The University of California, Riverside today announced its intent to develop a new integrated research program, to investigate the economic, environmental and social implications of evolving automobiles, fuels and transportation, and power generation trends.

Coordinated by the Bourns College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), this study will be the first of its kind. It will compare the broad impacts of conventional automotive and energy systems with potential alternatives, drawing together scholars from such diverse disciplines as engineering, sociology, economics, and environmental technology.

The program will be a follow-up to CE-CERT's Program for the Study of Extremely Low Emission Vehicles (SELEV), a three-year effort that will be complete in mid-2003. SELEV is designed to quantify the environmental impact of California's evolving fleet of cars, an increasing proportion of which yield very few emissions. The new study will also incorporate portions of other programs at CE-CERT that involve studies of emissions and analysis of their environmental impacts.

ChevronTexaco North America Products is making a $25,000 donation to CE-CERT to help develop the ultimate shape of the integrated research program. Based in San Ramon, Calif., ChevronTexaco North America Products is also a SELEV sponsor.

CE-CERT has long emphasized a "systems approach" to studying environmental issues. This means bringing together researchers from a variety of disciplines to examine the benefits, disadvantages, and broader impacts of new technologies or environmental strategies. In the new program, this approach will be expanded further, eventually leading to comprehensive studies on what future transportation technologies might mean to air and water quality, land use, the economy, and quality of life for California citizens.

CE-CERT expects to develop a detailed framework for the new program in late 2002 and early 2003 and to begin the program in 2003.

The University of California, Riverside offers undergraduate and graduate education to nearly 15,000 students and has a projected enrollment of 21,000 students by 2010. It is the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse campus of the preeminent ten-campus University of California system, the largest public research university system in the world. The picturesque 1,200-acre campus is located at the foot of the Box Springs Mountains near downtown Riverside in Southern California.

More information about UC Riverside is available by calling 909-787-5185.