David Greene with his “hyperdrive” BMW i3 electric car, pictured for an article about electric vehicles in Southern Automotive Alliance.
CEE Research Professor David Greene, who is also a senior fellow of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, will serve as a senior research engineer to advise the administrator of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). This role will allow him to collaborate with NHTSA officials to further the organization’s objectives by providing technical and policy expertise and counsel.
“We are thrilled that David is able to lend his expertise to help advise at the highest level of transportation policy to enhance fuel efficiency,” said Department Head Chris Cox. “He is uniquely qualified for this post as his decades of research and publications demonstrate.”
The main objective of his position is to help the acting administrator and other political leaders with the implementation of Executive Order 13990, which calls for establishing ambitious new fuel economy standards. Greene will remain a member of UT’s faculty while serving a one-year detail to NHTSA under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, which allows the federal government to access individuals with special expertise at universities and other eligible organizations.
In addition, he will serve as liaison between NHTSA leadership and relevant program and mission support offices, including the Office of Rulemaking, the Office of Chief Counsel, and the Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation. He will use his policy expertise in evaluating modeling inputs and assumptions, assessing regulatory options for fuel economy standards, and coordinating interagency work with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Greene is the author of 300 professional publications, including more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 12 reports of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), including many publications that address the automotive fuel economy and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. He has also served on all five NASEM committees evaluating the fuel economy standards.
“I’m looking forward to helping NHTSA create safe, ambitious, and effective fuel economy standards that will save consumers’ money, strengthen our economy, and protect our environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Greene said.