Mr. Dan Sperling
Professor of Civil Engineering
Institute of Transportation Studies
University of California, Davis
Daniel Sperling is Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, and founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-Davis). Dr. Sperling has led ITS-Davis to international prominence by building strong partnerships with industry, government, and the environmental community, integrating interdisciplinary research and education programs, and connecting research with public outreach and education. Professor Sperling is also acting director of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, the first university energy efficiency center in the country.
In February 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Dr. Sperling to the "automotive" seat on the California Air Resources Board. His appointment was confirmed by the California Senate in January 2008. He also served as co-director of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard study, requested in the Governor's January 2007 Executive Order. Dr. Sperling is recognized as a leading international expert on transportation technology assessment, energy and environmental aspects of transportation, and transportation policy. He was recently honored as a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies, is author or editor of 200 technical articles and 10 books, and has testified ten times to the US Congress and California Legislature on alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technology.
His forthcoming book, Two Billion Cars (Oxford University Press) addresses the future of oil supplies and the oil industry. He earned his Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (with minors in Economics and Energy & Resources) and his B.S. in Environmental Engineering and Urban Planning from Cornell University. Professor Sperling worked two years as an environmental planner for the US Environmental Protection Agency and two years as an urban planner in the Peace Corps in Honduras.
