Blue Planet Prize Story

His parents valued education. Although they were not wealthy, they sent their children to university; and as a result, all of their children became active in their respective fields. Daniel became a professor, while his brothers and sister became a U.S. government employee, a university staff member, and a lawyer, respectively. His parents taught them the importance of learning and instilled in them a sense of responsibility.

Daniel entered Cornel University in 1969 to study urban planning and systems analysis. Urban planning focuses on how to best develop cities, while systems analysis involves investigating the complex structures of the world and the cities within it. These were areas that he was eager to understand.

“The structures of the world and the cities within it” can be challenging to fully understand, so let’s think of them in terms of things that are familiar to us.

When people begin moving into an area, that area will eventually grows into a city. As the population increases to a certain threshold, a community is formed, and cooperative and economic activities (businesses) emerge. Furthermore, through the birth of ideas and creative activities of the city's residents, technologies and structures are developed to make urban life more convenient. For example, vehicles and roads are technologies that enhance convenience, while traffic rules create a structure to ensure that convenience does not lead to chaos. In other words, a functioning city is a system built on the interrelationships among people, society, technologies, and structures.

This is why Professor Sperling decided to study the design of urban systems.

His intellectual curiosity grew as he explored a broader world, which was new to him. However, he still felt that his experiences were limited and sought to gain a broader perspective on the world.

To pursue his goal, he decided to work in the Central American nation of Honduras, which faced extreme poverty and severe challenges. There, he was involved in urban planning. However, designing environmentally friendly urban transportation systems that met citizens' needs while operating within the government's limited budget proved to be a formidable challenge. In this context, urban transportation refers to systems that enable people to move around the city via vehicles, trains, and by other means.

After two years, he returned to the United States and joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he worked on issues related to the environment and urban transportation. Urban transportation is closely linked to the environmental concerns, as vehicle emissions are a primary contributor to air pollution. At the EPA, he initially focused on finding solutions to water pollution. However, there were few experts with advanced knowledge and experience in pollution studies, and Professor Sperling felt that he lacked the expertise needed to address these complex problems. This realization led him to pursue further studies at graduate school.

He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, to study economics, energy, the environment, and urban transportation, with the hope of contributing to society after graduation. Later, he learned that the University of California, Davis, was seeking a faculty member specializing in transportation, energy, and the environment. Thinking immediately, This is it! Davis has the job I've been looking for, he applied for the position and was hired. The role perfectly aligned with his studies, which focused on alternatives to petroleum. Although he had never considered becoming a teacher, he soon discovered a deep passion for both teaching and research. He has now been teaching for more than 40 years.

Let's take a closer look at what he has studied and accomplished.

2. Research and Practice