President’s Column (Jun 2018)

From the President of I-INCE

A major activity for I-INCE is the organization of the annual congress, and INTER-NOISE 18 is approaching, to be held from August 26 to 29 in Chicago. A large number of abstracts have been received, with the full papers due by June 1. The date of June 1 is also the end date for early-bird registration, after which the normal registration fee applies. All authors are reminded that a congress registration must be received for inclusion in the technical program.

While it is important to look to the future by encouraging young professionals embarking on a career in noise control engineering, it is also important to recognize the achievements of some of the leaders of past decades. At INTER-NOISE 16 in Hamburg, a memorial session was held remembering the work of Manfred Heckl (1930–1996). Heckl was a pioneer in the development of many techniques that have now become regularly used tools, such as Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA). In addition to many of his other initiatives, he was aware of the importance of good education and produced films to aid in teaching about complex vibrations. In those earlier days, such films required considerably more effort than today, when we have so many graphic aids. Heckl was truly a pioneer in noise control engineering, and the papers that formed the memorial session for Heckl at INTER-NOISE 16 have been brought together in the form of a single downloadable file, now available at http://www.internoise2016.org/program/manfred-heckl/. We are grateful to the German Acoustical Society (DEGA) for arranging the session, inviting the contributors, and making this consolidated booklet available as a fitting record of the achievements of Manfred Heckl.

INTER-NOISE 2018 will also have a memorial session, with a series of invited presentations recognizing the contributions of Bill Lang, one of the few original founders of I-INCE. The I-INCE owes a great debt to Bill Lang, who continued working to enhance the organization until shortly before his passing. The special session will provide an opportunity to discuss contributions by Bill Lang to I-INCE and noise control engineering, and the papers from this session will provide a fitting record of this history for the future noise control engineers.

The accompanying editorial by Patricia Davies, Vice President Technical Affairs, summarizes other activities supported by I-INCE. These activities require preparation and planning well in advance of the annual congress, and we are fortunate to have had Raj Singh to set the framework during his terms in the position and now Patricia Davies to implement and expand these programs. I-INCE is always keen to receive suggestions for further technical activities that will contribute to our goals in regard to enhancing noise control engineering.

Marion Burgess
President, I-INCE