ASA PRESSROOM

Acoustical Society of America
132nd Meeting Special Events


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Woodbury, New York, November 15, 1996

The following are some highlighted special events planned for the 132nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, December 2-6, 1996 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.


Tutorial Lecture on

"Sound Transmission Through Structures -- Protecting Occupantsfrom Exterior Noise"


Lecturer: Dr. Ben H. Sharp, Wyle Laboratories, Arlington, VA
Monday, December 2, 1996, at 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Kauai Room
Registration Fee: $15 in advance (before 18 November),
$25 at the door, Students Free


Short Course on "Thermoacoustics"


Instrcutor: Dr. Greg Swift, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Saturday, December 7 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and
Sunday, December 8, (9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.), 1996, in the Puna Room.
Registration Fee: $250


The short course on Thermoacoustics is intended for scientists and engineers who are interested in understanding thermoacoustic phenomena and their use in engines and refrigerators. The course will include animations, demonstrations, and other material intended to convey an intuitive, phenomenological appreciation of thermoacoustics, as well as presentation of quantitative design and analysis methods and practical construction methods.


The short course registration fee covers attendance, instructional materials and coffee breaks. The fee may be paid by check, money order (in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank) or VISA or MasterCard credit card. To register send your name, address, course name and appropriate registration fee to Short Course Registration, Acoustical Society of America, 500 Sunnyside Blvd., Woodbury, NY 11797, Tel.: 516- 576-2360, FAX: 516-576-2377. A registration form can be found in the "Call for Papers" for the Meeting.


Short Course on "Auralization"


Instrcutors: Mendel Kleiner and Peter Svensson,
Chalmers University, Gothenburg, Sweden
Saturday, December 7 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and
Sunday, December 8, (9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.), 1996, in the Hilo Room.
Registration Fee: $300


Auralization is defined as an acoustic "visualization" process, or acoustic rendering, analogous to the visual rendering process used by architects and interior designers. Auralization is the process of rendering audible, by physical or mathematical modeling, the sound field of a source, or sources, in a hall or space, in such a way as to simulate the binaural listening experience at a given position in the modeled hall.


The short course on Auralization is intended for consultants and engineers who are interested in the background, techniques and applications of auralization and will help in the decision process of selecting a suitable system for a particular need. The course will include audible samples using auralization of various auditoria, concert halls, etc. as well as simplified cases. It will also be possible for the course attendees to judge the audibility of various approximations needed to make auralization feasible on today's personal computers.


The short course registration fee covers attendance, instructional materials and coffee breaks. The fee may be paid by check, money order (in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank) or VISA or MasterCard credit card. To register send your name, address, course name and appropriate registration fee to Short Course Registration, Acoustical Society of America, 500 Sunnyside Blvd., Woodbury, NY 11797, Tel.: 516- 576-2360, FAX: 516-576-2377. A registration form can be found in the "Call for Papers" for the Meeting, except that those registering for the Auralization short course should note that the fee is $300.


Gallery of Acoustics


A Gallery of Acoustics is being organized by the Interdisciplinary Technical Group on Signal Processing in Acoustics (ITG/SP). The Gallery complements the Special Session on Acoustic Imaging (4pSP), which is also being organized by the ITG/SP. The Gallery will be on display in the Registration Area throughout the meeting. The objective of the Gallery is to enhance the meeting by providing a place for researchers to display their work to ALL meeting attendees in a forum which emphasizes the diverse, inter-disciplinary, and artistic nature of acoustics in a compact setting unconstrained by the format of the technical sessions. The Gallery will allow acousticians to share and appreciate the natural beauty and aesthetic appeal of acoustical phenomena. The Gallery will consist of a selection of posters and video displays of images generated by actual visualizations of acoustic processes, or of aesthetically and technically interesting images resulting from various signal processing techniques applied to acoustic data or simulations. A panel of referees will judge Gallery entries on the basis of aesthetic/artistic appeal and originality, and the ability to convey and exchange information. The top entries will, with the authors' permission, be displayed on the ITG/SP's World Wide Web Home Page, which is currently under development. together researchers working on various aspects of voice perception.


Opening Plenary Session


A two-hour opening plenary session will be held on Monday morning, 2 December, starting at 8:00 a.m. Short welcoming remarks by the presidents of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan will be followed by two plenary presentations, by Professor Robert T. Beyer on "Nonlinear Threads in the Coat of Acoustics", and by Professor Zyun-iti Maekawa on "Environmental Acoustics Update."


National Council of Acoustical Consultants


The National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC) will be meeting beginning Friday evening, 6 December, through Sunday afternoon, 8 December. For further information call 201-379-1100.


Discussion on Acoustical Thermometry


The Acoustical Oceanography open Technical Committee meeting in the Oahu Room on Monday 2 December at 9:00 p.m. will be preceded at 7:00 p.m. by an open technical meeting on the topic "Acoustical Thermometry: Climatological and Biological Results".


Buffet Social


A complimentary buffet social with cash bar will be held on Tuesday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Kauai/Maui/Molokai Rooms. Name tags are required for admission. Children are expected to wear name tags and be accompanied by a parent having a name tag.


Banquet, Awards, and Entertainment


Banquet festivities will start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday 5 December in the Sheraton-Waikiki Second Floor Foyer with a no-host social hour. The banquet, starting at 7:30 p.m., features a seven-course Chinese dinner.


The banquet will be followed by presentation of Certificates to Fellows elected at the Indianapolis Meeting of the Society and Society Awards. The following were elected Fellows at the Indianapolis meeting: Sid P. Bacon, Avril Brenig, Catherine P. Browman, Antoine Chaigne, Ching-Sang Chiu, Raymond H. Dye, Earleen F. Elkins, Robert A. Fox, Sadaoki Furui, D. Felipe Gaitan, D. Wesley Grantham, Roger J. Hanson, George R. Harris, Mardi C. Hastings, David I. Havelock, Douglas H. Keefe, Sonoko Kuwano, Moises Levy, Richard L. McKinley, James B. Mehl, Elaine Moran, Seiichiro Namba, Victor Nedzelnitsky, Donna L. Neff, David A. Nelson, Robert V. Shannon, Timothy K. Stanton, Hideki Tachibana, Richard H. Talaske, Richard L. Weaver.


The Science Writing Award in Acoustics for Journalists will be presented to A. Richard Immel and the Science Writing Award for Professionals in Acoustics will be presented to Peter M. Narins.


The Trent-Crede Medal will be presented to Preston W. Smith, Jr. and the Distinguished Service Citation to John C. Burgess. These will be followed by presentation of Special Awards, described below. Banquet ceremonies will conclude with special Hawaiian entertainment.


Banquet tickets are limited, and are not included in the registration fee. They MUST BE purchased in advance, at the Registration Desk, preferably when registering. The cost will be $35 each. BANQUET TICKETS SALES WILL CLOSE AT 5:00 P.M., Tuesday, 3 December.


Special Awards


Following the Banquet, the Acoustical Society of Japan will present Medals of Special Merit to the following distinguished members of the Acoustical Society of America for their outstanding contributions to the friendship between the two Societies (in alphabetical order): Robert E. Apfel, John C. Burgess, Stanley L. Ehrlich, Tony F.W. Embleton, Patricia K. Kuhl, Jiri Tichy.


The Acoustical Society of America will present Special Distinguished Service Certificates to the following distinguished members of the Acoustical Society of Japan for their outstanding contributions to the friendship between the two Societies (in alphabetical order): Juichi Igarashi, Seiichiro Namba, Hideki Tachibana.


Hearing Testing


A mini-booth for hearing screening testing will be located near the Ewa Room on Wednesday and Thursday, 4 and 5 December. Please sign up in the Registration Area.