RAND Expert Biography
James A. Thomson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Expertise
Terrorism and other emerging threats, global security environment, europe, general questions about RAND business, national security strategy, U.S.-foreign relations, NATO
Education
Ph.D. and M.S. in physics, Purdue University; B.S. in physics, University of New Hampshire
Publications of Interest
Three Years After: Next Steps in the War on Terror, David Aaron ed., RAND Corporation, 2005
Must All Join? America, 1788; Europe, 2004, James A. Thomson, RAND Corporation, 2004
Why Did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents for the Last 13,000 Years? Jared M. Diamond and James A. Thomson, RAND Corporation, 2001
Background
Jim Thomson has been RAND's president and chief executive officer since August 1989. A member of the RAND staff since 1981, Thomson has served the institution in a variety of roles, including that of director of RAND's research programs in national security, foreign policy, defense policy, and arms control; vice president in charge of RAND Project AIR FORCE; and executive vice president. From 1977 to January 1981, Thomson was a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House, where he was primarily responsible for defense and arms control matters related to Europe. He was on the staff of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1974-1977. Thomson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York; the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London; and the board of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He is a director of AK Steel Corporation, Encysive Pharmaceuticals, and Object Reservoir.
Recent RAND Publications are listed here.
Recent Media Appearances
Interviews: Associated Press; Congressional Quarterly; Denver Post; Hearst Newspapers; Inside the Pentagon; Korea Times; Los Angeles Times; National Journal; New York Times; Palestinian Chronicle; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; Washington Post
Commentary: Atlantic Monthly; Financial Times; The Hill; Le Figaro; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Video Interviews: James Thomson discusses the RAND Corporation
To arrange an interview:
Contact the RAND Office of Media Relations, (703) 413-1100, x5117 or (310) 451-6913, or send an email to media@rand.org.
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