UC Davis experts: Transportation and fuel prices and supply

Higher gasoline prices at the pump, energy-supply insecurities abroad and other transportation fuel problems are all in the news. The following UC Davis faculty can help you tell your stories.

• What the public is hearing
• Travel behavior
• Economics of transportation
• Transportation and planning
• Oil geology and future finds

What the public is hearing

John Theobald, a lecturer in communication, can talk about energy issues in the news. He can also discuss the politics that print and broadcast media encounter in attempting to communicate transportation fuel news to the public. Theobald is founder of the UC Oil Forum, an annual conference created to explore the issues of oil and gas production. In addition to classes about science in the news, Theobald teaches "The Media Industry," "Media Analysis" and "News Policies and Practices." Theobald is a former television news producer. Contact: John Theobald, Communication, (707) 322-6340 cell, theobald@att.net.

Travel behavior

Patricia Mokhtarian, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, studies the impacts of information and communication technologies (specifically including telecommuting and internet shopping, but more broadly as well) on transportation and related areas; attitudes toward travel in general and commuting in particular; travelers' strategic responses to traffic congestion; and residential choice and the impact of residential location on travel behavior. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board committees on Telecommunications and Travel Behavior, and on Traveler Behavior and Values, and serves on the editorial boards of the Transportation Research Part A and Transportation journals. Contact: Patricia Mokhtarian, Civil and Environmental Engineering, (530) 752-7062, plmokhtarian@ucdavis.edu.

Economics of transportation

UC Davis economist Christopher Knittel can talk about transportation economics, especially how the various markets related to transportation function. A specialist in the economics of industrial organization, Knittel teaches about the various transportation industries: automobile, airline and oil. He also can explain the dynamics between demand for various autos and government regulation of the industry and how consumers make decisions on cars with better mileage when gasoline prices skyrocket. "One good bit of news," Knittel says, "is that the futures markets are predicting the price of gas will fall, and those traders are often the best at predicting future movements in commodity prices." Contact: Christopher Knittel, Economics, (530) 302-1032, crknittel@ucdavis.edu.

Transportation and planning

Susan Handy, an associate professor in environmental science and policy, studies the relationship between neighborhood design and travel behavior; non-work travel behavior; automobile dependence; and transportation planning practice. She is a member of the Committee on Transportation and Land Development and the Committee on Women's Transportation Issues of the Transportation Research Board. Contact: Susan Handy, Environmental Science and Policy, (530) 752-5878, slhandy@ucdavis.edu.

Oil geology and future finds

UC Davis geologist David Osleger, who studies the types of rocks where oil and gas deposits are found, can talk about how those deposits are formed and why some are easier to extract than others. He says it is very unlikely that major oil fields remain to be explored. The last "supergiant" field was found about 20 years ago. Earlier in his career, Osleger worked as a geologist for the Gulf Oil Corp. and also at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas. Contact: David Osleger, Geology, (530) 754-7824, osleger@geology.ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts:

• Sylvia Wright, News Service, (530) 752-7704, swright@ucdavis.edu
• Andy Fell, News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu
• Claudia Morain (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu

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