This is very sad news for the world of travel behavior research.

Invitation to Symposium Celebrating the Life and Work of Ryuichi Kitamura

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

We were all grieved at the untimely passing of Ryuichi Kitamura in February, and continue to mourn the loss, not only of a brilliant and creative scholar, but a generous mentor and treasured friend. The University of California at Davis (where he spent the first 15 years of his professorial career) and Kyoto University (where he spent the second 15+ years) are joining together to sponsor a symposium in Ryuichi’s honor, aptly titled “The Joy of the Journey: Celebrating the Life and Work of Ryuichi Kitamura”. The planning committee hopes you can join the symposium gathering on this poignant occasion.

This symposium will be held June 29-30, 2009, on the UC Davis campus. There will be a reception the evening of June 28, and an optional excursion is planned to Napa Valley on July 1. The symposium itself will fill both days of June 29-30, with a banquet on the night of June 30 at which Ryuichi’s family will be present. The banquet will feature an “open microphone” period during which attendees will have an opportunity to share stories of Ryuichi, recount memories, offer condolences to the family, and speak of his influence on their work and the profession at large.

Complete details about the symposium, including the program/agenda, online registration procedures, and hotel accommodation information, are now available at the website that UC Davis has established for this symposium and to commemorate Ryuichi. Please check the website frequently for updates and further information.

Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you in Davis to celebrate the life and work of Ryuichi Kitamura.

Sincerely,
Planning Committee:
Patricia Mokhtarian, UC Davis, Chair,
Cynthia Chen, City College of New York,
Satoshi Fujii, Kyoto University,
Kostas Goulias, University of California, Santa Barbara,
Akira Kikuchi, Kyoto University,
Hani Mahmassani, Northwestern University,
Ram Pendyala, Arizona State University,
Owen Waygood, Kyoto University,
Toshiyuki Yamamoto, Nagoya University,
Toshio Yoshii, Kyoto University,