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later, at the Honolulu meeting, there were 174 papers broad- cast. The “Hot Topics” session was also recorded and added to the ASA’s YouTube channel. The program is so success- ful that Dr. Wang was invited to give a talk about it at the spring meeting of the American Institute of Physics. As the program grows, the small volunteer cohort will be unable to keep up with demand. Therefore, the ASA is considering how to transition to professional services.
Another exciting initiative of Task Force 2 is the engagement and development of early-career members (see the article in the Fall 2017 issue of Acoustics Today by ASA Executive Director Susan Fox at http://acousticstoday.org/fall2017). The Task Force sponsored 30 $500 travel grants for the Bos- ton meeting and will sponsor another 30 grants for New Orleans. To be eligible, members must be within 10 years of obtaining their last degree. Because this program is for early-career members, students are not eligible.
Additionally, there will be a campaign in New Orleans to raise funds to endow Early-Career Leadership Fellows and to celebrate previous Hunt Fellows. I am especially looking forward to the Hunt Fellow poster session, which will be held at the event.
The goal of Task Force 3 is to support the dissemination of information and knowledge. Task Force 3 has the special charge of streamlining and promoting our publications. One of the most exciting initiatives from Task Force 3 has been the creation of coordinating editors (CEs) for our journals. CEs are assigned to each technical committee and oversee the dis- tribution of papers among the associate editors (AEs). They help ensure that the number of papers is distributed evenly among the AEs and provide an additional level of oversight to ensure that papers do not get “stuck” in the review process. Ten of the thirteen technical committees now have CEs, and they have already reduced the mean time to decision for sub- missions in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America from 100 to 59 days. (This initiative is more fully discussed in a Sound Perspectives essay in the Summer 2017 issue of Acous- tics Today by ASA Editor in Chief Jim Lynch and CE KC Lee at http://acousticstoday.org/summer2017). Another excit- ing program from Task Force 3 is developing an orientation
guide for AEs. This guide will aid in educating new AEs on their roles and responsibilities. It is expected that this guide will be available to new AEs by the end of 2017.
Financial stewardship is the province of Task Force 4, chaired by past president, Dr. Christy Holland. In this area, the Society is moving to a new business model. Under the new model, a treasurer will be elected from the membership to oversee the long-range strategic financial goals of the So- ciety. The treasurer will be aided by a professional financial manager. Currently, our treasurer is appointed, not elected. The change to an elected treasurer requires a rewrite of the bylaws of the Society, which is ongoing. Most likely, the changes will be ready for a general membership vote at the Minneapolis meeting in the spring of 2018. The Society will hire a consulting firm to fill the financial director position. These changes will ensure the Society’s long-term financial well-being.
In the long term, I am excited about the direction of the So- ciety. We are moving toward an organization that has more impact on acoustic education and outreach while providing our members with increased opportunities for engagement and publication and ensuring financially stability. Personal- ly, I am excited on the effect of these initiatives on outreach and international cooperation. In the future, I am hoping to see a Society that better reflects the diversity of our country while maintaining the high standards expected of a world- renowned scientific institution. This requires introducing a love of science to a wide range of people at all stages of their scientific careers, from their first course in physical science in middle school to their dissertation defense and beyond.
In the short term, I am just looking forward to a great meeting in New Orleans. If you see me listening to the Cajun music performance Tuesday afternoon or anticipating the lecture from the spokesperson of the Laser Interferometer Gravita- tional-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration at the Society luncheon, make sure to introduce yourself. I would be happy to talk about where the Society is going and hear your ideas on how we can serve our members better.
Email: misakson@arlut.utexas.edu
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