David A. Sonnenfeld

Biography

Sonnenfeld was born to Joseph Sonnenfeld (1929–2014), professor of geography at the Texas A&M University. Sonnenfeld obtained his undergraduate degree from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon in 1973 and his Ph.D. in sociology in 1996 from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where his graduate studies focused on environmental social science, the sociology of development (Southeast Asia), and historical and field research methods.

Sonnenfeld started his academic career as assistant professor of sociology at Washington State University. He is also a research associate and periodic guest professor with the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University and Research Centre.

In September 2007 he joined the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where he was appointed professor and chair of environmental studies. He is co-editor of Ecological Modernisation Around the World: Perspectives and Critical Debates. In 2006, he co-edited the book Challenging the Chip. He was also a senior research associate at the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. Sonnenfeld retired in September 2022.