Mike Smitka
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consulting |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Location | Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States |
| Introduction | Professor Emeritus of Economics, Washington and Lee University. Over my career I've worked on 3 areas: the Japanese and Chinese economy, and the automotive industry. I read/write/speak Japanese, with 7 years in Tokyo and addition time in a Japanese company. But as interest in Japan waned, I turned my research efforts towards the global auto industry. I also taught a course on the Chinese economy for 30 years, and can now (at last) read. I'm on the Steering Committee for the global GERPISA academic research committee and have been a judge of the Automotive News PACE supplier innovation award for the past 25 years. |
| Interests | auto industry, automotive suppliers, technical change, japan, china |
| Favorite music | I enjoy singing in choirs. My musical interests are eclectic, but lean towards anything vocal. |
| Favorite books | Over the years I've read several hundred science fiction novels, but also like the Japanese business novel genre, which I read in Japanese. I also read history and (of course) things automotive. Currently I'm working on engineering texts - deep learning, electric vehicle architecture, autonomous vehicles, and materials science. |