Experts
David Friedman
Research Director, Clean VehiclesExpertise
Clean Vehicles-Advanced TechnologiesClean Vehicles-Biofuels
Clean Vehicles-Fuel Efficiency
Clean Vehicles-Policy
Profile
David Friedman is the research director of the Clean Vehicles Program and is the author or co-author of more than 30 technical papers and reports on advancements in conventional, fuel cell, and hybrid electric vehicles, with an emphasis on clean and efficient technologies. His work includes: A New Road: The Technology and Potential of Hybrid Vehicles; Building a Better SUV: A Blueprint for Saving Lives, Money, and Gasoline; and (as lead author) Drilling in Detroit: Tapping Automaker Ingenuity to Build Safe and Efficient Automobiles, a comprehensive assessment of the technical and economic potential of achieving a safe, fuel-efficient fleet of cars and trucks. Mr. Friedman is currently a member of the Committee on the Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light-Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy with the National Academies Board on Energy and Environmental Systems.
Before joining UCS in 2001, Mr. Friedman worked for the University of California-Davis in the Fuel Cell Vehicle Modeling Program, developing simulation tools to evaluate fuel cell technology for automotive applications. At UC Davis, he also worked on the UC Davis Future Car Team to build a hybrid electric family car that doubled its fuel economy. He previously worked at the Arthur D. Little management consulting firm researching fuel cell, battery electric, and hybrid electric vehicle technologies, as well as photovoltaics.
Mr. Friedman earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1993. He is currently finishing his doctoral dissertation on transportation technology and policy at UC Davis. For his dissertation, he conducted a systems-based analysis on fuel cell vehicle fuel economy maximization by simulating and optimizing the interaction of fuel cell stack and subsystem components.
Mr. Friedman has been cited by the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, and has been interviewed on CNBC and CNN. In 2008, Washingtonian magazine profiled him as one of "30 people changing the environment in Washington."
