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David Friedman
Research Director
Clean Vehicles Program

Statement
"The fuel economy of our cars and trucks is stuck 20 years in the past. The technology to improve fuel economy is already on the shelf, but automakers clearly aren't giving consumers the choices they deserve."

Expertise
conventional automobile technology
hybrid and electric vehicles
hydrogen and fuel cell technology

Profile
Mr. Friedman is the author or co-author of more than 30 technical papers and reports in the areas of advancements in conventional, fuel cell, and hybrid electric vehicles, with an emphasis on clean and efficient technologies. His most recent 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 and fuel-efficient fleet of cars and trucks. David is currently a member of the Committee for the National Tire Efficiency Study with the National Academies Transportation Research Board.

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, Mr. Friedman also worked on the UC Davis FutureCar team to build a hybrid electric family car that doubled its fuel economy. He previously worked at Arthur D. Little researching fuel cell, battery electric, and hybrid electric vehicle technologies, as well as photovoltaics.

A native of Rhode Island, David 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 (2005). For his dissertation, David conducted a systems-based analysis on fuel cell vehicle fuel economy maximization, through simulating and optimizing the interaction of fuel cell stack and subsystem components.

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