Dear ISTVS Colleagues and Friends,
On behalf of the ISTVS, the Board of Directors, and myself, I want to thank all of you for your hard work for our society during the past year. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Hiroshi Nakashima, who led our society as President from 2017 to 2020. He is an inspiration to me and I look forward to continuing his work and taking our society to new levels.
I want to also thank all the past ISTVS officers who retired after serving our society for many years, and to welcome the new officers. I look forward to working with all of you. I would like to address special thanks also to Prof. Vladimir Vantsevich and Dr. David Gorsich, co-Editors-in-Chief of the Journal of Terramechanics, for the high quality of the papers published and the increase in the impact factor of the journal (2.043 for 2019). Furthermore, I also want to thank Dr. Lutz Richter for his sustained efforts that resulted in ISTVS becoming an affiliate member of FISITA and several of our members being elected on FISITA committees.
The year 2020 has been a difficult year for everybody due to the Covid-19 virus and all the worries, restrictions, and changes that we saw this year in the workplace and, in general, around the world. For ISTVS, this year we also mourned the passing away of two of our dear friends and long-term members: Prof. Ing. Alexandr Grečenko, Dr.Sc. (June 15, 1930–January 15, 2020), ISTVS Fellow, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helmut Schwanghart (March 20, 1937–July 2, 2020), ISTVS Fellow and ISTVS President (1999–2002).
Prof. Jozsef Kovecses worked hard on the 20th ISTVS International and the 9th Americas Regional Conference, which was supposed to have taken place this year in Montreal in September, and we thank him for all of his efforts. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, the conference had to be postponed. We are now looking forward to seeing everyone in person at the conference in Montreal, Canada, in September 2021!
As our Board of Directors annual meeting used to take place at the conference, once the conference has been postponed, we decided to hold the meeting online in late August. It was a very productive meeting and it was good to see our Board members online. I deeply appreciate everyone’s time and efforts to attend, in spite of the unusual hours in several countries due to the different time zones.
For 2021 I would like to continue to engage with our regional and national leaders throughout the year, not only during the annual meeting. Thus, we started with a meeting of the Americas region in mid-December, followed by another Board of Directors meeting to discuss issues related to the Journal of Terramechanics. I look forward to talking with our colleagues from the other regions in the new year.
My objectives for the tenure of my presidency of ISTVS are to increase the membership, to expend the outreach of our collective research and expertise, to strengthen and revitalize the society, and to solidify our relations with FISITA. I feel honored to serve you and our ISTVS society and I commit on doing it to the best of my abilities, with support from all of you.
I want to wish everyone health, first and foremost! May 2021 bring you and your families joy, happiness, prosperity, and good luck!
Happy New Year!
Yours,
Prof. Corina Sandu
President ISTVS