 Logo since April 2, 2018 [1] | |
| Formation | 1929 |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional association |
| Website | Official website |
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary organization of about 7500 members and attracts the interest, commitment, and service of many professionals. [2]
In the summer of 1928, [3] Floyd R. Watson and Wallace Waterfall [4] (1900–1974), [5] a former doctoral student of Watson, were invited by UCLA's Vern Oliver Knudsen to an evening dinner at Knudsen's beach club [4] in Santa Monica. [3] The three physicists decided to form a society of acoustical engineers interested in architectural acoustics. In the early part of December 1928, Wallace Waterfall sent letters to sixteen people inquiring about the possibility of organizing such a society. Harvey Fletcher offered the use of the Bell Telephone Laboratories at 463 West Street in Manhattan as a meeting place for an organizational, initial meeting to be held on December 27, 1928. The meeting was attended by forty scientists and engineers who started the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Temporary officers were elected: Harvey Fletcher as president, V. O. Knudsen as vice-president, Wallace Waterfall as secretary, and Charles Fuller Stoddard (1876–1958) as treasurer. [4] [6] [7] A constitution and by-laws were drafted. The first issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America was published in October 1929. [4]
The Society has 13 technical committees that represent specialized interests in the field of acoustics. The committees organize technical sessions at conferences and are responsible for the representation of their sub-field in ASA publications. [8] The committees include:
The first meeting was attended by forty scientists and engineers who started the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). [4] [9] [10] Some of those members include:
The Acoustical Society of America publishes a wide variety of material related to the knowledge and practical application of acoustics in physics, engineering, architecture, noise, oceanography, biology, speech and hearing, psychology and music.
In 2021, the ASA Publications' Office began producing Across Acoustics, a podcast to highlight authors' research from these four publications. [11]
The ASA presents awards and prizes to individuals for contributions to the field of Acoustics. [12] These include:
Most technical committees also sponsor awards for best student or early career presenter at each conference.
The ASA offers membership and conference attendance to students at a substantially reduced rate. Conference attendance is further promoted by travel subsidies and formal and informal student meetings and social activities. The ASA also expanded services to students in 2004 by introducing regional student chapters.
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics technology may be called an acoustical engineer. The application of acoustics is present in almost all aspects of modern society with the most obvious being the audio and noise control industries.
Acoustical engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typically concerned with the design, analysis and control of sound.
Architectural acoustics is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a building and is a branch of acoustical engineering. The first application of modern scientific methods to architectural acoustics was carried out by the American physicist Wallace Sabine in the Fogg Museum lecture room. He applied his newfound knowledge to the design of Symphony Hall, Boston.
Leo Leroy Beranek was an American acoustics expert, former MIT professor, and a founder and former president of Bolt, Beranek and Newman. He authored Acoustics, considered a classic textbook in this field, and its updated and extended version published in 2012 under the title Acoustics: Sound Fields and Transducers. He was also an expert in the design and evaluation of concert halls and opera houses, and authored the classic textbook Music, Acoustics, and Architecture, revised and extended in 2004 under the title Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture.
Vern Oliver Knudsen was an American acoustical physicist.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of acoustics. It is published by the Acoustical Society of America and the editor-in-chief is James F. Lynch. JASA contains news items, book reviews, references to contemporary papers, reviews of acoustical patents, and standards news.
The Institute of Acoustics (IOA) is a British professional engineering institution founded in 1974. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers. The institute's address is Silbury Court, 406 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2AF, United Kingdom. The current president of the IOA is Alistair Somerville. Past presidents include Barry Gibbs, John Hinton OBE, Colin English, David Weston, Tony Jones, Professor Trevor Cox, William Egan, Professor Bridget Shield, and Jo Webb.
The ASA Silver Medal is an award presented by the Acoustical Society of America to individuals, without age limitation, for contributions to the advancement of science, engineering, or human welfare through the application of acoustic principles or through research accomplishments in acoustics. The medal is awarded in a number of categories depending on the technical committee responsible for making the nomination.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to acoustics:
Sir Arthur Harold Marshall is a New Zealand expert in acoustics design and research.
Cyril Manton Harris was Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Charles Batchelor Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. He received his B.S. in mathematics and his M.S. in physics from UCLA, and his Ph.D. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he specialized in acoustics.
The purpose of the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA) is to promote international development and collaboration in all fields of acoustics including research, development, education, and standardisation.
Kelly Benoit-Bird is a marine scientist and senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Benoit-Bird uses acoustics to study marine organisms and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010.
The Wallace Clement Sabine Medal of the Acoustical Society of America is presented to an individual of any nationality who has advanced the science of architectural acoustics, either by being published in professional journals or periodicals, or by another accomplishment in architectural acoustics at the discretion of the awarding body. The award was named for pioneering acoustician Wallace Clement Sabine. Founded in 1957 by the Acoustical Society of America, the award is given when an outstanding candidate is recognized.
The Pioneers of Underwater Acoustics Medal is awarded by the Acoustical Society of America in recognition of "an outstanding contribution to the science of underwater acoustics, as evidenced by publication of research results in professional journals or by other accomplishments in the field". The award was named in honor of H. J. W. Fay, Reginald Fessenden, Harvey Hayes, G. W. Pierce, and Paul Langevin.
Manohar Lal Munjal is an Indian acoustical engineer, honorary professor, and INSA senior scientist at the Facility for Research in Technical Acoustics (FRITA) of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on aeroacoustics and finite wave analysis of exhaust systems. He is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India as well as the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He has published three books viz. Noise and Vibration Control, Acoustics of Ducts and Mufflers With Application to Exhaust and Ventilation System Design, and IUTAM Symposium on Designing for Quietness and has contributed chapters to books edited by himself and others. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Engineering Sciences in 1986.
Ma Dayou or Dah-You Maa was a Chinese acoustical physicist, specializing in various aspects of acoustics, especially sound generation, transmission and absorption. Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ma was a research professor at Institute of Acoustics of CAS; Chairman of Chinese National Acoustics Standardization Technical Committee; and Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Acoustics.
Christine Erbe is a German-Australian physicist specializing in underwater acoustics. She is a professor in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and director of the Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST)—both at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Erbe is known for her research on acoustic masking in marine mammals, investigating how man-made underwater noise interferes with animal acoustic communication.
Jennifer Miksis-Olds is an American marine scientist known for her research using acoustics to track marine mammals.
Floyd Rowe Watson was an American experimental physicist, known for his research on acoustics and the acoustical design of buildings.
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