Daniel Sperling

Dr. Daniel Sperling is the Blue Planet Prize Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy and founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS–Davis) at the University of California, Davis. He has held the transportation seat on the California Air Resources Board since 2007 (appointed by Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown) and served as Chair of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies in 2015-16. Among his many prizes are the 2013 Blue Planet Prize from the Asahi Glass Foundation for being "a pioneer in opening up new fields of study to create more efficient, low-carbon, and environmentally beneficial transportation systems." He served twice as lead author for the IPCC (sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize), has testified 7 times to the U.S. Congress, and provided 40 keynote presentations in the past five years. He has authored or coauthored over 250 technical papers and 12 books; is widely cited in leading newspapers; has been interviewed many times on NPR, including Science Friday, Talk of the Nation, and Fresh Air; and in 2009 was featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Three Revolutions

Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future

For the first time in half a century, real transformative innovations are coming to our world of passenger transportation. The convergence of new shared mobility services with automated and electric vehicles promises to significantly reshape our lives and communities for the better—or for the worse.

The dream scenario could bring huge public and private benefits, including more transportation choices, greater affordability and accessibility, and healthier, more livable cities, along with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Road Ecology

Science and Solutions

A central goal of transportation is the delivery of safe and efficient services with minimal environmental impact. In practice, though, human mobility has flourished while nature has suffered. Awareness of the environmental impacts of roads is increasing, yet information remains scarce for those interested in studying, understanding, or minimizing the ecological effects of roads and vehicles.

Road Ecology addresses that shortcoming by elevating previously localized and fragmented knowledge into a broad and inclusive framework for understanding and developing solutions.

Future Drive

Electric Vehicles And Sustainable Transportation

In Future Drive, Daniel Sperling addresses the adverse energy and environmental consequences of increased travel, and analyzes current initiatives to suggest strategies for creating a more environmentally benign system of transportation. Groundbreaking proposals are constructed around the idea of electric propulsion as the key to a sustainable transportation and energy system.