Experts in the News

Harris County will have an extra week of early voting and more than 100 additional places for voters to cast ballots under an expansive plan approved by Commissioners Court. The plan, which includes drive-through options and early morning/late night balloting hours, aims to ensure that "voting in person is safer than going to the grocery store,” said political science fellow Mark Jones. “To the extent to which other county clerks follow [Harris County's] lead, it’s more and more difficult to make the case that voting in person represents a risk to someone’s health.”

Ed Emmett, Center for Energy Studies fellow in energy and transportation policy, discussed his experience with hurricane preparation and rebuilding, as well as engineering efforts to prevent future devastation from storms.

"Generally everyone is on board with clean power. The challenge becomes cost — as much cost to your quality of life as it is cost to your pocketbook," said Ken Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies. Medlock is the James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics.

As we headed into the last few months before the 2020 presidential election, political science fellow Mark Jones discussed the primary takeaways from the Republican National Convention.

How has Covid-19 complicated Hurricane Laura recovery efforts? Marah Short, the associate director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, discussed this question.