UC Davis Transportation Expert Wins Award

University of California Davis professor Dan Sperling, who in 1991 founded the Institute of Transportation Studies at the university, is one of 10 recipients of this year’s Heinz Award.

This year’s awards recognized innovative and inspiring individuals whose work has addressed environmental challenges. Each award recipient receives $100,000.

The winners of the 16th annual awards were announced Tuesday by Teresa Heinz and the Heinz Family Foundation.

“We’re living in a time of unprecedented global change,” Teresa Heinz, chairwoman of the Heinz Family Foundation, said in a news release. “Our planet is facing rising temperatures and our communities are affected by toxic chemicals that weren’t on the market a hundred years ago. We’re recognizing innovators who are tackling some of the most vexing problems facing our planet.”

The Pittsburgh-based foundation has presented the awards since 1994 in memory of Sen. John Heinz III, heir to the Heinz food fortune.

A professor of civil and environmental engineering and environmental science and policy, Sperling was recognized for advancing sustainable transportation policies and accelerating the transition to low-carbon alternative fuels nationwide. He was instrumental in the passage of California’s groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the first major regulation built on the concept of measuring greenhouse gases over a product or fuel’s lifecycle, from production to end use.


His most recent book, “Two Billion Cars”, has received international acclaim. The book “demonstrates his ability to communicate complex topics in a way that touches people and moves them to action,” a release from the Heinz foundation states.