Generating revolution
Dan Sperling
Title: Founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies
Highest degree: Doctorate in transportation engineering
Hometown: Nassau, N.Y.
What is your best experience on campus? “The prestige of UC Davis has launched me in so many ways. It made possible my appointment to the Board of the California Air Resources Board by Governor Schwarzenegger — where I met my future wife — and provided the team of sophisticated and talented students that worked with me to design the revolutionary Low Carbon Fuel Standard.”
What do you hope your legacy will be? “I am most proud of the Institute of Transportation Studies, which I founded in 1991, and the many graduate students who trained there and have gone on to outstanding and influential careers in California, the U.S. and elsewhere. I’m also proud of founding the Transportation Technology and Policy Graduate Group, the Energy Efficiency Center, and the Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy. I hope they all continue to thrive forever.”
Tell us about one person at UC Davis who has enhanced your life or your work. “There are a series of administrative leaders who have been instrumental in the success of the centers and institutes I have launched: Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, Barry Klein, Harris Lewin, Enrique Lavernia and Neal Van Alfen. They have all have gone to great lengths to support these initiatives and to assure their success.”
