Faculty Research
Our faculty are among the most research-active programs at SJSU and are nationally and internationally recognized scholars who help inform policy, shape planning practice, and contribute to the scholarly discourse.
Published Books
Urban High-Technology Zones
By Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Elsevier Publishing, July 26th, 2023.
Sustainable Energy Transitions: Socio-Ecological Dimensions of Decarbonization
By Dustin Mulvaney. Palgrave-Macmillan, 2020.
Solar Power: Innovation, Sustainability, and Environmental Justice
By Dustin Mulvaney. University of California Press, 2019.
The Help Yourself City: Legitimacy and Inequality in DIY Urbanism
By Gordon C. C. Douglas. Oxford University Press, 2018.
Essential Methods for Planning Practitioners
By Laxmi Ramasubramanian and Jochen Albrecht. Springer, 2018.
Understanding India's New Approach to Spatial Planning and Development
By Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Shishir Mathur and Sandeep Agrawal. Oxford University Press,
2017.
Knowledge Borders: Temporary Labor Mobility and the Canada-US Border Region
By Kathrine E. Richardson. Edward Elgar, 2017.
Derrida and the Future of the Liberal Arts
Edited by Mary Caputi and Vincent Del Casino, Jr. Bloomsbury, 2013.
A Companion to Social Geography
Edited by Vincent Del Casino, Jr., Mary Thomas, Paul Cloke, and Ruth Panelli. Wiley-Blackwell,
2011.
Geographic Information Science and Public Participation
By Laxmi Ramasubramanian. Springer, 2008.
Faculty in the Media
2025
California bets on iron-salt battery power to protect against wildfire
July 29, 2025 - New Scientist. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
California needs a little less farmland, a lot more solar power
July 24, 2025 - Los Angeles times. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
Researchers Wanted to Understand Concerns With Batteries in Moss Landing, California.
Their Funding Just Got Yanked
May 15, 2025 - Inside Climate News. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
Trump administration dismisses all authors of major climate report, throwing US assessment
into limbo
Apr 29, 2025 - CNN. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
All Authors Working on Flagship U.S. Climate Report Are Dismissed
Apr 28, 2025 - New York Times. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
The US Solar Power Industry Is Trying to Rebrand as MAGA-Friendly
Mar 1, 2025 - WIRED. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
How Climate Change Impacts Urban Streams and Unhoused People
Feb. 2025 - UC Davis YouTube posting. Costanza Rampini's current research on homelessness,
climate change and urban streams.
How Urban Streams, Climate Change and Unhoused People Intertwine
Jan. 27, 2025 - UC Davis posting. Costanza Rampini's current research on homelessness,
climate change and urban streams.
2024
Social Scientist Dustin Mulvaney Discusses Solar Power, Trump and the Need to Prioritize
Environmental Justice
Dec 19, 2024 - Inside Climate News. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
Bay Nature: Large-Scale Solar Is Coming to Tiger Salamander Country
Dec 12, 2024 - Bay Nature. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
San Jose Mercury News: Use solar power, kill a tortoise? Climate change solution carries
environmental costs
May 10, 2024 - The Mercury News. Professor Dustin Mulvaney
Santa Clara developer swaps office for industrial as market tanks
February 8, 2024 - Kelly Snider, Joseph Geha (Spotlight)
2023
Environmental Studies Professor testifies before Congress on critical minerals
Dec. 7, 2023 - Professor Dustin Mulvaney testified before the U.S. House of Representatives
Energy and Minerals Subcommittees.
Dr. Cushing's interview with the Weather Channel
Mar. 2, 2023 - Our Dr. Cushing (Chair of the Environmental Studies Department) recently
had an interview with the Weather Channel. Dr. Cushing commented on the flooding situation
in the Bay Area after the severe storms and recommended dealing with reservoir management
concerns.
27 million under flood alerts across California (NBC Nightly News)
Jan. 14, 2023 - Our Dr. Cushing was interviewed by NBC Nightly News about the recent
storms and flooding period across the state of California. This news showed how urgent
and significant the storming and flooding situation was. The state of California had
to start the evacuations in many different cities, especially cities of Santa Cruz
county.
2022
What to know: Yosemite fire threatens sequoia grove, some of Earth’s oldest, biggest
trees
Jul. 11, 2022 - Professors Craig Clements and Will Russell were interviewed for the
story about the Washburn fire in Yosemite and the iconic sequoia trees that it threatens
Wildfire Research, Community Clinic Included in $1.5 Trillion Federal Spending Plan
Mar. 15, 2022 - Amanda Stasiewicz, an assistant professor in Environmental Studies,
is co-director for the Wildfire Center. SJSU’s Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research
Center (WIRC) will receive $1.2 million to support cutting-edge fire modeling and
prediction technology.
California Today's interview with Prof. Rachel O'Malley
Feb. 22, 2022 - Sunnyvale residents use lasers to scare off local crows. Watch Prof.
Rachel O'Malley in California Today explaining why the influx of ravens and crows
could possibly affect the other surrounding environments close to Sunnyvale.
Fake poop helps evicted owls settle into new neighborhood
Jan. 27, 2022 - Professor Lynne Trulio commented on transplanted burrowing owls in
an Associated Press story where scientists are using fake poop to help evicted owls
settle into a new neighborhood.
2021
Environmental Studies Professor Dustin Mulvaney quoted in the LATimes
Oct. 5, 2021 - There’s no comparison between those problems and the destruction wrought
by fossil fuels, said Dustin Mulvaney, an environmental studies professor at San Jose
State.
Lurie College Case Study Illuminates Unequal Access to Internet in Central California
Amid COVID-19
March 10, 2021 - Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Julia Halprin Jackson (SJSU NewsCenter)
2020
Activating the Civic Commons in San Jose’s Guadalupe River Park
December 2, 2020 - Richard Kos. Justin Flynn and SJSU DUP graduate students (APA CA
Northern)
Research Shows Lockdowns Did Not Decrease Park Visits
November 10, 2020 - Ahoura Zandiatashbar. John P. Deever (SJSU NewsCenter)
Urban and Regional Planning Department Chair to Lead a National Professional Organization
September 28, 2020 - Laxmi Ramasubramanian. John P. Neever (SJSU NewsCenter)
