Bart Van Arem, Eric Sampson named as new chairs of Int'l Co-operation WG

Creation date: 05 November 2007

eSafety Forum Working Group gains double expertise to lead its activities.

Two professors, Bart Van Arem of TNO and Eric Sampson of the University of Newcastle, have been appointed as the two new co-chairs of the eSafety Forum’s International Co-operation Working Group. The chair post had been vacant since the beginning of 2007.

Professor Dr Van Arem has worked as a researcher at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO since 1992, with the main working area of ITS. He is program manager of TNO’s research program on traffic, transport and logistics and been active in a number of national and international research projects. Since 2003, he has also taught at the University of Twente (the Netherlands) in the area of integrated driver assistance. Dr Van Arem is a member of various committees and task forces related to ITS. No stranger to eSafety Forum activities, he is also a member of the eSafety Forum’s RTD Working Group.

Before becoming professor at the University of Newcastle, Eric Sampson had a long career with the UK Department for Transport, where he headed the Transport Technology and Standards Division. Professor Sampson was instrumental in setting up ITS United Kingdom, the first national ITS association to be set up in Europe, where he now serves as chairman. Well-known to the ITS community, Professor Sampson also served as ERTICO chairman (1994-1995) and has been active in the ITS World Congresses, especially the organisation of the London ITS World Congress in 2006.

The International Co-operation Working Group, established in 2003, carries out priority-defining work to focus cooperation on eSafety issues of international importance. It contributes to the setting up of international workshops on selected topics, as well as expert meetings and fact finding visits/tours. Its first working meeting of 2007 will take place after the eSafety Deployment Workshop on 14 November in Brussels.

For more information, please contact info@esafetysupport.org