Darden, UVA Examine Future of Disruptive Car Technologies

The Darden School and the University of Virginia are etching out leading roles advancing knowledge about where the rapidly changing automobile industry is heading in the future. Driven by a wave of disruptive technologies, the industry is being reshaped with the emergence of zero-carbon emission vehicles, connected “smart” cars and even autonomous vehicles (often described as driverless cars).

On Sept. 30, UVA hosted a daylong symposium at Darden’s Abbott Auditorium exploring the impacts of the coming driverless car age on Charlottesville and other small to mid-sized cities. The event — The Driverless Future: Asking the Big Questions — brought together leaders such as Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Virginia Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson, Perrone Robotics Inc. CEO Paul Perrone, executives from Lyft and Uber, and others.

UVA also produced a video highlighting driverless car research and innovations being led by faculty across Grounds (see above), and Darden Professors Ed Freeman and Bobby Parmar considered the ethical implications of the technology in a recent case.

Professor Mike Lenox is leading an effort through Darden’s Business Innovation and Climate Change Initiative to produce a series of reports evaluating the potential to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation, electricity generation and industrial sectors. The first of the reports — Path to 2060: The Decarbonization of the Automobile Industry — will be released this fall along with a podcast discussion led by Lenox.