April 9-12, 2025
Delphi Economic Forum X
Senior Fellow
University of Pennsylvania, United States
Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt is a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds a joint academic appointment between the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. He also is a Senior Fellow at Penn's Perry World House. At Penn, Schmitt focuses on the development of the Simons Observatory, a new set of experimental cosmology telescopes and energy support infrastructure under construction at a high-altitude site in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. At the Kleinman Center, he pursues research and teaching related to European energy security, transatlantic national security, export control policies, and modern sanctions regimes.
Previously, Schmitt was a research associate and project development scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where he helped develop experimental cosmology telescopes and support infrastructure at the South Pole. For this work, he traveled to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica and is a recipient of the U.S. Antarctica Service Medal. Schmitt remains an affiliate of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and is also an associate of the Harvard-Ukrainian Research Institute.
He is cofounder of the Duke University Space Diplomacy Lab and is also a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Dr. Schmitt is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He previously served as European energy security advisor at the U.S. Department of State and received his PhD in physics and astronomy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Friday 11 | 04
Phrynichos Hall | European Cultural Centre of Delphi
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