In hindsight, Dan Sperling probably should have waited until
he had tenure to testify against methanol fuel. A naive young
engineering faculty member at UC Davis at the time, he didn't
appreciate the risk of speaking out against a fuel that had gained the
blessing of powerful state and federal leaders. But Sperling knew that
the benefits of methanol were being exaggerated and felt obligated to
speak out.Because of his testimony, he says he was denied years of potential funding from an influential government agency. But others, impressed by his integrity and expertise (and pursuing their own self-interests), volunteered to support his research projects.
Since then, Sperling has become recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on alternative transportation energy. Because of his effective commitment to cleaner fuels and vehicle technologies, UC Davis colleagues honored him last week with a 1996 Distinguished Public Service Award from the Academic Senate.
Sperling believes UC professors have a unique status and special responsibility to advocate in the public interest--because of their scholarly expertise, public funding and tenured job security--even when doing so is unpopular or professionally risky. He has actively sought to inform and positively influence public policy by widely sharing his research findings at scientific conferences, public hearings and industry meetings.
Sperling's contributions to public service have been closely linked to his success as a researcher and to his effective leadership of a multidisciplinary research team, the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies.
He is widely credited as one of a handful of individuals most responsible for sustaining California's highly contentious "zero-emission vehicle" mandate. Originally requiring a small percentage of electric cars to be offered by major auto makers beginning in 1998, the state mandate is likely to be softened late this month as a result of vigorous opposition by the auto and oil industries. That it is not being eliminated altogether is partly due to Sperling's effective sharing of his research team's findings. The most influential study has proved to be one testing--and refuting--industry claims that consumers would not purchase "limited-range" vehicles.
Sperling has been effective at influencing public policy--making himself available to radio, newspaper and television media, writing opinion and editorial pieces for popular media and longer articles for magazines and newsletters, as well as advising high-level government, industry and nonprofit leaders.
In an innovative means of influencing public policy, he created a fellowship program that allows environmental advocates to spend short sabbaticals at UC Davis to learn more about energy and transportation issues. His academic appointment is shared among the civil and environmental engineering department, the environmental studies division and the Institute of Transportation Studies.
