Dr. Michael Webber earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a minor in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2001. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. He is the associate director of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, which seeks to inform the energy and environmental policy-making process with scientific and engineering expertise.

Webber has led research projects for policy issues relevant to energy, innovation and national security. He has commercial experience at a start-up where he invented cutting-edge laser-based gas-sensing instrumentation for homeland security, industrial and environmental monitoring applications. While at Stanford, he developed diode laser-based gas sensors for applications such as monitoring environmental emissions, analyzing space station bioreactors and optimizing combustion. He has given more than 100 speeches and presentations to a range of technical and general audiences, as well as executive briefings to senior decision makers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Defense and Hondas American research and development center.