Director's Message
December 2006
Daniel Sperling
The pace is quickening at ITS-Davis. We now have more faculty, more graduate students, more research centers. And even more is about to unfold. First, allow me to reflect.
At our 15th anniversary celebration in April, I commented that ITS-Davis had reached adolescence. We’ve come a long way in a short period of time.
Looking back, I realize we had no master plan. But we did have a vision: to make the world a better place. And we had a mission: to help create a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future. We focused on issues important to society. We created a place where interdisciplinary research and training was valued. We partnered with industry, government, and the environmental community, not only because it was the best way for us to advance public discourse on key transportation issues, but also to create a diverse funding base for ourselves. And we committed to training leaders with the skills needed for the challenges of tomorrow. We still have the same vision and mission.
We’ve thrived because of our faculty, staff and students - some of the most accomplished, dedicated, passionate and creative people I know. They’re people who want to make a difference. And frankly, they’re why I get excited about going to work every morning.
By any measure, we’ve excelled. Our pioneering lifecycle emissions and cost analysis models and consumer preferences research have guided policy. Our travel behavior research and traffic modeling have shaped community and transportation planning worldwide. And our advanced battery, hybrid, fuel cell and hydrogen research has contributed to a broader understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with new transportation technologies.
In the past year, alone, we’ve launched several new centers: a U.S. DOT University Transportation Center devoted to sustainable transport, headed by Professor Susan Handy; a new Energy Efficiency Center hosted by ITS-Davis and directed by Professor Andy Hargadon; and a new U.S. DOE Graduate Automotive Technology and Education center, headed by Professor Paul Erickson.
We led an initiative to create new faculty positions in energy and transportation, and were successful beyond our wildest dreams. Recruiting has begun for 12 new UC Davis professors. Many will affiliate closely with the Institute.
Next year, we expect to launch a state-funded Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Center headed by ITS-Davis Researcher Thomas Turrentine. We will also launch a four-year multi-disciplinary study called Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS), under the direction of Professor Joan Ogden. And finally, we’ll launch a new China Center on Energy and Transportation.
The operating principle all along has been strategic opportunism. We’ve formed alliances with the UC Davis Road Ecology Center, UC Pavement Research Center, UC Davis-Caltrans Air Quality Project, UC Davis Air Quality Research Center, Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Research Center, and others that are interested in our multi-disciplinary approach to transportation and energy research. And we’ve stayed focused on our public interest vision.
We’re arguably already the world leader in sustainable transportation research and education, and we’re just getting started. With the passion and quality of our students and faculty, our new Centers, and our incoming faculty, we are at the forefront of these critical issues.
It’s an exciting and rewarding time. And we’re just beginning. We’ve had our growing pains, as all teenagers do, but our future couldn’t be brighter.
Professor Daniel Sperling
Director, ITS-Davis