Inter-Noise 2023 Report
Inter-Noise 2023, the 52nd International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering, co-organized by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering of Japan (INCE/J) and the Acoustical Society of Japan (ASJ), on behalf I-INCE, was held on August 20-23, 2023. It was held in Chiba, Greater Tokyo, Japan.
With over 1250 registered attendees, the Congress saw 857 presentations in total (which included 6547 oral paper presentations, 88 posters, 4 keynote talks, and 2 distinguished lectures), which were spread across 18 different technical areas. While organizing a conference of this size requires significant time and effort from many individuals, the principal congress organizers were Shinichi Sakamoto (Congress President), Hiroyuki Imaizumi (Secretary General), Tetsuya Sakuma (Technical Chair) who was assisted by Yosuke Yasuda, Toru Yamazaki, Koji Nagahata, and Masaaki Hiroe (Technical Co-Chairs).
This year, the theme of the conference was Quieter Society with Diversity and Inclusion, and contributions came from approximately 50 countries around the world.
OPENING THE CONFERENCE – SUNDAY, August 20
The opening ceremony took place as a live ceremony with some key figures in attendance in Chiba. It included a series of welcoming remarks, an overview of the e-congress and its technical program. Congress President Shinichi Sakamoto took to the podium to welcome everyone to the congress, as well as expressing his sincere gratitude to the I-INCE board for their invaluable contribution helping in the organization of the conference. We also received a welcome from the Governor of the Chiba Prefecture, Toshihito Kumagai, and the President of the Acoustical Society of Japan, Yoichi Haneda. I-INCE President Luigi Maffei then took the podium to welcome everyone, and, as president of I-INCE, he declared the congress officially open. Attendees were also treated to a live Calligraphy performance.
Plenary Lecture 1 – Sound in Life and Acoustics for Society
Dr. Hiroshi Sato, Deputy Director General of the Department of Information Technology and Human Factors at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), gave the first plenary lecture, titled Sound in Life and Acoustics for Society. Dr Sato’s research area is human-centered evaluation and design of environments such as speech communication in rooms, classroom acoustics, low-frequency noise, and floor impact sound. He is a director of the Acoustical Society of Japan and chairing the committee for the public address system for emergencies.
Plenary Lecture 2 – Committing to Full-Spectrum Noise Equity
Dr. Judy Rochat, Principal Associate at Cross-Spectrum Acoustics, and President of INCE-USA delivered the second distinguished lecture to bring the Congress to a close. Her talk, titled Committing to Full-Spectrum Noise Equity, discussed diversity and inclusion in the field of noise control and gave many examples of great initiatives that are ongoing in the USA. As well as being President of INCE-USA, Dr. Rochat is the Transportation Associate Editor for the Noise Control Engineering Journal. She is also the former Chair of the Transportation Research Board Noise and Vibration Committee and is a member of the Acoustical Society of America and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Keynote Lectures:
We were also treated to four keynote lectures throughout the conference. These included:
- Dr. Joseph M. Cuschieri: Underwater Acoustics and Marine Systems
- Dr. Danielle Moreau: Exploring Real-World Geometry Effects on Airfoil and Bluff-Body Flow Noise
- Dr. Judicaël Picaut: The Short Story of Urban Acoustics
- Dr. Bianca I. Schuchardt: Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Air Mobility – How Much Noise is Acceptable?
The Technical Sessions – MONDAY, August 21 to WEDNESDAY, August 23
The technical program began on Monday, August 21. There were 18 technical sessions in total – covering everything from flow-induced noise and vibration to noise policy and management. There were two specific sessions related to the conference theme; these include Inclusive Design of Sound Environment and Diversity of Local Noise Issues in the World.
The Conference Banquet
The conference banquet was held in the conference venue on Tuesday evening. Participants were able to enjoy the atmosphere of traditional Japanese Summer Festival with the street foods and festival dance. All attendees had a chance to partake in some traditional dancing as well as sampling the wonderful Japanese cuisine. All had a wonderful night!
Young Professionals
The encouragement of young professionals is vitally important, and in recognition of this, I-INCE funds a number of Young Scientists Grants to assist with participation at each Inter-Noise congress. On Sunday there was the I-INCE Practice School, and on Monday afternoon, the I-INCE Young Professional Workshop was held and was followed by the presentation of travel awards and a social networking hour. The goals of the Young Professional Practice School are to provide mentorship via case studies and professional issues presented by world-renowned experts and to hold informal discussions between young professionals and I-INCE leaders and senior noise control engineers.
