Faculty and Staff Profile

Chien-fei Chen

Educational Background

Washington State University, Ph.D. in Sociology

Washington State University, MA in Communication

National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, B.A. in English Language and Literature

Courses Taught

Grant Writing and Collaboration (SOC 8920)
Environmental Sociology (SOC 8360)
Creative Inquiry: Social Dimension of AI (SOC 4860); Community Engagement and Sustainability

Profile

Dr. Chien-fei Chen is a Professor of Sociology at Clemson University. She previously served as the Energy and Environmental Director at the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment and as the Director of Education, Diversity, and Inclusion at the NSF-DOE Center for Ultra-Wide-Area Resilient Electrical Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT), University of Tennessee. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on environmental sociology, climate change, energy and environmental justice, social determinants of health, renewable energy technology adoption, and community engagement. Her current research aims to integrate social and technological aspects to improve grid and community resilience, building efficiency, sustainability, and energy affordability. Her work provides valuable insights for academics, communities, utilities, and policymakers. Dr. Chen is widely published in interdisciplinary journals across social science, policy and engineering disciplines, including Building and Environment, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Environmental Sociology, Energy, Energy and Buildings, Energy Policy, Journal of Environmental Psychology, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and Electric Power Systems Research. Actively involved in several international and interdisciplinary networks, Dr. Chen has secured over $10 million in grants as either a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Wellcome Trust, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She was also honored with the 2019-2020 Fulbright U.S. and U.K. Global Scholar Awards for her work in energy and environmental issues.

Research Interests

Environmental Sociology, Social-Psychology, Energy and Environmental Justice and Policy, Socio-technological Integration, Resilience, Community Engagement, Environmental Health, Survey Design, and Mixed Methods

Research Publications

Selected Publications : *Graduate/undergraduates or Post-docs
1. Xu, J.*, Chen, C. F., & Wang, Y. (2025, in press). Mobile microgrids and community resilience: Analyzing perceived risks, benefits, and public support. iScience.
2. Shuai, H.*, Chen, C.-F., Sovacool, B. K., Sumkhuu, S., & Shen, Z. (2025). Electric power reliability, energy burdens, and climate change beliefs in the United States. Environmental Science & Technology, 59, 50, 27206–27221.
3. Sim, C., Ali, G., Holladay, J., Roberson, T., Chen, C.-F., & El-Adaway, H. I. (2025). The equity implications of pecuniary externalities on an electric grid. PNAS Nexus, 4, 12, 356.
4. Ayinla*, P., Tsykalova, L., & Chen, C. F. (2025). Regional dynamics in U.S. public attitudes: Analyzing climate policy, energy transition, and regulatory strategies. Energy Research & Social Science, 127, 104291.
5. Roberts, S., Krykoniuk, K., Handford, M., Zhou, Y., Wu, J., & Chen, C. F. (2025). The energy trilemma COP-out: accessibility is under-reported in international English language media coverage of United Nations Climate Change Conferences. Energy Research & Social Science. 127, 104275.
6. Jones, G. Jr.*, Chen, C-F., Chen, W-A*, Lovingood, L. & Li, X. (2025). Intersectionality in residential solar adoption: Examining socio-demographics, racial diversity, geography, solar suitability, and policy in the United States. Energy Strategy Reviews, 58,101648.
7. Kachirayila, F. F., Yamaguchi, Y., Chen, C. F., & McKenna, R. (2025). Estimating demand response potentials of domestic appliances: Insights from a Japanese survey. Energy, 337, 138421.
8. Herman, K. S., C-F. Chen, & Sovacool, B. K. (2024). Framing industrial decarbonization technologies in the public sphere: narratives from the digital ‘town square’ in the United Kingdom. Environmental Research Communications, 6, 125006.
9. Xu, X.*, Sims, C.-F., Chen, J. S. Holladay, G. Jones Jr.*, & Roberson, T. (2024). Looking high and low: Incentive policies and residential solar adoption in high- and low-income U.S. communities. Energies, 17, 4538.
10. Chen, W.-A.*, Chen, C.-F., Tomasik, S., Pournaras, E., & Liu, M. (2024). Flexibility justice: Exploring the relationship between EV charging behaviors, demand flexibility, and psychological factors. Energy Research & Social Science, 118, 103753.
11. Chen, C.-F., Napolitano, R., Hu, Y., Yao, B., & Kar, B. (2024). Unraveling machine learning bias to foster equitable energy justice. Energy Research & Social Science, 116, 103653.
12. Chen, W.-A.*, Chen, C.-F., & Tomasik, S*. (2024). Investigating intentions and barriers in adopting decentralized home energy management systems: A justice dimension of demand flexibility. Energy and Buildings, 318, 114458.
13. Chen, C.-F., Chen, W.-A.*, Greig, J., & Robinson, C. (2024). When concentrated disadvantage happens: Exploring the nexus of energy and internet insecurities among vulnerable households. iScience, 27(6), 109895.
14. Chen, W.-A.*, Chen, C.-F., Liu, M., & Rickard, R*. (2024). Unraveling the complexities: Impacts of energy burden on the built environment challenges among assistance-dependent populations in the United Kingdom. Building and Environment, 254.
15. Pournaras, E., Ballandies, M. C., Bennati, S., & Chen, C.-F. (2024). Collective privacy recovery: Data-sharing coordination via decentralized artificial intelligence. PNAS Nexus, 10, 1093.
16. Shen, Z.*, Chen, C.-F., Zhou, H., Fefferman, N., & Shrestha, S. (2023). Community vulnerability is the key determinant of diverse energy burdens in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 97, 102949.
17. Chen, C.-F., Xu, X.*, Cao, Z.*, Mockus, A., & Shi, Q*. (2023). Analysis of social-psychological factors and financial incentives in demand response and residential energy behavior. Frontiers in Energy Research, 11, 932134.
18. Ali, G. G., El-adaway, I. H., Sims, C., Holladay, J. S., & Chen, C.-F. (2023). Reducing the vulnerability of electric power infrastructure against natural disasters by promoting distributed generation. Natural Hazards Review, 24(2).
19. Chen, C.-F., Greig, J., Nelson, H., & Li, F. (2022). When disadvantage collides: The concentrated effects on energy insecurity and internet burdens in the U.S. Energy Research & Social Science, 91, 102713.
20. Chen, C.-F., Xu, X.*, Adua, L., Briggs, M., & Nelson, H*. (2022). Exploring the interconnected factors that influence energy use intensity across low-, middle-, and high-income households in the United States. Energy Policy, 168, 113071.
21. Wang, Y., Chen, C.-F., Kong, P.-Y., Li, H. S., & Wen, Q.-S. (2022). A cyber-physical-social perspective on future smart distribution systems. Proceedings of the IEEE, 1-31.
22. Li, J.*, X., Chen, C.-F., Walzem, A., Nelson, H.*, & Shuai, C. M*. (2022). National goals or sense of community: Exploring the social-psychological influence of household solar energy adoption in rural China. Energy Research & Social Science, 89, 102669.
23. Chen, C.-F., Feng, J.*, Luke, N.*, Kuo, C.-P.*, & Fu, J. S. (2022). Localized energy burdens and concentrated disadvantage and the feminization of energy poverty. iScience, 25, 104139.
24. Chen, C.-F., Liu, Y., Greig, J., Shen, Z.*, & Shi, Y. (2022). The impacts of COVID-19 on clean energy labor markets: Evidence from multifaceted analysis of public health interventions and COVID-health factors. Energy Policy, 164, 112880.
25. Chen, C.-F., Dietz, T., Fefferman, N., Greig, J., Cetin, K., Robinson, C., Arpan, L., Schweiker, M., Dong, B., Wu, W., Li, Y., Zhou, H., Wu, J., Wen, J., Fu, J., Hong, T., Yan, D., Nelson, H., Zhu, Y., Li, X., Xie, L., & Fu, R. (2022). Extreme events, energy security and equality through micro and macro levels: Concepts, challenges, and methods. Energy Research & Social Science, 85, 102401.
26. Fefferman, N., Chen, C.-F., Bonilla, G.*, Nelson, H.*, & Kuo, C.-P*. (2021). How limitations in energy burdens compromise health interventions for COVID outbreaks in urban settings. iScience, 24, 103389.

Honors and Awards

1. Recognized as a Top 2% Most-Cited Scholar Worldwide (Stanford University–Elsevier standardized citation indicators), 2025.
2. U.S. Fulbright Global Scholar Award, 2019-2020: About 20 scholars across disciplines were selected. Proposal title, “When East Meets West: An Interdisciplinary and Cross-cultural Research on Energy Justice and Renewable Technology Adoption for Future Smart Communities.”
2. The Tickle College of Engineering Outstanding Service in Outreach and Engagement Award 2020, University of Tennessee.
3. Outstanding Service Award for the International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC) Annex 66, 2017
4. Best Journal Article Reviewer for Energy Research and Social Science 2023.

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