The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) seeks to engage and foster members by hosting the Early-Career Acousticians Retreat (EAR) 2025! EAR is a two-day workshop for early career professionals in the field of acoustics focused on career development and networking. The retreat will allow you to connect with your fellow early career acousticians as well as more senior members of the Society. Workshops have been designed to prepare early-career members for leadership within their specific field, foster collaborations between industry and academia, and form a mentoring network, among other topics to support your career development.
Registration for all EAR 2025 participants will be $100. Registration includes all workshops and other activities as well as three meals. Travel reimbursements of $750 that can support lodging and transportation will be available for 30 registrants.
The workshop will be held at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans, LA, beginning on Saturday, May 17th, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. and ending on Sunday, May 18th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
Apply for EAR here. Applicants must be within 10 years of their last degree and not currently a student. Applications are due 7 March 2025 by 5:00 p.m. EDT.
For questions about EAR, contact Martin Lawless (mlawless@sunymaritime.edu), Kimberly Riegel (riegelk@farmingdale.edu) or Marisha Speights (marisha.speights@northwestern.edu).
Dates
May 17th, 2024 – 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
May 18th, 2024 – 9:00 am – 6:00 p.m.
Schedule
Saturday, May 17
Breakfast on your own
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM – Check in / Welcome
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – Speed networking with early career members
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Structure of the ASA and how to get involved
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Lunch
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Professional Development: Successfully Navigating the “Messy Middle” of your Career Journey (Ronicka Briscoe)
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM – Break
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM – Building your Mentoring Map / Launch of Mentoring Program
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM – Break
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM – Dinner
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Presidential Reception
Sunday, May 18
9:00 AM – 10:30 PM – Breakout Workshops:TBA Academia Workshop (Vidya Krull)10:30 AM – 11:00 AM – Break
TBA Industry Workshop (Scott Pfeifer)
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Collaboration Workshop (Vidya Krull and Scott Pfeifer)
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM – Group Picture
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Box Lunch
TBD – ASA/ICA 2025 Opening Ceremony
TBD – ASA/ICA 2025 Opening Reception
Workshop Facilitators
Professional Development Workshop – Facilitated by Ronicka Briscoe, Ph.D.
Successfully Navigating the “Messy Middle” of your Career Journey
In this dynamic session on Successfully Navigating in the "Messy Middle" of Your Career Journey, early-career professionals will engage in a series of interactive activities designed to bolster their confidence and expand their professional toolkit. The session combines three core areas: Strengths Are Your Superpower, where participants will identify and leverage their unique talents for both personal and professional advancement; Expanding Your Network and Increasing Social Capital, offering insights into building mentorships, sponsorships, and valuable connections through a personalized network map; and Building a Strong Career Portfolio, guiding attendees in crafting a strategic vision and gathering experiences that enhance their educational backgrounds and position them for long-term success. Together, these elements empower participants to navigate and thrive in the 'messy middle' of their career paths.
Dr. Ronicka Briscoe is a nationally recognized educator, scholar, and leader currently serving as Founder and CEO of Winning on the Road, LLC, the premier organization for Elevating Leaders and Igniting Team Transformation through professional learning, executive coaching, and customized leadership development programs. She is a highly esteemed leader recognized for her significant contributions and impactful work. Her accolades include being named among the Women We Admire - Top Women Leaders for 2024 and New Orleans Magazine's Women of Impact in 2024. Her impressive list of honors also includes being a recipient of the 2023 Xavier University of Louisiana 40 under 40 award, the 2022 New Orleans City Business Woman of the Year, the 2023 Teach for America Community Leader of the Year, and the 2022 University of Holy Cross Community Service Award. Dr. Briscoe is an interdisciplinary scholar and practitioner whose career and community work spans nearly two decades. Ronicka formally studied political science, public administration (non-profit management), business, and executive leadership. She has spent her career in education as a teacher, administrator, professor, university department chair, consultant, executive coach and strategist. Dr. Briscoe holds a Ph.D. in Executive Leadership and is also a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and MBTI Certified Coach. Dr. Briscoe coauthored the Amazon Best Seller, Brave Women at Work - Lessons in Leadership.
Academia Breakout Workshop – Facilitated by Vidya Krull, Ph.D.
Title: Accelerating Early Career Success: Mastering Academic-Industry Collaborations, Grant Strategies, and Innovation in Acoustics
Workshop Description: Early career success is mediated by the ability to successfully pursue collaborative research not only with academic partners but also with industry – demonstrating the crucial skill of taking one’s research and applying it to advance the frontiers of knowledge and move the needle in meeting important societal needs. Collaborative research requires one to have an expansive vision that transcends one’s research and the persuasive skills that result in stakeholders investing in you as a researcher. Finally, although it is not an essential output, such collaborations often result in the generation of intellectual property that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. This workshop walks you through the essentials of creating and sustaining academic-industry collaborations, developing comfort with funding your research by writing grants, exploring potential grant mechanisms, and managing intellectual property as you chart your career path in acoustics and build your brand.
Bio: Vidya Krull, PhD, CCC-A is a scientist and an audiologist with over two decades of experience in hearing research. She is the Assistant Chair for Research and Innovation and Assistant Clinical Professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. In her role, she spearheads industry-academic collaborations, serves as a resource for faculty in identifying, developing, and securing grants, and encourages innovation and tech transfer early in the research process. Before her current position, she was a Senior Research Scientist at GN Hearing, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer for 10 years, leading cross-disciplinary and cutting-edge amplification research projects in a global team, generating intellectual property, and serving as a liaison for industry-academic partnerships. Vidya is a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the American Auditory Society, the Illinois Academy of Audiology, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She serves as a member of the S12 WG 52 on Classroom Acoustics, as a Capstone Coordinator to AuD students at Northwestern, and teaches a course on Hearing Conservation. She is passionate about bringing her industry research experience to bear on enabling collaborative research opportunities in academia that feed innovation.
Industry Breakout Workshop – Facilitated by Scott Pfeifer, FASA TBA
Academia/Industry Collaboration Panel – Facilitated by Vidya Krull & Scott Pfeifer TBA
Organizers
Martin Lawless, Ph.D. Chair of Member Engagement Committee, ASA
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Maritime College
mlawless@sunymaritime.edu
Kimberly Riegel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics at Farmingdale State College
riegelk@farmingdale.edu
Marisha Speights, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Northwestern University
marisha.speights@northwestern.edu