ASA Bestows Medals and Awards

The Acoustical Society of America presented a number of awards and medals at the 143rd meeting of the society, held last month in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Two individuals each were awarded the Gold Medal, the highest honor of ASA. Robert E. Apfel received a gold medal for his “fundamental contributions to physical acoustics and biomedical ultrasound, and innovative leadership in electronic publishing.” Apfel is the Robert Higgin Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yale University and a visiting professor of architecture at Harvard University. The other Gold Medal recipient was Tony F. W. Embleton, who was recognized for his “fundamental contributions to understanding outdoor sound propagation and noise control and for leadership in the Society.” Embleton is retired from the National Research Council of Canada.

The R. Bruce Lindsay Award was also presented to two individuals this year. James J. Finneran, an engineer in the biosciences division of the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego, California, was honored for “contributions to the understanding of auditory mechanics and transduction to teleost fish and of hearing by dolphins.” Thomas J. Royston garnered the award for his “contributions to the nonlinear characterization and control of vibration and acoustical outreach to inner city youth.” Royston is an associate professor and associate head of the mechanical and industrial engineering department at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

The Silver Medal in Psychological and Physiological Acoustics went to Neal F. Viemeister, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, for his “contributions to the understanding of temporal and intensive aspects of hearing.” ASA presented its Silver Medal in Engineering Acoustics to Ilene J. Busch-Vishniac at the society’s 142nd meeting, which was held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, last January. Busch-Vishniac, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, was recognized for her “development of novel electret microphones and of precision microelectromechanical sensors and positioners.”