Professor Etienne has extensive teaching and course development experience in the areas of sustainability, entrepreneurship, energy, and engineering design, and emphasizes the importance of capacity building in promoting sustainability and social entrepreneurship in developing countries and the role of open source in innovation and entrepreneurship.  

Professor Etienne has 13+ years of experience in the development of renewable energy technologies and their deployment; economics and financing of wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar PV power plants; life cycle analysis and technology tradeoff for renewable energy systems; optimization modeling of energy systems, with a focus on the supply and demand side management of energy; grid integration; and the impact of policy on the financing and development of renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects. He performs sustainable energy market research to identify industry trends and technological advancement that present business opportunities that satisfy the social, environmental, and economic requirements for sustainable development. 

Before joining McIntire, Professor Etienne was an Assistant Professor at Penn State University, where he taught and developed entrepreneurship courses in the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs.

Before his university appointments he founded clean energy start-up ventures and also worked as an energy consultant to both private and public-sector clients.