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Table 1. Classification of members of the Acoustical Society of America in 1932 and 2022 Employer Type 1932 Employer Type 2022 Colleges 16% College/university 31% Industrial laboratories (e.g., Bell Telephone, GE) 20% Industry 12% Acoustical material companies 23% Consultant/self-employed 15% Music and musical instruments 4% Contractor 2% Phonographs and talking picture field (RCA, Western Electric, Hollywood studios) 17% Nonprofit 2% Radio 6% Government /government funded 7% Miscellaneous 15% Student 13% Retired 6% Other 1% None indicated 10% on October 10, 1929. Fortunately, Celetex and other companies had given money for the journal just before the crash, which kept the Society out of debt. Two years later, in 1931, the ASA and four other societies began to purchase publishing services as a group that became the American Institute of Physics. During and after World War II (WWII), vast amounts of new acoustical science topics were developing. At the end of WWII, Wallace Waterfall, who was already working for the US government on WWII assignments, was assigned by the National Defense Research Committee to publish results of that research and discoveries made in the field of sound during the war. Because of all the new information, the Journal went from quarterly and very thin to bimonthly and then to monthly to accommodate this growth. For more information about the history of the ASA, look atthe25thanniversaryprogram(seetinyurl.com/2p98xd4a), the 75th anniversary program (see tinyurl.com/2p9euktx), and the many oral histories collected by and about prom- inent ASA members (see asahistory.org/oral-histories). Looking Toward the Future of the ASA Times have changed. The majority of our scientific research presentations are funded federally or by other funding agencies. The practical aspects and commercial applications of acoustics are seen more in the exhibitions. But we are again moving toward a greater participation by commercial organizations (see Table 1). The uses and applications of acoustics are practical and many are com- mercial. We have several strategic plan task forces whose specific aim is to expand the Society’s focus more toward practitioners and industry. I now discuss Task Force A and Task Force B and thank Adam Maxwell, chair of Task Force A, and Derek Knight, chair of Task Force B, for their input. Task Force B: Better Engagement of Practitioners and Industry Task Force B arose because of the 2019 Strategic Plan Retreat that concluded that practitioners and members from industry are a much higher proportion of the ASA membership than is reflected in the ASA leadership, both historically and today. Task Force B has been working to create programs and deliver experiences for industry and practitioner members that will increase participation, rec- ognition, and leadership of members of these groups. The ASA members from these groups already give scientific presentations on acoustics. Greater involvement could include thematic special sessions reflecting the interests of industry, the increase in the membership of those in private practice and industry, the creation of mechanisms for recruitment of students to private companies, and the increase in corporate visibility through sponsorship. One of Task Force B’s endeavors, sponsored by Tony Hoover and former president Diane Kewley-Port, was to change the review process for electing ASA Fellows to include credentials beyond publications and grant credentials to better represent practitioners among ASA Summer 2022 • Acoustics Today 11