Scholars
Thomas S. Benson
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Based in
United States
North America
Thomas S. Benson is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at a major scientific research organization, and was previously an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow at the American Security Project in 2022. His research focuses on: community engagement; environmental, climate, and energy justice; climate, food, and water security; nuclear energy, spent nuclear fuel, and nuclear waste; government and governance; and sustainability.
Previously, Thomas was a Princeton Dissertation Scholar, Presidential Management Fellow, Aspen Institute Future Climate Leader, Visiting Researcher to Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, and served as the Senior Sustainability Coordinator and Fellow for the University of Delaware. For his dissertation, Thomas conducted 77 interviews with city officials, thinktank experts, non-profit leaders, and community organization representatives across four comparative case studies regarding urban sustainability, community engagement, and local government. He has also published several peer-reviewed papers and reports, presented at 20 conferences, and has received 28 awards, grants, and fellowships since 2020.
Thomas earned his Ph.D and MA in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Delaware in 2023 and 2019, respectively, and his bachelor’s degree (LLB) in Law from the University of Leeds (UK).
All views expressed in blog post content are his own. Thomas is a Research Associate for the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment (FREE) and an Adjunct Fellow for the American Security Project (ASP).
Country(ies) of Specialty
United States China United KingdomFocus areas of expertise
Climate policy and politics Climate Justice Renewable energy Public opinionPublications
Articles
Benson, Thomas S. (WIP). “Urban Governance Mechanisms to Combat the Climate Crisis: The Tale of Smart Cities.” Doctoral Dissertation.
Benson, Thomas S. (Forthcoming 2024). “Higher Education Institutions Can Do More To Lead Society Toward Resilience.” In Sustainable Universities and Colleges: Leading or Following Society toward Resilience? Mark Starik and Paul Shrivastava (eds).
Taminiau, Job., Byrne, John., and Benson, Thomas (Forthcoming 2024). “Empirical Analysis of Local Government Efforts in the U.S. to Drive Urban Energy Transition: Subscriber versus Community Solar.” In Urban Energy Transition: Rise of Regeneration – Cities and Regions for a Stable Climate, chapter 8.
Bagozzi, Benjamin E., Benson, Thomas S., and Koren, Ore. 2023. “Cyclones and Violence Against Civilians: Evidence from the Cabo Delgado Insurgency.” Environment & Security.
David, Nina P., and Benson, Thomas S. 2022. “Citizen-Centrism in Smart Cities: Reality or Rhetoric?” In Holistic Approach to Decision Making Towards Smart City Design. George Cristian Lazaroiu, Mariacristina Roscia, and Vasile Dancu (eds). Springer, chapter 13.
Benson, Thomas S. 2022. “The Culture of Overwork in the Discipline of Political Science.” In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, David Phoenix, J. Cherie Strachan (eds). APSA, chapter 53.
Benson, Thomas S., and Montoya, T., Mark. 2022. “Concerns for First-Gen Graduate Students: Navigating Political Science Boundaries.” In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, David Phoenix, J. Cherie Strachan (eds). APSA, chapter 60.
Benson, Thomas S., and Gancheva, Silviya. 2022. “Concerns for International Graduate Students in Political Science.” In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, David Phoenix, J. Cherie Strachan (eds). APSA, chapter 57.
Benson, Thomas S., and Boyes, Christina. 2022. “Health and Well-being in Graduate School: Preventing Burnout.” In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, David Phoenix, J. Cherie Strachan (eds). APSA, chapter 64.
Benson, Thomas S., Gentry, Bobbi., and Shugars, Sarah. 2022. “Feeling Like a Fraud: Imposter Syndrome.” In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, David Phoenix, J. Cherie Strachan (eds). APSA, chapter 50.
Koren, Ore., Bagozzi, Benjamin E., and Benson, Thomas S. 2021. “Food and Water Insecurity as Causes of Social Unrest: Evidence from Geolocated Twitter Data.” Journal of Peace Research 58(1): 67-82.