“The challenges I care about most — energy security especially — can’t be understood through a single discipline,” he said. “Studying energy business and finance alongside international politics and global and international studies showed me that a purely technical or financial view of energy markets is incomplete without understanding geopolitics, just as a purely political view is incomplete without understanding markets, trade and finance.”
That perspective was shaped by experiences in both colleges. Within his global and international studies major, Hussain developed a personalized pathway in energy security, geoeconomics, and emerging technology, further connecting his interests across disciplines.
One of Hussain's favorite liberal arts courses was PLSC 412 International Political Economy, an honors course taught by Bumba Mukherjee, professor of political science. Through case studies exploring topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative and the evolving U.S.-China economic relationship, he gained a deeper understanding of how governments, institutions and businesses influence global markets.
Rather than viewing economics as abstract theory, Hussain said the course demonstrated how political bargaining shapes international trade, finance and energy policy, reinforcing the connections among all three of his majors.
In the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Hussain found another defining experience in EBF 483H Introduction to Electricity Markets, taught by Mort Webster, professor of energy engineering. During a weeklong wholesale electricity market simulation, Hussain analyzed bidding data from multiple teams to understand how changes in market design dramatically affected financial outcomes.
“Nobody’s strategy had improved,” Hussain said. “The rules changed, and the rules decided who won. That is why I want to help design energy markets in the UAE, not merely operate within them.”
Hussain also credited Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics Zhen Lei, who taught Hussain in multiple courses before supervising his Schreyer honors thesis.
“He held me to a standard I hadn’t met before,” Hussain said. “When I brought him a thesis topic spanning three majors, he didn’t tell me to narrow it — he told me to make the argument hold.”
Guided by faculty mentors in both colleges, Hussain’s Schreyer honors thesis, “The Architecture of Dependence: Energy Weaponization, Geopolitical Risk, and the Structural Imperative of the Global Energy Transition,” brought together the themes that defined his Penn State experience. His research examined how countries use energy supply as a tool of geopolitical influence and compared how authoritarian and democratic systems shape the pace of the energy transition through case studies of China and Germany. The project also analyzed green bond financing, including Abu Dhabi-based Masdar’s $750 million green bond, combining political science, international affairs and energy economics into a single research agenda.
Hussain also examined the 2026 Israel-Iran war and its implications for Russia and the Western sanctions regime, conducting his analysis as events continued to unfold.
“The thesis allowed me to bring all three of my majors together into one research agenda,” Hussain said. “It taught me to build a coherent argument across multiple disciplines and showed me that the questions I care about most don’t fit neatly within one academic field.”
A Schreyer Scholar, member of Phi Kappa Phi, and recipient of the 2026 Student Merit Award in Energy Business and Finance, Hussain said his time at Penn State also broadened his perspective beyond the classroom.
Hussain said his four years studying in the United States also shaped his Penn State experience in ways that extended beyond academics.
“As an international student from the UAE, living and studying in the United States meant immersing myself in a different academic, cultural and social environment for four years, not just a semester,” he said. “That experience broadened my global perspective and challenged me to think differently about my own country and the role I hope to play in its future.”
After graduation, Hussain plans to return to the United Arab Emirates to pursue a career at the intersection of energy finance, policy and international affairs. He hopes to work for a national energy company, investment institution or government agency, helping shape the country’s approach to energy security and the global energy transition.
“My Penn State education gave me the analytical, financial and geopolitical foundation I’ll rely on throughout my career,” Hussain said. “The emphasis on critical thinking, quantitative analysis and clear communication prepared me to work at the intersection of business, government and diplomacy as the UAE continues to navigate the future of global energy.”