Deepak Rajagopal

Associate Professor; Director, Leadership in Sustainability Certificate Program

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

(310) 794-4903
rdeepak@ioes.ucla.edu

La Kretz Hall, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567

Bio

Research Interests

Lifecycle assessment, Energy Economics and Policy, Agricultural Economics and Policy, Climate Policy

Education

Ph.D., Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
B.Tech., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

Ongoing research

Electric vehicles in ride-sourcing applications, public buses and heavy-duty trucks with a focus on developing countries
Life cycle assessment
- A Heuristic Screening Aid for Consequential Life Cycle Assessment
Economics of Biofuels
- Effect of ethanol production facilities on land use

Open research positions

Positions for graduate students interested in electric vehicles research.

Teaching

Environment 159: Life Cycle Analysis and Tools for Sustainability Assessment

View the course syllabus

Environment 157: Energy, Environment and Development

View the course syllabus

Environment 180: Senior Practicum

2011-2012: Lifecycle analysis based comparison of Battery and gasoline vehicles
2012-2013: Lifecycle analysis of building

Undergraduate Mentoring

A Supply Chain Risk Analysis of Cobalt Used in Electric Vehicle Batteries in the US

Recent blog posts

Getting a faculty position with an interdisciplinary PhD training

Personal blog: Watt’s green?

Projects

Using life cycle analysis to increase restaurant sustainability

In today’s fast-paced world, restaurants — and delivery via convenient smartphone applications — offer convenient alternatives to cooking at home. They also generate a lot of waste. Restaurants must meet demand and generate profit to succeed, but sustainability increasingly factors into the equation. For many establishments, sustainable practices represent an extra, unnecessary cost. However, as...

2019

Supply Chain: 2018-2019 Focus

For the 2018-2019 academic year, the Corporate Partners Program focused on sustainability in supply chains. The kickoff event for this year’s CPP program took place on October 2. Panelists at the event included Chuck Gatchell (VP/GM of Olympics and Athletes @ Nike), Bonnie Nixon (former Director of Supply Chain and Environmental Responsibility @ Hewlett-Packard) ,and...

2018

Life cycle assessment of wine packaging

Team: Chung Hang Cheung, Alexandria Florin, Sophie Long, Melanie Sanchez, Benjamin Van Aken Advisor: Deepak Rajagopal Client: Fetzer Wineries

2018

Increasing the Beneficial use of Organic Waste in California

Background California’s dairy industry has a long and rich history. It stands today as the largest dairy state with some of the most unique laws and regulations in the country. Our project aims to provide more clear information on sustainable dairy farm processes, advocacy and policy. Policy, climate, culture and size all contribute to the...

2017