Dr. Rebecca Grant

Dr. Rebecca Grant is President of IRIS Independent Research, a public-policy research organization in Washington, DC. She also serves as the Director of the General William Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies, a new non-profit research arm founded by the Air Force Association to promote scholarly research and debate on airpower in all its forms: air, space and cyber.

Dr. Grant earned her Ph.D. in International Relations from the London School of Economics, then worked for RAND and the offices of the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force. In 1995, she founded IRIS Independent Research, performing work on strategic planning for aerospace and government clients. Recent studies for the Air Force have included analysis of major campaigns from Kosovo to Afghanistan and Iraq; evaluation of air base ground defense concepts; and research on long-range strike. For the Navy, recent studies include development of metrics for Phase 0 shaping operations for Fleet Forces Command; and a study of carrier aviation concepts and roles for the new CVN-78 Ford-class carrier for PEO-Carriers. Other studies have included research on JSTARS missions in Afghanistan; and stealth maintenance and modernization issues.

Dr. Grant is an active member of the Air Force Association. She writes regularly for Air Force Magazine and has appeared on television as a commentator on airpower. She lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband, her five -year old daughter, her motorcycle and a Tennessee Walking Horse named Red.