Pan-American News (Dec 2017)

Current I-INCE Pan American Member Societies

  • Acoustical Society of America
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineering, NCAD
  • Brazilian Acoustical Society (SOBRAC)
  • Brazilian Association for Acoustical Quality (ProAcústica)
  • Canadian Acoustical Association
  • INCE-USA

News and Events

Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

The purpose of ASA (acousticalsociety.org) is to generate, disseminate, and promote the knowledge and practical applications of acoustics. The ASA publishes the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, and holds biyearly meetings.

ASA Meetings

The Acoustical Society of America held two meetings in 2017:

  • The spring 2017 meeting was held in Boston, MA, as part of “Acoustics ’17,” a joint conference with the European Acoustics Association.
  • The fall 2017 meeting was held in New Orleans, LA, December 4–8, 2017.

ASA Awards

Recent awards include:

  • Adone Lavery—2017 Walter Munk Award for Distinguished Research in Oceanography
  • Dan Russell—ASA Student Council Mentor Award

New fellows:

  • John Allen, ultrasound contrast agents
  • Deniz Baskent, acoustic and electric auditory and speech perception
  • Kelly Benoit-Bird, marine ecological acoustics
  • Monita Chatterjee, cochlear implant psychophysics and speech perception
  • John Culling, measurement and modeling of binaural processing
  • John Loverde, building response to sound and impact
  • Alexander Ya Supin, hearing and echolocation in marine mammals

ASA Leadership

Marcia J. Isakson of the University of Texas at Austin is the new president and Michael J. Buckingham is the new vice president. The new president elect is Lily Wang of the University of Nebraska and the vice president elect is Scott Sommerfeldt of Brigham Young University.

ASME Noise Control and Acoustics Division

The ASME Noise Control and Acoustics Division (NCAD) (https://community.asme.org/noise_control_acoustics_division/default.aspx) objectives are to establish a program within ASME that will encourage, focus, and further the development and application of noise control and acoustics principles to all engineering branches.

ASME NCAD Meetings

For IMECE2017, NCAD was proud to a sponsor a technical track on Acoustics, Vibration, and Phononics. Over 70 technical talks were given on a variety of topics in noise control and acoustics. Dr. Chris Fuller from Virginia Tech University gave the Rayleigh Lecture, and Dr. Massimo Ruzzene from the Georgia Institute of Technology gave both the NCAD tutorial workshop and the Phononics Plenary talk. IMECE2017 was held November 3–9th in Tampa, FL, USA.

ASME NCAD Awards

The 2017 Per Bruel Gold Medal was awarded to Malcolm Crocker, professor of Mechanical Engineering, at Auburn University, for promoting international collaboration, education, and the dissemination of knowledge in noise control and acoustics through the formation of professional organizations, the establishment of journals and congress series, and the creation of reference volumes for practitioners.

ASME NCAD Leadership

The current chair of the Group Leadership Team is Shung (Sue) Sung (GM retired) and the vice-chair is Charlie Zheng of Kansas University. Ab Kirwan (General Dynamics Electric Boat) is Treasurer, and Weidong Zhu is Secretary.

ASME NCAD Other News

For more information, please see our annual newsletter and website at https://community.asme.org/noise_control_acoustics_division/m/default.aspx and friend us on Facebook at NCAD.

Brazil—ProAcústica

The Brazilian Association for Acoustical Quality (ProAcústica) (www.proacustica.org.br/)—a Member Society of I-INCE since 2013—is a nonprofit civil entity with the purpose of congregating companies and professionals looking to develop applied acoustics in Brazil, a field that also covers the science of vibrations. The ProAcústica Association was born from the initiative of companies and professionals that identified the opportunity to disclose to all of society the importance of acoustic quality in buildings and the environment, as a factor of well-being and public health.

Currently 70 companies are members:

  • 38 manufacturers of acoustic products (54%)
  • 21 acoustic project and consulting firms (30%)
  • 7 installation and distribution companies (10%)
  • 4 laboratories (6%)

ProAcústica Leadership

  • Edison Claro de Moraes (AtenuaSom), Executive Chairman
  • Alberto Safra (Aubicon), Vice President Administrative Financial
  • Davi Akkerman (Harmonia Acústica), Vice President of Technical Activities
  • Luciano Nakad Marcolino (Owa Brasil), Vice President of Communications and Marketing
  • Fernando Neves Caffaro (Isover Brasil), Vice President of Investor Relations
  • Cláudio Benevides Soares (Knauf Brasil), Vice-President of Associative Resources

There are also technical committees on Environmental Acoustics (coordinated by Marcos Holtz), and Acoustics in Buildings (coordinated by Juan Frias Pierrard). An ethics committee is preparing a compliance manual for ProAcústica members.

Other News

The International Day of Noise Awareness was observed on April 26, 2017, by “The Manifest of the Silence” at the Bandeiras Monument, Ibirapuera São Paulo. Actions were in partnership with the Municipal Secretariat of Green and Environment of São Paulo (SVMA).

A documentary on “Acoustics for Schools” presents the results of solidarity action with acoustics intervention in a Municipal School of São Paulo. The initiative is the result of a joint action promoted by the Association and presents the results in the quality of the school environment after installation of acoustic solutions.

Brazilian Acoustical Society (SOBRAC)

The Brazilian Society of Acoustics brings together individuals (researchers, professionals, and students) as well as public and private institutions (industries, service providers, government agencies, universities) and all those interested in the areas inherent in their work.

SOBRAC Meetings

  • The 1st Symposium Fluminense de Acústica—“Acoustics in the Day to Day” was held November 13–14 in Rio de Janeiro. The topics were directed toward a greater understanding of acoustics by those in technology, music, and for the population in general.
  • The XXVIII Meeting will be held October 3–5, 2018, at Unisinos—Campus Porto Alegre.

SOBRAC Leadership

The president of SOBRAC is Stelamaris Rolla Bertoli, and the vice president is Debora Miranda Barretto.

Canadian Acoustical Association

The Canadian Acoustical Associate (CAA) (http://caa-aca.ca/) is the professional, interdisciplinary organization that:

  • fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada,
  • promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics,
  • encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics, and
  • is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment, and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level.

CAA Meetings

The 2017 annual conference (Acoustics Week in Canada) was held October 11–13 at the Marriott Delta Hotel and Conference Center in Guelph, Ontario. A special workshop by the Canadian National Research Council was held to address changes to the National Building Code.

CAA Leadership

The current president of the CAA is Frank Russo (Ryerson University), the past president is Christian Giguere (Universite d’Ottawa), and the executive secretary if Robert Racca (JASCO Applied Sciences). Umberto Berardi is editor in chief of the Journal of Canadian Acoustics.

INCE-USA

INCE-USA (www.inceusa.org) is a nonprofit professional organization incorporated in Washington DC. The primary purpose of the Institute is to promote through its members noise control solutions to environmental, product, machinery, industrial, and other noise problems.

INCE-USA Meetings

  • The 2017 NOISE-CON conference was held in Grand Rapids, MI, which was a joint meeting with the Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) community of the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE). Both INCE-USA and SAE are looking forward to have another joint meeting in the not-too-distant future.
  • INCE-USA will host the 2018 INTER-NOISE in Chicago, IL, August 26–29.

INCE-USA Leadership

Richard A. Kolano, (Rick) of Kolano and Saha Engineers, Inc. serves as INCE-USA president, with Steve Marshall as President Elect.

INCE-USA Awards

Thanks to the INCE foundation, led by Eric Wood, several awards are given to outstanding noise control engineers. This year, James Barnes received the Laymon Miller Award for Excellence in Acoustical Consulting. Several Beranek Student Medal awards were also given at the NOISE-CON conference. To learn more about the INCE Foundation or to make a donation, see www.inceusa.org/about/foundation.