Page 10 - Volume 8, Issue 1 Winter 2013

and International Standards related to acoustics and vibra- tion. Papers presented in the session are adapted here so that they reach a wider audience.
The ASA Standards Program serves the country and is directed at both the members of the Acoustical Society and society in general. ASA has been involved in standards devel- opment virtually since the inception of the Society and ASA’s members have been leaders in this process at the national and international levels. Standards are the ultimate method to “promote the practical application of acoustics,” which is one of the stated purposes of the ASA. Standards represent the dis- tillation of years of research and practical experience. Many standards users are not acousticians but they are able to bene- fit from the work of ASA members (and others) by choosing to use voluntary consensus standards to support their decisions.
ASA’s presence in the standards development communi- ty is significant compared to other organizations of its type and size. This is a reflection of the continuous support for the standards program demonstrated by ASA’s Executive Council through the years.
The key strength of the ASA Standards Program is its more than 500 volunteers. The latest additions to the Standards Program are our National Subcommittee on animal bioacoustics and our International Subcommittee on underwater acoustics. With these, our Standards Program serves nearly all the technical areas of ASA. We hope that you will enjoy reading these papers written by standards volunteers (and staff) and that you will be moved to join us to help make this Program something that is of value to you.
From the Guest Editors 9