Dr. Braeton Smith is a Principal Energy Economist in the Decision and Infrastructure Sciences Division at Argonne. His research focusses on critical material supply chains and estimating economic impacts from disruptive events. He recently co-led the development of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s 2023 Critical Materials Assessment, and was the primary author on DOE’s supply chain deep dive reports on rare earth permanent magnets and platinum group metal catalysts. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of New Mexico, an M.S. in Applied Economics from Oregon State University, and a Ph.D. in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines.