Page 10 - Spring2019

There’s no doubt that videos are an increasingly popular way of engaging the public, and our YouTube channel (acoustic.link/ ASA-YouTube) is helping our Society to do just that. Here you can find videos that the ASA has produced or curated on a broad range of topics, from, for example, discovering the field of acoustics, what an ASA meeting is like, and celebrating In- ternational Noise Awareness Day. Additionally, recordings of meeting content starting with the Fall 2015 Meeting, procured as part of the pilot initiative of the ASA to broadcast and re- cord meeting content, may be found at this site.
Science communication is a skill like any other, and I encour- age all of us to become better at it. The ASA has been invest- ing in strategies to improve science communication by our members and staff, from hosting a science communication workshop for graduate students at the Spring 2018 Meeting to improving the efficiency of the process by which the ASA responds to media inquiries. Most recently, the ASA has also begun engaging more with the American Institute of Physics (AIP) government relations staff to understand how the Soci- ety may communicate better with government groups about the importance of acoustics research and science. Soon ASA members will be receiving a questionnaire to assist the Soci- ety leadership with learning what members’ priorities are with government relations so that we can develop appropriate strat- egies toward advocating for public policy related to acoustics. Thank you in advance for responding to that survey.
Last, I’d like to commend the ASA Standards Program for its continued major role in how the Society disseminates and promotes the knowledge and practical applications of acous- tics. Please see the Acoustics Today article by ASA Standards Director Christopher Struck to learn more (acoustic.link/AT- Standards-Fall17). If you prefer watching a video instead, a new one on the ASA Standards Program has been posted to the ASA YouTube channel recently. Christopher has also au- thored a 2019 article in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America with former ASA Standards Manager Susan Blaeser on the history of ASA standards (doi.org/10.1121/1.5080329). Many thanks to Christopher, Susan, and the many members engaged with the ASA Committee on Standards for their laudable work in leading the development and maintenance of consensus-based standards in acoustics.
I hope that my From the President columns and recent ar- ticles by Editor in Chief James Lynch in Acoustics Today to date (for example, see bit.ly/AT-PubsQuality-Sum2018) have given you a sense of the significant progress that the Society has made since the 2015 Strategic Leadership for the Future Plan. We are now about to embark on the next
8 | Acoustics Today | Spring 2019
phase of planning for the future of the Society, with a focus on considering what role the ASA should be playing in fur- thering the profession of acoustics. My last column in the Summer 2019 Issue of Acoustics Today will summarize dis- cussions from a strategic summit to be held in the spring of 2019. Please continue to check my online “ASA President’s Blog” at acousticalsociety.org/asa-presidents-blog and feel free to contact me with your suggestions at president@ acousticalsociety.org.
I can’t believe that my year as ASA President is already more than halfway over. It’s been such an outstanding experi- ence; thanks to all of you who have helped to make it so. The Spring 2019 Meeting in Louisville, KY, will mark my last days as ASA President as well as the 90th anniversary of ASA meetings since the first one convened in May 1929 (acoustic. link/ASA-History). I look forward to celebrating the occa- sion with many of you in Louisville. Please consider submit- ting a gift to the Campaign for ASA Early Career Leadership (acoustic.link/CAECL) in honor of this special anniversary to help ensure the prosperity and success of our Society for at least another 90 years to come!
Acoustics Today in the Classroom?
There are now over 250 articles on the AT web site (AcousticsToday.org). These articles can serve as supplemental material for readings in a wide range of courses. AT invites instructors and others to create reading lists. Selected lists may be published in AT and/or placed in a special folder on the AT web site to share with others.
If you would like to submit such a list, please include:
• Your name and affiliation (include email)
• The course name for which the list is
designed (include university, department,
course number)
• A brief description of the course
• A brief description of the purpose of the list
• Your list of AT articles (a few from other ASA
publications may be included if appropriate for your course). Please embed links to the articles in your list.
Please send your lists to the AT editor, Arthur Popper (apopper@umd.edu).