Acoustical Society Foundation Fund

The generosity and support of ASA members over the past 5 decades has enabled the Acoustical Society of America to create several support programs for students, postgraduates, and established professionals. These include fellowships, scholarships, awards, Prizes and student travel support.  There are programs that are still in development including Early Career Fellowships, the Down Under Fund to support student travel to the Fall 2024 meeting in Sydney, and a new scholarship in honor of Murray Strasberg.

Recently the ASA funded the creation of the Fund to Support Inclusive Acoustics.  This fund will be used for new and existing programs to increase participation by underrepresented groups in the field of acoustics.

These award and funding programs have supported thousands of students and established professionals in pursuit of their research goals and involvement in the Society. ASA Members continue to honor the Society with their annual contributions and creation of new funds to support additional scholarships and awards. With the continued support from members of the Society, we look forward to growing ASA’s Foundation Fund programs.

The funding programs described below are supported by the Acoustical Society Foundation Fund which maintains the funds that are the source of funding for these programs.

Fund to Support Inclusive Acoustics

The Acoustical Society of America has created a fund for new and existing programs to increase participation by underrepresented groups in the field of acoustics and in the ASA.  Plans are in progress to develop specific programs and funding opportunities in support of this goal. 

Frederick V. Hunt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Acoustics

The Frederick V. Hunt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Acoustics was established by the Society to carry out the wish of Professor Frederick Vinton Hunt that his estate be used to further the science of, and education in acoustics. Fellows receive a stipend, provided jointly by the Hunt estate and a fund established by the Acoustical Society, to support their research on a topic in acoustics at an institution of their choice. One Fellowship has been awarded each year since 1978. A commemorative booklet celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Fellowship can be downloaded here

James E. West Fellowship

The Acoustical Society of America established a Minority Fellowship in 1992 with the goal to support supporting minority students from underrepresented group in the sciences in their pursuit of graduate-level degrees in acoustics. The fellowship was renamed the James E. West Fellowship in 2018.

Raymond H. Stetson Scholarship in Phonetics and Speech Science

The Raymond H. Stetson Scholarship was established by a grant to the Acoustical Society in 1998.  It honors the memory of Professor Raymond H. Stetson, a pioneer investigator in phonetics and speech science. The purpose of the scholarship is to facilitate the research efforts of promising graduate students in speech communication.

Leo and Gabriella Beranek Scholarship in Architectural Acoustics and Noise Control

The Leo and Gabriella Scholarship in Architectural Acoustics and Noise Control was established by a generous donation by Leo and Gabriella Beranek to the Acoustical Society of America to support graduate student study in the fields of architectural acoustics and noise control. One scholarship is awarded each year.

Frank and Virginia Winker Memorial Scholarship for Graduate Study in Acoustics

The Frank and Virginia Winker Memorial Scholarship for Graduate Study in Acoustics has been established through a generous donation by The Elizabeth L. and Russell F. Hallberg Foundation and Douglas F. Winker to support graduate student study in the fields of architectural acoustics noise control, or engineering acoustics. One scholarship will be awarded each year

Robert W. Young Award for Undergraduate Student Research in Acoustics

A gift to the Acoustical Society Foundation made by the family of the late Robert W. Young in his honor has been established to grant undergraduate student research awards and to provide travel support for individual experts to participate in the development of International Standards prepared by certain International Electrotechnical Commission and International Organization for Standards Technical Committees. Two awards available each year.

The Royster Student Scholarship Award

The Royster Student Scholarship Award was established through a generous donation by Larry and Julia Royster to the Acoustical Society of America to support the work of graduate students in the fields of Hearing Conservation and Noise Control.  This is an ASA Regional and Student Chapters program whereby one or two chapters hold poster competitions annually and award scholarships to the authors of the posters judged to be best in the competitions. For additional information about the award visit the Regional and Student Chapters website  

Newman Student Medals, Schultz Grants, and Student Design Competition Awards

The Newman Student Award Fund is named for Robert Bradford Newman, a founding member of Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. who was widely known as a teacher with extraordinary ability to communicate the essentials of architectural acoustics. The Newman Fund currently sponsors three programs:

• The Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics recognizing excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world. for students
• Theodore John Schultz Grant for Advancement of Acoustical Education providing partial support for the development of improved teaching methods, new curricula, or research in architectural acoustics education.
• Student Design Competitions in the disciplines of Architecture, Engineering, Physics and other curricula that involve building design and/or acoustics. These competitions are intended to encourage students to express their knowledge of architectural acoustics and noise control in the design of a facility in which acoustical considerations are of significant importance.

ASA Early Career Leadership Fellows

The ASA developed several initiatives with the goal of expanding promotion and participation by early career members in academics, industry, government, and consulting including an Early-Career Acousticians Retreat (EAR) series, Early Career Travel Subsidies to support attendance by early career members at ASA meetings, and workshops aimed at early career professionals.

To support the next generation of scientists and dedicated leaders in acoustics and the ASA, a fellowship program, ASA Early Career Leadership Fellows, has been developed.  Early career acousticians who are selected for these fellowships must show commitment to ASA and to new personal endeavors that will reward the Society and enhance their personal growth as future leaders at the same time.

The CACEL development committee is working on the fellowship application details which will be announced in 2023.

Hartmann Prize in Auditory Neuroscience

The William and Christine Hartmann Prize in Auditory Neuroscience was established in 2011 through a generous donation by Bill and Chris Hartmann to the Acoustical Society of America to recognize and honor research that links auditory physiology with auditory perception or behavior in humans or other animals

Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography

The Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was established in 2000 from a generous gift made to the Acoustical Society Foundation by Herman and Eileen Medwin to recognize a person for the effective use of sound in the discovery and understanding of physical and biological parameters and processes in the sea.

Rossing Prize in Acoustics Education

The Rossing Prize in Acoustics Education was established in 2003 from a generous gift made to the Acoustical Society Foundation by Thomas D. Rossing to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions toward furthering acoustics education through distinguished teaching, creation of educational materials, textbook writing and other activities.

Student Transportation Subsidies

The Student Transportation Subsidies Fund provides limited funds to students to partially defray transportation expenses to meetings. Proposals are solicited from students for each Acoustical Society meeting in the meeting call for papers.  Proposal must include a description of travel plans to attend the meeting and must be submitted about a month before each ASA meeting.

Down Under Fund

The Acoustical Society of America created this special fund to support the travel of students from North America to attend Acoustics 2023 Sydney, the joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America/Australian Acoustical Society/Western Pacific Acoustical Commission/Pacific Rim Underwater Acoustics Conference to be held in Sydney, Australia in December 2023.

One hundred grants of USD$1000 will be available.  An application will be released in early 2023 for students to apply for Down Under Funding.

Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography Student Transportation Grant

The Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography Student Transportation Grant was created from a gift to the Society in Eileen Medwin’s will (Eileen was the wife of ASA Past President Herman Medwin). The funds provide a grant for students studying topics related to acoustical oceanography to attend meetings of the Acoustical Society of America. Applicants must be full-time students pursuing Master’s or Ph.D. degrees who are members of the Acoustical Society of America and who will be students at the time of the meeting for which the grant is provided. Students must be studying a topic covered by the scope of the Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography.

Institute for Acoustics for the Performing Arts

A donation by Russell Johnson, an architect and acoustical expert, through the Institute for Acoustics for the Performing Arts provides funds to cover student participation in Summer Institutes organized by the Concert Hall Research Group.

The Concert Hall Research Group (CHRG) was organized in 1991 with the mission to advance knowledge and understanding of acoustic design for music performance spaces. To fulfill that mission, CHRG holds periodic Summer Institutes–specialty conferences to exchange ideas between acoustic consultants in performing arts, faculty and researchers in architectural acoustics, and college students studying or interested in architectural acoustics. Summer Institutes have been held at venues such as Tanglewood (MA), Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs (NY), and The Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago (IL) among others.