About Dustin's Work

Dr. Dustin Mulvaney is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University where he teaches courses on energy and sustainability. His research focuses on the social and environmental dimensions of food and energy systems, having conducting research on environmental justice and solar energy commodity chains, the socio-ecological risks of agricultural biotechnology, and public lands and energy issues. Prior to his arrival at San Jose State, Dustin was a Science and Technology Studies postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley in the Department of Science, Policy, and Management. Dustin received his PhD from the Environmental Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz, and obtained an MS in Environmental Policy Studies and BS in Chemical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He previously, worked for a bioremediation startup as a project engineer at MTBE spill sites, and before that he was a chemical process engineer for a Fortune 500 chemical manufacturer. Dustin has done collaborative research and consulting with a number of major environmental organizations including the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Fund, EarthJustice, Ocean Conservancy, EarthWorks, and Friends of the Earth, much through EcoShift Consulting, a firm he co-founded in 2008. Dustin is a recognized expert on solar energy and has a book—Solar Power: Innovation, Sustainability, Environmental Justice—under contract forthcoming in 2016 from the University of California Press. Dustin has worked on the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition’s “Just and Sustainable Solar” campaign since 2008 and is the lead research analyst for the Solar Scorecard, which rates the sustainability of photovoltaic manufacturers. He is also a Principal at EcoShift Consulting where he provides expert witness analysis and testimony to support rooftop solar adoption behalf on the Sierra Club and EarthJustice. Dustin also serves on the NSF International Joint Committee that is developing a sustainability leadership standard for photovoltaic modules.