The National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) of the University of the Philippines Diliman has a new Director. Dr Ma. Sheilah G. Napalang of the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) succeeds Dr Hilario Sean O. Palmiano of the College of Engineering. Dr Napalang becomes the 5th Director of the NCTS since the latter’s transformation from the Transport Training Center (TTC) in the early 1990s, not counting the two OICs over that period.

Dr. Napalang receives the symbolic key from Dr Palmiano

Dr Napalang was a former top senior technical staff of the NCTS before she joined the faculty of SURP after a short stint at the Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT) of the same university. Prior to joining UP, she was a faculty member and former Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering of Xavier University in Cagayan De Oro City in Mindanao. Dr Napalang obtained her B.S. Civil Engineering degree at Xavier University, her master’s at Virginia Tech in the US, and her doctorate at Tokyo Tech in Japan. She has done work on sustainable transport and the viability of transport systems. She has also contributed to the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and the formulation of the National Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Strategy. Her most recent publications are:

• Challenges of Urban Transport Development in Metro Manila: A look back at the last 40 years (lead author)
• State of Pavement Engineering in the Philippines and Implications on the Economic Life of National Roads (lead author)

These papers were presented at the recent 11th International Conference of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) held in Cebu City last September 2015.

Congratulations to Dr. Napalang for her new appointment, and thank you to Dr. Palmiano for his contributions as NCTS Director!

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