Page 8 - Fall 2006

FROM THE EDITOR
A year ago, the first issue of Acoustics Today was distributed at the Minneapolis meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and mailed to its members. Since then, four more issues (including this one) have been published and mailed. Although a year seems like a short time, much can change during that period as we determine what works for the new magazine and what does not. For example, the process by which ECHOES, the Society’s newsletter, is placed into Acoustics Today has changed with this issue. The editors of both publications “march” to different drummers. Publication dates of issues of ECHOES are linked to ASA meeting schedules while those of Acoustics Today are linked to three-month intervals. The new plan is for ECHOES to appear online as determined by its meetings-driven schedule and for Acoustics Today to reprint it in the issue following its online appearance, if possible.
Starting with this issue will be a new section called “Passings.” At a previous ASA meeting, the Executive Council voted to move the Obituaries section of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) to Acoustics Today. Passings will continue JASA’s tradition of publishing short obituaries of ASA members who have recently passed away and that have been submitted to Acoustics Today by current members of the Society. Because Acoustics Today is a magazine, rather than a journal, it will be our pleasure to allow a photograph of the deceased to be included and to allow a more informal obituary than has appeared in JASA. We will also provide a list of the names of all members who have recently passed away. We ask that readers who know of someone who has passed away or whose passing has been overlooked to submit the deceased name and date of passing to AcousticsToday@aip.org.
In the January issue, we will add a Classified Line Advertisement section to Acoustics Today. This is a rela- tively inexpensive way to publish a message to the acoustics community. The magazine will accept line-ads for positions offered or desired, information, announcements, and items offered or desired for sale or lease. Submissions by individuals should be e-mailed to the ASA staff at AcousticsToday@aip.org. There is a fifty- percent reduction in cost for Members of the Society seeking a new position only. Submissions by organizations or industry should be e-mailed to the AIP Advertising Department at dbott@aip.org.
In the January issue, we will also add an E-mails to the Editor column to the magazine. We had been think- ing about such a column for a while when, out of the blue, someone sent in comments concerning an article that appeared in an earlier issue of Acoustics Today. The difficulty with an E-mails column in a magazine that is published every three months is that the possibility of a fast-moving debate is not likely. Never the less, we still hope that readers who have a comment concerning an article will write an E-mail to the Editor at AcousticsToday@aip.org.
We started this editorial by indicating that Acoustics Today is about a year old. We have been very pleased with the articles, the support by our advertisers, and the hard work by the staff of the Acoustical Society of America and the American Institute of Physics to publish Acoustics Today. While we seek neither praise nor criticism, we are interested in your suggestions. We seek authors who might be interested in the challenge of writing an article for a magazine rather than a journal or know of someone who has suggested that they might like to contribute to Acoustics Today. If you are interested or know someone who is, please let us know by send- ing an e-mail to AcousticsToday@aip.org. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Dick Stern, Editor
6 Acoustics Today, October 2006