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ASANews
tion of acoustic phenomena, as illustrated with a variety of musical instruments. Christopher Sturdy described an ex- tensive field program studying songbirds, with insight into the connections between animal acoustics, communica- tion, and behavior. Jody Kreiman discussed how our voices serve as an “auditory face,” conveying our personal identity, age, size, health, mood, etc., and voice’s critical role in so- cial functioning. Frederick Gallun explained the acoustical cues associated with spatial localization, how the human auditory system has evolved to extract these cues, and the effects of aging, hearing loss, and brain injury. Peggy Nel- son discussed the use of realistic acoustic environments, e.g., noisy restaurants, to measure the benefits, satisfaction, and use of sensory aids for hearing loss, with implications for the use of listener-driven technology. The instructors also took part in roundtable, group, and informal discussions, which ranged from technical questions about the lectures to topics of student interest such as “how to choose/pursue a career in acoustics” and “how to publish a journal paper.”
After the school ended, the attendees completed an evalua- tion survey to provide feedback and suggestions for future schools. The overwhelming consensus was that the ASA School 2016 was a valuable experience enjoyed by the par- ticipants, with most attendees reporting that the school ex- ceeded their expectations. They learned a lot about acoustics, particularly in areas new to them, and valued the opportu- nity to meet others from diverse backgrounds and interests (participants also noted that they enjoyed the socials, meals, accommodations, and mountain setting). Many student comments indicated that the goals of the school were largely achieved. Typical comments included:
• “I loved the intimate style of this workshop and the infor- mal nature of discussions.”
• “The opportunity to hear and talk to teachers and fellow students has been inspiring.”
• “It was a fantastic experience to network across TCs (Tech- nical Committees).”
• “This was a really wonderful experience and opened my eyes to a larger range of areas and outlooks.”
• “Career insights were very interesting/helpful.”
• “Wonderful experience in a great location. Met so many people I can now connect with in the professional world.”
The most common suggestions were to increase the diversity of acoustical topics covered because not all Technical Com- mittee areas were represented by the presentations and to provide more introductory-level material. Attendees also requested more demonstrations, hands-on experiences, and
56 | Acoustics Today | Spring 2017
Figure 2. Left to right: Judy R. Dubno is a Professor in the Depart- ment of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, and served as ASA President from 2014 to 2015. Judy was a coorganizer of ASA Schools 2012 and 2014. Stan E. Dosso is a Professor and Director of the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada. Stan is chairing the Fall 2018 ASA Meeting in Victoria. Brigitte Schulte- Fortkamp is a Professor of Psychoacoustics and Noise Effects, Insti- tute of Fluid Mechanics and Engineering Acoustics, Technical Uni- versity of Berlin, Berlin, Germany, and served as ASA Vice President from 2011 to 2012. Brigitte was a coorganizer of ASA Schools 2012 and 2014.
discussions, even if this meant reduced lecture time. More- over, for the first time, a list of all the oral and poster presen- tations by the school participants at the ASA meeting that began immediately after the school was distributed to make it easier for participants to attend each other’s presentations. This concept of integrative participation will be included in future ASA Schools.
To keep student costs low and ensure that the school was accessible to all, the registration fee was set at $50 and the cost of hotel rooms and meals was covered by sponsorships from the ASA (www.acousticalsociety.org), the Acousti- cal Society Foundation Fund (www.acousticalsociety. org/membership/as_foundation_fund), ADA Acoustics and Media Consultants (www.ada-amc.eu), Harman Inter- national (http://www.harman.com), the HEAD Genuit Foundation (www.head-genuit.foundation/index_eng.htm), Scantek, Inc. (www.scantekinc.com), and Springer Publish- ing (http://www.springerpub.com). This generous support is gratefully acknowledged.
We three coorganizers of the ASA School 2016 (the coau- thors of this article; Figure 2) thank the instructors for their insightful presentations and thoughtful discussions. Finally, we especially thank the graduate students and early-career acousticians who attended the school and contributed so much by their presence, enthusiasm, and participation; we hope to see them in the ASA for many years to come.