Tetsuo Yai
Dear Distinguished Members of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies,
I am honored to be the 6th President of EASTS. Our society and I am humbled by thinking of the vastness of our former five presidents, Dr. Hideo Nakamura, Dr. Primitivo C. Cal, Dr. Shigeru Morichi, Dr. Kyung Soo Chon, and Dr. Cheng-Min Feng. I have learnt a lot from them to work towards bettering society.
In the past four years of EASTS, I notably appreciate the former President Prof. Cheng-Min Feng, for his steady and balanced chairmanship in our society. Under his presidency, we celebrated our 20th anniversary in Tokyo, Japan in 2014 and in Cebu, Philippines in 2015.
Our society has already entered the next 20 years and we are ready to create the next chapter of our history. Without the magnificent contributions by the Board and ISC and dedicated management by our Secretariat, we might not be able to provide successful progress to society. I am dearly grateful to all of them. In addition, a supportive mindset of every member of EASTS is very much appreciated and such a mindset is necessary to make the society firm and sustainable for the future.
As the new President of EASTS, I will take the same responsibility as those who have come before me. I have worked with former presidents and the Secretariat for 15 years as the Secretary General. I believe that continuity and stability are still important actions for society to foster young researchers and improve the quality of researches in the corresponding region though the questions for revision and many challenges are always present.
As a matter of fact, we proposed the enhancement of linkages among education, research and practice at the 20th Anniversary Symposium in 2014. As a part of those linkages, development of a common training program and a continuous education program, networking with other organizations, Asian standard for planning and designing, and promotion of more practical research activities were highlighted as our preferable direction.
EASTS has been facilitating better linkages among domestic member societies as well as individual researchers for a long time. I feel we are continually molding the culture of our society. In the culture, we are always “friendly and warmhearted” to younger researchers. I would surely like to work to esteem this culture by stimulating the exchange of those researchers and that of knowledge and ideas in society.
EASTS has contributed significantly in the region and EASTS could be a more essential key player throughout the world. I believe EASTS has significant potential and will thrive more with your continuous support and contribution.
Once again, your continuous support to our society is greatly appreciated.
Tetsuo Yai, Dr.
President of EASTS