Page 60 - Summer 2018

Sound Perspectives
Fredericka Bell-Berti
Address:
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders St. John’s University 8000 Utopia Parkway Queens, New York 11439 USA
Email:
bellf@stjohns.edu
Administrative Committee Report: Archives and History Committee
The Committee on Archives and History is charged with preserving the history of the Acoustical Society of America, including ensuring the avail- ability of materials for review and use for use during future anniversary meetings of the Society.
Where can one find information about Frederick V. Hunt, in whose memory the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) annually offers the Frederick V. Hunt Post- doctoral Research Fellowship in Acoustics? Where can one find information about the focus of each of the various ASA technical committees during the first 75 years of the ASA (and when and where was the 75th anniversary celebrated)? What prominent acousticians have mentored many students who have become contribu- tors to the ASA? Where can one find information about prominent acousticians and other resources on acoustics? Begin to find answers to these and many more questions on the website of the Archives and History Committee of the ASA (asahistory.org).
In recognition of the importance of maintaining materials of historical value, in 1988, the Executive Council of the ASA established the Archives and History Committee; the first chair of the committee was William J. Cavanaugh, who served from 1988 to 1991. All technical areas of the ASA are represented in the member- ship of the committee. Making the historical materials available to current and future researchers, potential students of acoustics, and the leadership of the ASA allows us to understand how we have come to our present knowledge (and organi- zational structure) as well as to appreciate the contributions of those persons who helped to discover that knowledge.
In practice, the Archives and History Committee has focused on preparing for an- niversary celebrations of the ASA (check the link to “ASA at 75” at asahistory.org) and between such celebrations helps preserve the history of the ASA and the many subdisciplines of acoustics. One ongoing activity of the committee has been the col- lection and preservation of oral histories of prominent contributors to acoustics and/ or the ASA. This is done in conjunction with the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) (acousticstoday.org/physicshistory). Two complementary activities are to preserve key documents or other archival material related to acoustics and to collect and present the collected works of the pioneers in acoustics. This latter activity is called the Collected Works of Distinguished Acous- ticians (CDA) project; check the Works of Distinguished Acousticians’ tab on the Archives and History page (acousticstoday.org/works). The committee also sponsors and cosponsors sessions at meetings of the ASA; the posters from a session on acous- tical genealogy are also available at asahistory.org.
Acoustical Society of America Anniversary Activities
The committee is specifically charged in the Rules of the Society with ensuring “the preservation and availability of artifacts and documentary materials for review and
58 | Acoustics Today | Summer 2018 | volume 14, issue 2 ©2018 Acoustical Society of America. All rights reserved.