Major Joint Conference on the Science of Sound

Newswise — What is research telling us about the noise levels to which soldiers in the field and sailors on the deck of aircraft carriers are exposed? What sounds do humpback whales make when they congregate in the summer? How can science help us understand how to achieve improved acoustics in the classroom and elsewhere in our schools? Can sound in a city trigger strong emotions in our brains? When people are exhausted, do their voices give them away?

These and other questions from the field of acoustics -- the "science of sound" -- will be discussed in Baltimore, Maryland next month at a joint conference that brings together the 159th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) with NOISE-CON 2010, the 26th annual conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE-USA). There the world's foremost experts in acoustics will report on research that draws from scientific disciplines as diverse as medicine, music, psychology, engineering, speech communication and marine biology.

The joint conference will take place at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. The 159th ASA meeting will last Monday through Friday, April 19-23. NOISE-CON 2010 will take place Monday through Wednesday, April 19-21.

Journalists are invited to attend the meetings for free, and registration information can be found at the end of this release. Reporters who cannot attend in person will also be able to cover the meeting remotely by using the online resources of ASA's World Wide Press Room.

PRELIMINARY MEETING HIGHLIGHTSThe following list briefly highlights some of the meeting's interesting talks. In the coming weeks, additional news releases will feature other interesting research in greater detail.

GENE DELIVERY WITH ULTRASOUND"Efficient integration of a functional gene, along with suitable transcriptional regulatory elements, poses a fundamental difficult for the application of successful gene therapy."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1044.html

FIRST CRIES OF A NEWBORN TIGER CUB"Although the acoustical features of a small number of calls representing the vocal repertoire of adult tigers have been studied and reported, calls produced by developing tigers representing any subspecies have not been described. In that light, the acoustical features of calls produced by an Amur cub during the first two postnatal weeks of life will be considered."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa635.html

WHAT CITY DWELLERS HEAR: MRI BRAIN SCANS"This research formed one part of a multi-disciplinary positive soundscapes project investigating the perception of urban sound environments."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa786.html

WEAPON NOISE IN THE FIELD: WHAT COMBAT TROOPS HEAR"The paper will present the acoustic levels to which a soldier may be exposed by different types of weapon and under different circumstances."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa694.html

GOOD ACOUSTIC DESIGN OF NON-CLASSROOM SPACES"After reviewing relevant American standards and guidelines for gymnasiums, libraries, lobbies, corridors, auditoriums, and other spaces that do not fit neatly into the classroom designation, this paper addresses good practices in the acoustical design of such critical environments through the use of a series of case studies."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa613.html

LISTENING TO A REUNION OF HUMPBACK WHALES" Our results indicate a trend toward increased call rates during join events when compared to randomly selected control periods, with evidence of differential usage of specific call types during join events."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa761.html

ULTRASOUND FOR DELIVERING DRUGS TO BRAIN"Ultrasound has been used in medical drug delivery but largely for altering membrane permeability. We are investigating acoustic streaming for delivery of therapeutics, such as drug molecules or other particulates, into brain tissue, with other applications for the future."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa638.html

THUNDER ON SATURN'S MOON TITAN"Even though Huygens has not detected acoustic signatures of Titanian lightning, electric discharge processes are thought to be very plausible in Titan’s thick atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and methane. When correlated with electromagnetic signatures, thunder will very likely confirm the occurrence of lightning, both during a probe’s descent and∕or once it has landed."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1208.html

NEW SENSOR BASED ON CRICKET AUDITORY SYSTEM"Insects can navigate and follow sound sources with precision in complex environments using efficient principles based on particular and appropriate sensory‐motor processing. It is precisely these principles, little understood at this point, that we want to understand, model, and validate by rebuilding them on a micro‐flying device. To achieve this goal, a new bio-mimetic acoustic sensor inspired by the cricket’s auditory system has been developed and tested in an anechoic chamber."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1013.html

ULTRASOUND AND OSTEOPOROSIS"Bone mineral density (BMD) is one of the major determinants of bone strength and fracture risk (FR), but it is not the only determinant, and overlap exists in BMD values between patients with and without fractures. It is therefore important to improve the strategy in better detecting patients at high FR who will benefit from treatments."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1166.html

QUIETER DRILLS TO HELP REDUCE HEARING LOSS IN MINERS"Hearing loss is the most prevalent disease among miners. A study of U.S. western hard-rock mines revealed that 96% of machine operators were overexposed to noise, with jackleg drill operators having the most rapid noise dose accumulation."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa675.html

SPEECH ANALYSIS IN NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS"This talk provides examples from two investigations: the grounding∕oil spill of the Exxon Valdez tanker and the crash of a Boeing 737 airliner at Pittsburgh."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1127.html

LISTEN UP: ACOUSTICS EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR GIRL SCOUTSASA's Committee on Women in Acoustics has arranged for a number of acoustical demonstrations for a hands-on learning experience for middle-and high-school age girl scouts and for them to earn patches in acoustics.http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa826.html

HEARING PROTECTION FOR FLIGHT DECK CREWS ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER "Several noise measuring surveys were completed to characterize near-field jet noise on US Navy flight decks. These data set the foundation for numerous efforts to improve personal hearing protection and reduce jet engine noise."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa691.html

DETECTING STRESS, EMOTION, AND DECEPTION IN SPEECH"For the major products currently on the market, all independent studies to date have failed to verify their efficacy with a wide range of speech materials collected under various experimental conditions, ranging from laboratory studies with carefully controlled speech to “mock crimes” to speech produced under realistic levels of jeopardy."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1132.html

TRACING A GUNSHOT"For detecting and localizing gunshot sound, distributed acoustic sensors with various baseline separations (several meters to dozens of meters) are used in our field experiment."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa1315.html

STEREO SOUND SWEETNESS SPOTTING "This paper investigates the traditional listening position for the mixing of stereo music in a near field-monitoring situation."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa999.html

BROKEN WINDOWS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EXPLOSIONS OCCUR NEAR BUILDINGS"The structural element most sensitive to blast damage are usually windows. A classic paper by Hershey developed a powerful statistical model for damage to windows from impulsive (sonic boom) pressure loads. Validation of the model is provided by data from an accidental explosion of an equivalent 20 lbs of TNT near a nearby nine-building apartment complex."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa770.html

ONLINE RESOURCE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT UNDERWATER SOUND"The discovery of sound in the sea website (http://www.dosits.org) provides scientific content introducing the physical science of underwater sound and how people and animals use sound to accomplish various tasks."http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may10/asa763.html

*******************************************************MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 159th ASA MEETING and NOISE-CON 2010The 159th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America is being held in conjunction with NOISE-CON 2010, the 26th annual conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE-USA). Both meetings take place at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD. The ASA meeting lasts Monday through Friday, April 19-23, and NOISE-CON lasts Monday through Wednesday, April 19-21.

The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel is located at 700 Aliceanna Street in Baltimore, MD 21202. The hotel main numbers are 1-410-385-3000 and toll free: 1-800-228-9290.

USEFUL LINKS:Main meeting website: http://asa.aip.org/baltimore/baltimore.htmlFull meeting program: http://asa.aip.org/baltimore/program.htmlSearchable index: http://asa.aip.org/asasearch.htmlHotel site: www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bwiwf-baltimore-marriott-waterfront/

WORLD WIDE PRESS ROOMIn the coming weeks, ASA's World Wide Press Room (www.acoustics.org/press) will be updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay-language papers, which are 300-1200 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio and video.

PRESS REGISTRATIONWe will grant free registration to credentialed full-time journalists and professional freelance journalists working on assignment for major news outlets. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, please contact Jason Bardi ([email protected], 301-209-3091), who can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

***********************************************ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICAThe Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,500 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world's leading journal on acoustics), Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. For more information about ASA, visit our website at http://asa.aip.org