David Allan Sonnenfeld (born July 31, 1953) is an American sociologist and Professor Emeritus of Sociology and environmental policy at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, known for his work in the field of ecological modernisation.
[3] Sonnenfeld obtained his undergraduate degree from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon in 1973[4] and his Ph.D. in sociology in 1996 from the University of California, Santa Cruz,[5] where his graduate studies focused on environmental social science, the sociology of development (Southeast Asia), and historical and field research methods.
[6] Sonnenfeld started his academic career as assistant professor of sociology at Washington State University.
[9] Forest policy issues led to pursuits in the late 1980s, providing further impetus for forest-industry related research.
[6] In 1993-94, he was a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University, from where he based his field research on the adoption of environmental technologies in the pulp and paper industries of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.