trump's White House Ballroom on Track Despite Historic Preservation Lawsuit

President Donald Trump declared Sunday that the controversial White House ballroom project is progressing ahead of schedule and staying within budget, even as a high-profile legal challenge threatens to derail...

Trump Says Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Near as Direct Talks Progress

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States is actively engaged in direct negotiations with Iran, expressing cautious optimism that a diplomatic agreement could be reached soon. Speaking to reporters...

Israel Blocks Cardinal from Palm Sunday Mass, Then Reverses Ban

Israeli authorities initially prevented Jerusalems Catholic cardinal from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, triggering sharp international criticism before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

Pakistan Leads Diplomatic Push to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran War

Pakistan brought together foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in Islamabad on Sunday in a high-stakes diplomatic effort to end the ongoing Iran war and restore critical oil shipping routes through the...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Technology

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...