Michele L. Bustamante Ph.D., Eit

Michele L. Bustamante, PhD, EIT has a diverse and extensive work experience in the fields of environmental and materials engineering, sustainability, and climate and energy policy.

Michele L. is currently a Staff Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), where they lead systems-oriented research in the Nature Program. Their work focuses on informing climate and energy policy solutions by assessing the environmental, economic, and social impacts of energy supply chains. Their current projects include evaluating the climate impacts of energy infrastructure proposals and advising on circular economy solutions to clean energy critical minerals challenges.

Prior to their role at NRDC, they served as a Science Fellow in the Climate & Energy Systems division at AAAS. During their fellowship, they worked as a policy staffer in the Office of Senator Edward J. Markey, specializing in climate, energy, transportation, industrial, and science policy issues.

Dr. Bustamante also has experience as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where they conducted research in the Material Systems Laboratory. Their work focused on the challenges posed by shifting technological paradigms in key economic sectors, such as energy and transportation, and their impact on major metals markets.

Before their postdoctoral work, they were a Graduate Research Assistant at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at RIT. Their dissertation centered around criticality assessment of byproduct materials and its application in informing supply risk assessments and policy development.

Dr. Bustamante's academic background includes a dual degree in Environmental and Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michele L. conducted research projects on topics such as photodegradation kinetics of 4-Chloroaniline in the aqueous environment, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment, and biotrickling filters for VOC removal.

Michele L. has also participated in research experiences as a TIER Summer REU at the University of South Florida and a FREEDM Systems Center Summer REU at North Carolina State University. Their responsibilities during these programs included creating circuit-equivalent models of photovoltaic arrays and shadowing and assisting PV installation crews.

Overall, Dr. Bustamante brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in sustainability, climate and energy policy, and materials engineering to their current role at NRDC.

Michele L. Bustamante, PhD, EIT completed their education with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Environmental Engineering & Materials Science Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which they attended from 2008 to 2012. Michele L. then pursued their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 2012 to 2016. In addition to their academic achievements, Michele also obtained the Engineer in Training (EIT) certification from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying in April 2012. Michele L. further expanded their knowledge and skills by obtaining the Kaufman Teaching Certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2018. Additionally, in March 2016, Michele achieved an advanced level of fluency in Spanish, estimated by the Duolingo Spanish Fluency certification from Duolingo.