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Jonn Axsen

Professor • Graduate Program Chair
Resource & Environmental Management

Education

  • BBA, Business Administration, First class honours, Simon Fraser University
  • MRM, Resource Management, Simon Fraser University
  • PhD, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California, Davis

Updated CV (June 15th, 2023)

Biography

Jonn Axsen employs interdisciplinary and mixed-method research approaches to identify solutions for today’s enormous environmental challenge: mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of which almost a quarter arise from road transportation. His research demonstrates that such solutions require an understanding of individual decision-making, social systems and culture, technology development, and public policy. As Professor and Director of the Sustainable Transportation Research Team (START) at SFU, he applies a rigorous and comprehensive perspective to provide policy-relevant insights into sustainable transportation technology and practices, including electric vehicles and alternative forms of mobility, as well as other sustainable energy and environmental applications.

Professor Axsen was elected a member of the Royal Society of Canada in 2021. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles since 2009, over 25 of which have been cited more than 100 times each. With an h-index of 48 and over 8,000 citations, he places among the top five most-cited “sustainable transportation” scholars globally (Google Scholar, June 2023). He publishes in top field journals and high-impact cross-disciplinary journals such as Nature Climate Change, Nature Energy, Nature Sustainability, and Environmental Research Letters. Dr. Axsen was recently identified as the #3 top contributor to Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment in its 25 year history, a top journal in his field.

Professor Axsen is Senior Associate Editor of Energy Research & Social Science (Impact Factor = 8.5) and serves on the US National Academies’ Transportation Research Board. Professor Axsen has also published dozens of stakeholder reports and delivered over 100 academic presentations.

His research program has secured over $2 million in funding from national and international agencies and sponsors, including SSHRC, Translink, Tesla, NRCan, and the Pacific Institute of Climate Solutions (PICS). He regularly collaborates with stakeholders such as the United Nations (UN), Transport Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Clean Energy Canada, Environmental Defence, and Equiterre.

See his CV for a full list of publications. A selection of recent and notable publications includes:

2023

2022

2021

A few notable articles from before 2021:

  1. A 2020 perspective piece on the policies needed to decarbonize road transportation globally (in Nature Climate Change)
  2. A 2019 synthesis of research on users of electric, shared and automated vehicles (one of the most downloaded in the journal).
  3. A 2018 review of "best practices" for social science research methods (most cited article in the journal).
  4. A 2018 review of evidence for electric vehicle charging infrastructure (one of the most cited article in the journal).
  5. A 2012 exploration of the role of social influence in electric vehicle adoption (award-winning, via the International Transport Forum).

Courses

Fall 2024

This instructor is currently not teaching any courses.