The 24th International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (ISTTT24), jointly organized by Beihang University, Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU), and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was convened at the Vision International Cultural Exchange Center, Beihang University from July 24 to 26. The symposium has held in a combination of online and offline, attracting nearly 300 experts, scholars, and researchers from 16 countries and regions.
ISTTT is recognized as the highest level conference in the field of transportation and traffic. It was initiated by 14 famous scholars, including Prof. Robert Herman, one of the proposers of the Big Bang theory, and Professor Ilya Prigogine, a Nobel Prize winner. Since its inception in Michigan, the United States in 1959, ISTTT has been held 23 times worldwide. And the conference this year is for the first time in history held in Chinese mainland.
The ISTTT24 has received 316 contributions at home and abroad, among which 47 are published in Transportation Research Part B, Transportation Research Part C, and Transportation Research Part E, three top international academic journals in the field of transportation. After reviewing for several rounds, 33 papers were selected as reports to be presented and 19 as posters to be displayed during the three-day conference. The symposium consisted of the opening speech, conference reports, poster displays, and the closing ceremony, and broadcasted worldwide through live-streaming platforms such as Bilibili and Youtube.
The opening ceremony kicked off on the morning of July 24 with Prof. Huang Haijun from Beihang University, delivering a speech on behalf of the organizers and the university. Prof. Yang Hai from HKUST and Prof. Gao Ziyou from BJYU also delivered speeches as co-chairmen. Following that, the convenor of the International Advisory Board of ISTTT, Prof. Lin Xingqiang from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) delivered a welcome speech and announced the next convenor of the conference is Prof. Hani Mahmassani from Northwestern University, a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
In the following days, experts and scholars attending the conference gave their presentations and reports on the topics related to transportation and traffic. Besides, the symposium also had sessions where participants asked questions and exchanged ideas. Due to the pandemic, the poster display was changed to a 10-minute video presentation.
On the evening of July 26, the symposium was closed as Prof. Hani Mahmassani delivered speeches to extend his thanks to the organizers, working staff, and participants and expressed the best wishes for the next ISTTT to be held in two years. Prof. Huang Haijun delivered the closing speech on behalf of the organizing committee, summarizing the conference and welcoming friends from all over the world to come to China again for further carrying out academic exchange and cooperation.
ISTTT24 has brought the top conference in the field of international transportation and traffic to China, providing a platform for experts, scholars, and researchers at home and abroad to exchange ideas on the frontier research of transportation and traffic. The symposium has actively prompted the academic exchange between both domestic and foreign scholars, triggering a positive influence around the world with the live streaming audience hitting over 22,000.
Reviewed by Li Jianwei
Edited by JiaoYujia
Translated by Li Yifan
