His research focuses on sustainable operations—in particular, on how emissions regulation can impact the capacity portfolios in which firms invest; how such regulation, when unilaterally imposed, impacts technology choice, facility location, and regional competitiveness; and how creative collaboration can improve the economic feasibility of clean technologies among logistics providers. Professor Drake has also authored pedagogical cases focusing on technology choice under emissions regulation and closed-loop supply chains. Through his research, Professor Drake has worked closely with a number of firms regulated under the European Union Emissions Trading System, and attended the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP-15) as a delegate. Earlier, Professor Drake spent five years at Random House, where he led publishing operations projects and production purchasing groups.