What are Technical Committees (TCs)?

The ASA is subdivided into thirteen Technical Committees (TCs) covering a broad range of topics in acoustics. The TCs provide a “home base” for ASA members, coordinate the various technical sessions, and promote development in their fields. Each of the TCs have their own leadership, their own sessions, and their own student council representative. In essence, a TC acts as its own mini-society within the ASA. Each TC also holds its own administrative meeting during every ASA conference. Students are highly encouraged to attend this meeting and to familiarize themselves with the inner workings of the TCs.

Curious? Check out any of the thirteen TCs below for information on the TC and links to their respective websites!

Underwater Acoustics

The Technical Committee on Underwater Acoustics is concerned with both natural and anthropogenic sound and its generation underwater; and the propagation, reflection and scattering of sound in the underwater environment including the seabed and the sea surface.

Signal Processing in Acoustics

The purpose of the Technical Committee on Signal Processing in Acoustics is to increase and diffuse knowledge of signal processing as used in the field of acoustics.

Noise

The purpose of the Technical Committee on Noise is to increase and diffuse knowledge of noise generation and propagation, passive and active noise control, and the effects of noise. Activities of the Committee embrace the practical and theoretical aspects of noise, in its broadest definition, in all areas of acoustics. Specific interests include the following and similar topics: sound sources, source mechanisms, propagation, perception, prediction, measurement, evaluation, analysis, effects, regulation, mitigation, and legal aspects of noise.

Biomedical Acoustics

The Biomedical Acoustics TC is concerned with the study of the interactions of acoustic waves with biological materials, which is relevant for diagnostic and therapeutic applications of acoustics in medicine, biological effects of exposure to vibrations and medical imaging.

Structural Acoustics and Vibration

The Structural Acoustics & Vibration Technical Committee includes the study of motions and interactions of mechanical systems with their environments and the methods of their measurement, analysis, and control.

Psychological and Physiological Acoustics

Concerned with the investigation and the dissemination of information about psychological and physiological responses of man and animals to acoustic stimuli.

Musical Acoustics

The Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics is interested in the application of science and technology to the field of music, with current interest in the physics of musical sound production, music perception and cognition, and analysis and synthesis of musical sounds and composition.

Architectural Acoustics

The Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics considers room acoustics, airborne and impact transmission in building structures, airborne and structure-borne noise control, noise control of building systems and electroacoustic systems.

Acoustical Oceanography

Acoustical oceanography is the science of inferring oceanic properties (physical, biological, geological, chemical etc.) from acoustic measurements. The field is motivated by the poor propagation of electromagnetic waves in water which renders many terrestrial measurement techniques (optical, radar, microwave etc.) inadequate for oceanic measurements. The field is complicated by the large scale of the ocean, the wide range of physical and biological noise sources present and by the complexity of sound propagation in a dynamic and inhomogeneous medium.

Speech Communication

The Speech Communication Technical Committee is concerned with the production, transmission and perception of spoken language. Both machine processing and human perception of speech are considered.

Computational Acoustics

The Computational Acoustics Technical Specialty Group is concerned with the study of numerical and computational methods for studying and modeling acoustical phenomena; validation, benchmarking, and uncertainty analysis of computational models; computational learning methods, data analytics, and data visualization; and other applications of computational acoustics.

Physical Acoustics

The physical acoustics technical committee is concerned with fundamental acoustic wave propagation phenomena, including transmission, reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, scattering, absorption, dispersion of sound, and sonoluminescence. The use of acoustics to study physical properties of matter, and to produce changes in these properties, is also of interest.

Engineering Acoustics

Concerned with the evolution and improvement of acoustical techniques and apparatus, and with the promotion of new applications of acoustics for useful purposes. Including transducers and arrays, acoustic instrumentation, applied sonics, audio engineering, acoustic imaging and acoustic holography.

Animal Bioacoustics

The Animal Bioacoustics Technical Committee studies the acoustic communication, sound production anatomy and auditory capacities of non-human animals as well as their behavioral responses to environmental sounds. In addition the use of acoustic techniques for population assessment, identification and behavior measurements are considered.