Page 60 - Spring 2018

International Research and Education
Figure 1. Timeline of development of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) Committee on International Research and Education (CIRE).
ASA Executive Council, enabled the ASA to assist acous- ticians in the CIS and EE with 20 student grants and ASA member dues for 16 acousticians.
Since the mid-1990s, the ASA has continued to provide funds to support about 20 grants of $750 each per year to ac- ousticians from the CIS/EE. The ASA was joined in this pro- gram by the International Institute for Sound and Vibration (IIAV; www.iiav.org/) and later by the Acoustical Society of the Netherlands (NAG; www.nag-acoustics.nl/). The IIAV sponsored two of the grants annually and further arranged for the sponsorship of one grant by the NAG.
In 2006, the committee was renamed the CIRE and its objec- tive and mission were furthered broadened. Today, the CIRE supports acoustics not only in EE but also in many devel- oping countries by providing student grants and funds for specialized symposia. Nevertheless, Russia has always been a central focus of CIRE, particularly with the involvement of ASA members Vera Khokhlova and Oleg Sapozhnikov, who together with other colleagues coordinate the administrative process of the preselection of grant applications within the Russian Acoustical Society (RAS; www.akin.ru/e_rao.htm). This excellent collaboration will now serve as a model for extending and coordinating the grant application and selec- tion process to other continents.
As shown in Figure 2, to date, well over 300 grants have been awarded to student acousticians in 18 countries spread over 4 continents.
The benefit of these student grants is twofold: recognition and financial. First, grant recipients receive a certificate in recognition of their success in the competitive selection pro- cess that they can use on CVs to indicate international expe- rience and recognition. Second, grant recipients may use the funds for acquiring laboratory equipment, books, confer- ence participation, and other research-related expenses that allow them to continue their graduate studies in acoustics in their home countries. As an addition to the award, they are offered a three-year membership as a student member of the ASA, with online access to JASA and other ASA publica- tions. And if they attend one of the ASA meetings, they are invited to contact the CIRE chair so that arrangements can be made to meet with a senior member of the ASA.
In addition to the International Grants Program, the CIRE has partnered with the International Commission for Acous- tics (ICA; www.icacommission.org/) to provide funding for specialized symposia in developing countries. Sponsored conferences are normally limited to a specialized topic with an expected attendance of about 100. Support for regional or national conferences, especially in developing regions, will be considered as long as the conference has an interna- tional character. Funds are provided to partially cover travel expenses for distinguished speakers and young scientists. Examples of supported symposia are the 12th School on Acousto-Optics and Applications in Druskininkai, Lithu- ania (http://acousticstoday.org/optics), the 3rd International Conference of the Acoustical Society of Nigeria in Nsukka,
1The CIS consisted of the independent states that previously formed the Soviet Union, namely, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. The EE included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
58 | Acoustics Today | Spring 2018