Acoustical Society of America
Encyclopedia
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society dedicated to increasing and diffusing the knowledge of acoustics
and its practical applications.
. On December 27, 1928, approximately 40 scientists and engineers interested in acoustics met at the Bell Telephone Laboratories
in New York, NY, to consider the formation of a scientific society for acoustics. Just a few months later, the Acoustical Society of America held its first meeting on May 10-11, 1929, with approximately 450 charter members. In 1931 the Acoustical Society joined with three other scientific societies to form the American Institute of Physics
.
(ANSI) appointed the Acoustical Society as sponsor of a committee to standardize acoustical terminology and measurements. In 1957 this committee split into three follow-on committees: S1 on Acoustics, S2 on Mechanical Shock and Vibration, and S3 on Bioacoustics, with a fourth, S12 on Noise, added in 1981. The ASA also distributes ISO and IEC
standards.
(JASA), the Acoustics Research Letters Online (ARLO), and a wide range of books and videos on topics related to acoustics.
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including 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...
and its practical applications.
History
The ASA was instigated by Wallace Waterfall, Floyd Watson, and Vern Oliver KnudsenVern Oliver Knudsen
Vern Oliver Knudsen was an American acoustical physicist.-Biography:Knudsen received his bachelors degree from Brigham Young University with an AB in 1915...
. On December 27, 1928, approximately 40 scientists and engineers interested in acoustics met at the Bell Telephone Laboratories
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in New York, NY, to consider the formation of a scientific society for acoustics. Just a few months later, the Acoustical Society of America held its first meeting on May 10-11, 1929, with approximately 450 charter members. In 1931 the Acoustical Society joined with three other scientific societies to form the American Institute of Physics
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics promotes science, the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies...
.
Technical committees
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. The committees include:- Acoustical oceanographyAcoustical oceanographyAcoustical oceanography is the use of underwater sound to study the sea, its boundaries and its contents.-History:The earliest and most widespread use of sound and sonar technology to study the properties of the sea is the use of an echo sounder to measure water depth...
- Animal BioacousticsBioacousticsBioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science that combines biology and acoustics. Usually it refers to the investigation of sound production, dispersion through elastic media, and reception in animals, including humans. This involves neurophysiological and anatomical basis of sound production and...
- Architectural AcousticsArchitectural acousticsArchitectural acoustics is the science of noise control within buildings. The first application of architectural acoustics was in the design of opera houses and then concert halls. More widely, noise suppression is critical in the design of multi-unit dwellings and business premises that generate...
- Biomedical UltrasoundUltrasoundUltrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
/Bioresponse to Vibration - Engineering AcousticsAcoustical engineeringAcoustical engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It is the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typically concerned with the manipulation and control of sound....
- Musical AcousticsMusical acousticsMusical acoustics or music acoustics is the branch of acoustics concerned with researching and describing the physics of music – how sounds employed as music work...
- NoiseNoiseIn common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
- Physical Acoustics
- Psychological and Physiological AcousticsPsychoacousticsPsychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological and physiological responses associated with sound...
- Signal Processing in AcousticsAudio signal processingAudio signal processing, sometimes referred to as audio processing, is the intentional alteration of auditory signals, or sound. As audio signals may be electronically represented in either digital or analog format, signal processing may occur in either domain...
- Speech Communication
- Structural acousticsStructural acousticsStructural acoustics is the study of the mechanical waves in structures and how they interact with and radiate into adjacent fluids. The field of structural acoustics is often referred to as vibroacoustics in Europe and Asia. People that work in the field of structural acoustics are known as...
and VibrationVibrationVibration refers to mechanical oscillations about an equilibrium point. The oscillations may be periodic such as the motion of a pendulum or random such as the movement of a tire on a gravel road.Vibration is occasionally "desirable"... - Underwater AcousticsUnderwater acousticsUnderwater acoustics is the study of the propagation of sound in water and the interaction of the mechanical waves that constitute sound with the water and its boundaries. The water may be in the ocean, a lake or a tank. Typical frequencies associated with underwater acoustics are between 10 Hz and...
Standards
From its inception, the ASA's members have helped develop acoustical standards. In 1932, the American National Standards InstituteAmerican National Standards Institute
The American National Standards Institute is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organization also coordinates U.S. standards with international...
(ANSI) appointed the Acoustical Society as sponsor of a committee to standardize acoustical terminology and measurements. In 1957 this committee split into three follow-on committees: S1 on Acoustics, S2 on Mechanical Shock and Vibration, and S3 on Bioacoustics, with a fourth, S12 on Noise, added in 1981. The ASA also distributes ISO and IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
standards.
Publications
The ASA publishes the Journal of the Acoustical Society of AmericaJournal of the Acoustical Society of America
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America is a scientific journal in the field of acoustics, published by the Acoustical Society of America. It contains technical articles on sound, vibration, speech and other topics.Access to articles is by subscription or purchase, though most universities...
(JASA), the Acoustics Research Letters Online (ARLO), and a wide range of books and videos on topics related to acoustics.
Awards
The ASA presents awards to individuals for contributions to the field of Acoustics. These include- Gold MedalASA Gold MedalThe ASA Gold Medal is an annual award presented by the Acoustical Society of America to individuals in recognition of outstanding contributions to acoustics. The Gold Medal was first presented in 1954 and is the highest award of the ASA. Past recipients, which include the Nobel Laureate Georg...
- R. Bruce Lindsay Award
- Wallace Clement Sabine Medal
- Pioneers of Underwater Acoustics Medal
- Trent-Crede Medal
- von Békésy Medal
- Silver MedalASA Silver MedalThe 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...