Page 40 - Summer 2006

THE ASA TECHNICAL COMMITEE ON NOISE:
AN OVERVIEW
Michael R. Stinson
Acoustics and Signal Processing Group, Institute for Microstructural Sciences National Research Council of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
Noise is often defined as “unwanted sound.” Everyone is affected by noise, whether it occurs in the workplace, at our homes, or in the natural environment. Noise can interfere with speech communica- tion and can mask warning signals. City traffic, aircraft flying overhead, and the neighbor’s air conditioner are examples of noise sources that cause annoyance. High levels of noise can contribute to hearing loss.
The purpose of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) Technical Committee on Noise is to increase and diffuse knowledge of noise generation and propagation, passive and active noise control, and the effects of noise. Activities of the Committee embrace the practical and theoretical aspects of noise, in its broadest definition, in all areas of acoustics. This is a broad swath indeed. When you consider that specif- ic interests include the following and similar topics—sound sources, source mechanisms, propagation, perception, prediction, measurement, evaluation, analysis, effects, regulation, mitigation, and legal aspects of noise, it is clear that Noise touches nearly every other com- mittee in the ASA. To maintain contact over this broad range of activities, the roster of TC-Noise members is relative- ly large, currently over 80 members. The TC-Noise website is hosted at www.nonoise.org/quietnet/tcn/.
Noise and noise control have been a major part of the Acoustical Society of America since its inception in 1929. An excellent summary of the history and contributions of the ASA to the field of noise and its control was given by Leo Beranek and William Lang in their History Lecture in Noise, on the occasion of the ASA’s 75th Anniversary (Beranek and Lang, 2004). Noise sur- veys, the development of sound level meters and noise analyzers, and the ini- tiation of standards activities by ASA
“Everyone is affected by noise, whether it occurs in the workplace, at our homes, or in the natural environment.”
members were key activities in the early days. In 1960, the ASA Technical Committee on Noise was formed and the organizing of special sessions under the Noise banner began. Special ses- sions are an important part of TC- Noise. They help deal with the diversi- ty of technical activities in noise, by bringing together similar papers, draw- ing together in a single ASA meeting contributions that might otherwise be spread over several meetings. Typically, there will be four or five special ses- sions at an ASA meeting having Noise as the lead sponsor.
In 1971, the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) was formed as a professional society sensi- tive to the needs and responsibilities of noise control engineers. Cooperation between ASA and INCE is vital, and one of the main roles of the TC-Noise is to provide an interface between ASA and INCE. To this end, nearly all members of TC-Noise are also members of INCE. Cooperation between the two organiza- tions is essential to maintain a world leadership position in noise, to address issues of mutual concern such as a new national noise policy and standards activities, and to coordinate timing of meetings. Very successful joint ASA/INCE meetings have been held in State College (1997), Newport Beach (2000), and Minneapolis (2005).
In 1981, a new standards commit- tee, S12 Noise, was formed with the responsibility of developing and main- taining standards in noise in accor- dance with procedures approved by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI). The scope of S12 is: “Standards, specifications and termi- nology in the field of acoustical noise pertaining to methods of measure- ment, evaluation and control, includ- ing biological safety, tolerance and comfort and physical acoustics as relat- ed to environmental and occupational noise.” Participation in both national and international standards activities is essential to maintain competitiveness in the international market place.
Great success has been achieved recently toward improving acoustics in the classroom, with contributions from members of the Technical Committees on Noise, Architectural Acoustics, Speech Communication, the ASA Committee on Standards and others. This team effort arose through a series of workshops that were organ- ized to determine how the ASA could become more involved in societal issues, gaining momentum with each meeting. Information booklets have been developed, Classroom Acoustics I (TC-AA, 2000) and Classroom Acoustics II (TC-SC, 2002), both available for free download at http://asa.aip.org/map_publications.html. In 2002, we saw the landmark publica- tion of the ANSI S12.60-2002 standard “Acoustical performance criteria, design requirements, and guidelines for schools,” in which the essential acousti- cal requirements of a classroom are specified. There remains the consider- able challenges of seeing that the recom- mendations of this ANSI standard are actually put into use and working with industrial groups to see how practical acoustical solutions can be achieved. See the Acoustics Today articles by Nelson (2005) and Lubman (2005) for more information.
There has been ongoing effort with- in TC-Noise to understand sound- scapes, as a forum for addressing issues related to environmental noise, urban
38 Acoustics Today, July 2006