Director's Message
December 2008
Daniel Sperling
Volatile oil prices. Upheaval in the auto industry. Worsening traffic congestion. Looming climate change. Crisis in transport financing.
There is much to worry about. But here in Davis, progress is palpable. We launched two new centers in 2006, a U.S. DOT University Transportation Center now officially known as the UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center and the country’s first university-based Energy Efficiency Center. Two more centers took off in 2007, a California-funded Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center and a China Center on Energy and Transportation, along with a new four-year multidisciplinary study of Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS). In 2008, we created the Urban Land Use and Transportation Center (ULTRANS).
In a remarkably short time, these centers and the STEPS program are flourishing, thanks to sound leadership. Susan Handy, Thomas Turrentine, Yunshi Wang, Joan Ogden, and Mike McCoy deserve praise for creating vibrant centers of research and education.
Our already dynamic programs at ITS-Davis are further boosted by new faculty and researchers. During the past two years, economists Cynthia Lin and David Rapson, energy experts Alan Meier and Sonia Yeh, and life cycle analysis expert Alissa Kendall have joined us. And David Greene of Oak Ridge National Lab is with us for a sabbatical year.
As our research program expands, it is having more impact. From my new seat on the California Air Resources Board, I see firsthand how UC Davis faculty and students contribute research data and knowledge to the public policy process. Over the last two years, a team of 22 faculty and students from UC Davis and UC Berkeley has provided extensive technical support and policy analysis for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. If adopted in California—and possibly by the U.S. Congress and European Union—this new policy could transform transportation fuels as we know them. Under our new ULTRANS Center, researchers are analyzing policies and developing tools to support California’s climate laws focused on reducing vehicle travel. Their work for California may be exportable nationally and to other countries.
Key to this success is our expanding cadre of outstanding students, who continue to impress me with their passion and sharp analytical minds. During the last two years our students have won numerous awards, including three national awards for best thesis or dissertation from the U.S. Council of University Transportation Centers. Newly minted graduates have taken positions as professors, government policy advisors and analysts, and industry engineers. Their UC Davis education is preparing them to tackle complex problems in transportation, environment, planning, and energy.
As the UC Davis campus celebrates its centennial in 2008–2009, I am reminded of how comparatively young our institute is. Reflecting on our last two years of impressive growth and accomplishments, I marvel that we’re only in our second decade. Perhaps this youth contributes to our success by keeping us open to new problems and challenges. Looking forward, we have the enthusiasm and competence to tackle the daunting economic, environmental and social challenges confronting us.
Professor Daniel Sperling
Director, ITS-Davis