I have to emphasize that SPIE's approach in cooperating with people has been very open, not only within SPIE, but also with the optical societies in Europe, for instance. So SPIE is a pioneering society in building networks and extending the services and the activities of the Society internationally. I've always thought SPIE's heart has been in the right place, but in addition, the business atmosphere has changed considerably in the past 15 years to open itself up to that cooperation rather than seeing itself as purely competitive. That's an important part of it. And we have to realize that this kind of work should continue long after my term as SPIE President.
Relationships have to be built over time.
You can't just come in and then go and think you're done. This is not the way it works. You have to stay with it. What about the Far East. I do have similar goals to the ones for Europe because SPIE has started several initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, and these initiatives have to be followed up.