Message from the President: Jae Hong Lee

It is a great honor and privilege to serve as President of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. IEEE VTS has been my home society for nearly thirty years. I have witnessed great things that VTS has accomplished during this period, and my focus will be for VTS to further develop its good tradition with efforts in areas needing improvement.

The past two years have been extraordinarily difficult for everyone. The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we live, work and travel. In 2022 we hope to see the light at end of the tunnel, where normal lives and human relationships are restored, and even improved, with the development of new technologies.

Personal Background

After receiving my PhD degree from the University of Michigan, I was with AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, analyzing the performance of CDMA. Then I joined Seoul National University (SNU), Korea as a professor, and served as Vice President of University Council, Member of University Senate, Head of EECS Department, and Director of the Institute of New Media and Communications.

Currently, I am a Professor Emeritus at SNU, with specialty areas in physical-layer wireless communications and their applications to 5G wireless. I am a Member of the Advisory Council of 5G Forum in Korea. I served as Chairman of Committee for Coordination of 3G Wireless Communication Technology Development in Korea, and was Principal Investigator in Communications for Korea’s ITS Grand Design Project. My laboratory at SNU was designated as a National Leading Research Laboratory by the Ministry of Education and Science of Korea.

I have published over 360 peer-reviewed papers, and I hold forty-two patents including ten U.S. patents. I served as President of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea, and as President of the Korean Society of Broadcast Engineers. I am an IEEE Fellow, Fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, and Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea.

For VTS, I have been an elected member of Board of Governors for all but one year since 2006, and have served as VP—Mobile Radio (2016-2021), President (2010-11), and Executive Vice President (2007-9); served as a member of Distinguished Lecturer Program Committee (2013-16), Fellow Evaluation Committee (2013-15), and Conference Committee (2006-present); and served as Asia Pacific Chapter Development Coordinator (2004-9) and Founding Chair of the VTS Seoul Chapter (1994-2003).

My efforts within VTS include the creation of IEEE Wireless Africa, the first VTS conference series in Africa, and the IEEE VTS Asia Pacific Wireless Communications Symposium, and serving as General Chair of IEEE VTC2003-Spring. I served as a VTS Distinguished Speaker (2015-21) and a VTS Distinguished Lecturer (2011-15).

Society Activities

Over the past decade the role and stature of VTS have grown very rapidly with the advent of 5G, 6G, electric and connected vehicles, autonomous driving, smart land transportation and urban air mobility.

Publications, Conferences, and Standards

The IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology and the IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine attract more quality papers and interesting articles each year, such that their impact factors have increased for several years in a row. The new IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology is expected to follow suit.

VTS also publishes journals in collaboration with other IEEE societies. VTS conferences, including VTC and VPPC, provide participants with a solid platform to exchange new ideas and knowledge, and we hope these conferences can be held in person very soon.

Our Society is a leader in the development of technologies and standards required for many new products and services, and has been deeply involved in the IEEE 5G initiative, IEEE IoT Initiative, IEEE Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Initiative, and IEEE Public Safety Initiative.

Career Development and Student Programs

VTS supports services and activities specifically designed for members’ career development. Having one of the largest Distinguished Lecturer programs in IEEE, VTS provides its local chapters with presentations by renowned experts on interesting and important topics.

We also support summer schools to educate students, and student challenges to improve the performance of products and services. These services and activities exist as a result of the hard work of our volunteers and the growing network of over 50 VTS chapters spread around the world.

Online Education

VTS members enjoy access to a wide range of comprehensive training videos and presentations by leading industry experts—including keynote and panel presentations at VTS’ events, recordings of Distinguished Lectures, and educational video modules—via the VTS Resource Center.

Continuing Success

I will ensure that the VTS success story continues to expand both in its international technical relevance and in the experience of its members. I believe VTS needs more diversity in the portfolio of members as well as participants and volunteers involved in its activities.

I am accompanied by the VTS Board of Governors, an outstanding group of talented researchers and experts from academia and industry worldwide. It is an honor to work with such dedicated volunteers, including:

Weihua Zhuang, Executive Vice President

Nick Kirsch, Vice President—Finance

JR Cruz, Vice President—Conferences

James Irvine, Vice President—Publications

Neeli Prasad, Vice President—Membership Development

Gerhard Bauch, Vice President—Mobile Radio

David Thurston, Vice President—Land Transportation

Loïc Boulon, Vice President—Motor Vehicles

Oliver Holland, Vice President—Standards

Abbas Jamalipour, Treasurer

Fabrice Labeau, Secretary

I am excited to serve VTS and its members with our team of VTS volunteers in the coming year. Vehicular technology has changed significantly over the past few years; we believe it is our duty to provide our members with cutting-edge services and products that they need to advance their professional careers.

If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, or comments on how VTS can better serve you and the rest of its members, please contact me at (Click to show email).

Wishing you all a safe and prosperous Happy New Year 2022!