Dr John de Pont has been elected new President of the International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT).
Dr de Pont was appointed to the new role at a Board meeting held last month at the HVTT13 conference in San Luis, Argentina. Prior to that, he had been serving as IFRTT Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific Region since 2006 and as Treasurer since 2000.
Dr de Pont obtained his BSc, BE (Hons) and ME degrees from the University of Auckland and a PhD from Cambridge University. He can draw on more than 37 years of research experience, with the last 25 years being in the field of transport, and currently serves as Director of Engineering Research at TERNZ in Auckland, New Zealand.
“I have known John since the 4th International Symposium held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1995, and have no doubt that he will serve the IFRTT as President with commitment, enthusiasm and wisdom,” commented Paul Nordengen, IFRTT Vice-President Africa.
“John has attended 12 of the 13 IFRTT heavy vehicle conferences, missing only the first one in Kelowna, Canada, in 1986. Congratulations John and we wish you well during your term as President.”
The Board also approved that the next IFRTT conference, HVTT14, will be held in New Zealand in 2016.