Page 46 - Fall 2011

The International Commission for Acoustics (ICA) is the international umbrella organization representing acoustics in the world. It was instituted in 1951 as a sub-com- mittee to the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics, IUPAP. The ICA in its new statutes held its first General Assembly in 1998 during the 16th Congress in Seattle where the by-laws of the new organization were adopted by the Member Societies. The ICA today is a Scientific Associate of ICSU (International Council for Science, a non-governmental organization under UNESCO with a global membership of national scientific bodies (121 members) and international scientific unions (30 members)) and an Affiliated Commission for both IUPAP and IUTAM, the International Unions for Pure and Applied Physics and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. In contrast to a Union, however, a Commission is con- sidered to represent a kind of sub-science. In this respect acoustics is apparently a part of physics or mechanics. The consequence for acoustics world wide is well known: Acoustic departments and institutes are scattered in various schools and faculties. Coordination of our activities is some- times difficult, calling for better support in academia as well as for the profession itself. Sometimes it is difficult to make our voice heard inside physics, engineering, biology and many of the other disciplines. Following-up the initiatives started by the pioneering work of the past ICA presidents Gilles Daigle and Phil Nelson, a major objective of the ICA board is to get acoustics established in ICSU as its own scientific discipline covering more than physics and mechanics, thus forming its own Union. We think that there will be benefit for all people working in or with acoustics and vibration. This process, however, is very tedious and can be continued only in small steps, year by year. We, as the executive officers, will contin- ue this discussion in ICSU. The ICA has 44 national member societies from around the world and 8 International Affiliates (I-INCE, ICBEN, IIAV, ICU, AES, EAA, FIA and WESPAC). The 2011-2013 Board includes the executive officers, President Michael Vorländer (Germany), Secretary General Marion Burgess (Australia), Vice-President Charles Schmid (USA), Treasurer Antonio Perez-Lopez (Spain) and Past-President Samir Gerges (Brazil), and ten more board members representing the acoustical societies of Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Russia, and the United Kingdom. One of the main activities of the ICA is the organization of the International Congress on Acoustics (Sydney 2010, Madrid 2007, Kyoto 2004, etc.). But in between this triennial conference planning, the ICA commission sponsors special- ized symposia, helps emerging acoustic societies in their foundation, and maintains the meeting calendar of acoustic events throughout the world. The ICA-sponsored confer- ences are normally limited to a specialized topic with an anticipated small attendance typically no more than 300. Specialist regional meetings or national meetings are sup- ported, especially in developing regions, but only considered if the conference has an international character. The amount of financial support is mainly provided by the ICA to pay travel expenses for distinguished speakers, young scientists and especially for scientists from developing countries. With these initiatives we are promoting international development and collaboration in all fields of acoustics including research, development, education, and standardi- zation. All member societies are invited to distribute com- munications from the ICA to their members. Individual members in member societies may apply for any of the grants and awards offered by the ICA. The world family of acoustics will meet again at ICA 2013 in June 2013 in Montreal, Canada. We are looking for- ward to visiting this beautiful city and to meeting there to discuss progress in acoustics. Aachen, Germany Michael Vorländer President ICA 2011-2013 Read more: www.ica2013montreal.org http://www.icacommission.org http://www.icacommission.org/ICAarticle.pdf International Commission for Acoustics 45