Dominic J Bednar
Assistant Professor, Urban Planning and Public Policy
School of Social Ecology
School of Social Ecology
B.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 2013, Civil Engineering
M.S., University of Michigan, 2016, Natural Resources and Environment (Sustainable Systems)
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2021, Environment and Sustainability
M.S., University of Michigan, 2016, Natural Resources and Environment (Sustainable Systems)
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2021, Environment and Sustainability
University of California, Irvine
218J Social Ecology 1
Mail Code: 7075
Irvine, CA 92697
218J Social Ecology 1
Mail Code: 7075
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
Energy Justice
Short Biography
Dr. Dominic J. Bednar is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Social Ecology in the Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy. He is also the Co-Founder of Black in Environment, a non-profit that celebrates Black Environmentalist globally through an annual week of programming during Earth Week.
His body of work promotes ongoing policy analysis and program evaluations to improve community health and to effectuate a just energy transition. Specifically, his research examines the institutional barriers of energy poverty recognition and response in the United States and explores the spatial, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic patterns of residential energy affordability, consumption, and efficiency. Their research also explores equitable and just pathways towards decarbonization and clean energy workforce development in Black and Brown communities. Additionally, Dr. Bednar examines the community-based implications of critical minerals and mining in the energy transition and pathways towards more inclusive mobility systems.
He earned his Ph.D. in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability concentrating on Energy Justice. Dr. Bednar holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and a MS in Natural Resources and Environment (Sustainable Systems) from the University of Michigan. He has been recognized as an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education Fellow (PAGE), Fulbright Scholar, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society member, Rackham Merit Fellow, and GEM Fellow.
Dr. Bednar is committed to fighting climate change by interweaving academic research on residential energy injustices in a way that engenders community engagement and co-development of innovative and impactful solutions.
His body of work promotes ongoing policy analysis and program evaluations to improve community health and to effectuate a just energy transition. Specifically, his research examines the institutional barriers of energy poverty recognition and response in the United States and explores the spatial, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic patterns of residential energy affordability, consumption, and efficiency. Their research also explores equitable and just pathways towards decarbonization and clean energy workforce development in Black and Brown communities. Additionally, Dr. Bednar examines the community-based implications of critical minerals and mining in the energy transition and pathways towards more inclusive mobility systems.
He earned his Ph.D. in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability concentrating on Energy Justice. Dr. Bednar holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and a MS in Natural Resources and Environment (Sustainable Systems) from the University of Michigan. He has been recognized as an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education Fellow (PAGE), Fulbright Scholar, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society member, Rackham Merit Fellow, and GEM Fellow.
Dr. Bednar is committed to fighting climate change by interweaving academic research on residential energy injustices in a way that engenders community engagement and co-development of innovative and impactful solutions.
Grants
Transit Transformations: Analyzing Critical Mineral Dependency in Vehicle Corridors and Enhancing Mobility in Los Angeles and Atlanta - Alfred P. Sloan Foundation [2024-2027]
Research Centers
Just Energy Transformation Lab
Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=7314
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=7314
Last updated
07/09/2025
07/09/2025