SPWAC In partnership with World Affairs Council of Connecticut

invites you to join this symposium with Dr. Gracelin Baskaran hosted by Dr. Michael Winter

The Global Race for Critical Minerals

China. Defense. AI. Energy. The resources powering global competition.

Critical minerals are becoming a defining fault line in global security. From advanced weapons and defense systems to AI, energy, and emerging technologies, access to these resources is increasingly tied to national power and security.

Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the CSIS Critical Minerals Security Program, joins Michael Winter, RTX Chief Scientist, to explore China’s role in global mineral supply chains, the global competition to secure critical resources, and what it means for U.S. security, industry, and technological leadership.

Meet the Guest

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran

Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, CSIS

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She is a mining economist and has spent over a decade working on critical minerals globally. She began her career in South Africa’s platinum belt and later spent five years at the World Bank in South Africa, where she coauthored the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. She recently published a policy playbook, Critical Minerals and the Future of the United States Economy, and is now writing a book on an international strategy for critical minerals engagement for the United States. Dr. Baskaran is also an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches critical minerals in the Center for Security Studies. She was a Fulbright Scholar and has held positions at the University of Cambridge, the University of London, and the University of Cape Town. Dr. Baskaran has been cited as an expert in The Economist, Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and BBC, and regularly appears on television. She has authored more than 200 policy reports, white papers, and op-eds. In 2025, Mining Journal ranked Dr. Baskaran No. 8 on its “Top 50 Most Influential” list—the only woman in the top 12. She regularly speaks at international conferences and policymaker forums and has testified before the U.S. Congress. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Meet the Host

Michael Winter

Chief Scientist, RTX

Dr. Michael Winter, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientist at RTX. RTX is a major Aerospace and defense company providing advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide, comprised of three industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon. In his role at RTX, he shapes the company’s cross-enterprise technology strategy and accelerates innovation across aerospace and defense. He leads efforts to advance next-generation propulsion, materials, electrification, hybrid-electric systems, and defense platforms, while strengthening the company’s global engineering tools, processes, and knowledge base. He also plays a central role in RTX’s external engagement strategy, representing its technology priorities with universities, startups, and government stakeholders.

With 45 years of experience in aerospace, and 35 of them as part of RTX, Dr. Winter has held pivotal leadership roles across the corporation, including 14 years at the RTX Technology Research Center and, most recently, as a principal fellow at Pratt & Whitney. His work has helped enable major commercial and military propulsion platforms — including the Geared Turbofan and the F-35 Lightning II — and advanced technologies spanning fuel cells, lasers, combustion, and propulsion systems.

A prolific innovator, Dr. Winter is the inventor or co-inventor on more than 40 patents and has published over 50 technical articles. He has served on multiple engineering school advisory boards and on the National Research Council Board of Assessment of the National Academies, and he currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council. He is a fellow of AIAA and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE).

Widely respected for his deep technical insight and his ability to demystify complex aerospace challenges, Dr. Winter is known for combining a “lab-rat” curiosity with a strategic, enterprise wide perspective. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Philosophy, as well as a Master of Science from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Drexel University. He is an avid cyclist, enjoys sea kayaking and recently received a 2nd-degree black
belt in Tang Soo Do.