Dr. Vivek Shastry is a Senior Research Associate at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), where he supports research, strategic initiatives, and development for the Center’s Energy Opportunity Lab. His research focuses on the intersection of energy and development policies in emerging economies, as well as pathways to energy affordability in the United States.
Prior to joining CGEP, Dr. Shastry was a researcher in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where his work focused on the impacts of productive uses of energy, energy access for rural healthcare, and data-driven public policy analysis. He has published over a dozen peer-reviewed articles on energy poverty, energy transitions, and energy in the built environment. His work has appeared in leading journals including Energy for Sustainable Development, Energy Research & Social Science, and the Energy Law Journal. In addition to an interdisciplinary research portfolio, he brings a grounded field perspective through his time as a Program Manager at SELCO Foundation.
Dr. Shastry holds a PhD in Public Policy, an MS in Sustainable Design, and an MS in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from National Institute of Technology Karnataka. He is a JN Tata Fellow and was a JJ “Jake” Pickle Fellow at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where he currently serves on the alumni board.
