PREPARED FOR NOISE/NEWS INTERNATIONAL, 1998 JUNE.
The Spanish Acoustical Society (SEA) was founded in 1969 as a non-profit scientific and technical organization with the primary goal of fostering the development of the field of acoustics in Spain. The principal objectives of SEA are:
- to promote progress in all aspects of acoustics,
- to foster research in the field,
- to cooperate in the development of the musical culture,
- to monitor and assist in reducing individual and community exposure to noise,
- to organize conferences on acoustics,
- to edit a periodic journal, Revista de Acu stica, and
- to promote “Total Quality” in acoustical systems and installations.
The founding of SEA resulted from the interest expressed by a large number of professionals who participated in the First International Conference on Noise Control to be held in Spain at the end of 1967.
SEA is closely allied with the Instiuto de Acu stica of the Scientific Research Council of Spain. The Society is a founding member of the EAA (European Acoustics Association) which is united with FASE, of ICA (International Commission on Acoustics), of CEAF (Comite Espanol de Audiofonologia, member of BIAP (Bureau International d’Audiophonologie), and a member of the recently-formed Federacao Iberoamericana de Acu stica (FIA), a federation of the acoustical societies of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries.
In 1977, SEA organized on behalf of the International Commission on Acoustics (ICA) the 9th International Congress on Acoustics in Madrid, with satellite symposia in Barcelona and Sevilla. (The ICA attracted 1,500 participants from all over the world; some 900 papers were presented covering all aspects of acoustics.) In 1989, SEA organized the 8th FASE Symposium on Environmental Acoustics in Zaragoza, the 11th FASE Symposium on Acoustical Materials and Ultrasonic Transducers in Valencia in 1984, and, in 1990, a conference on “Environmental Noise in Urban Areas” in Barcelona. This was followed in 1991 by an international conference on “Noise in Urban Areas,” held in Madrid.
In 1994, SEA hosted an International Conference on the Acoustic Quality of Concert Halls in Madrid on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding.
Every year, SEA organizes a national meeting in different cities in Spain. This conference which is called “Tecniacustica” promotes the study of acoustics in the universities of Spain, and provides an annual opportunity for reporting on the latest research developments and technical advances in the field. The conference is usually arranged to cover four areas:
- community noise,
- industrial noise and workers’ health,
- architectural acoustics, and
- vibration control.
The technical committees of SEA cover the following areas of acoustics:
- ultrasonics,
- general occupational noise
- environmental acoustics, architectural acoustics, and
- measurement and instrumentation.From its founding, SEA has cooperated with the acoustical societies of other countries, particularly those in Europe and Latin America that use Romance languages. SEA publishes Revista de Acustica, the most important publication on acoustics in the Spanish language.
For the latest information on SEA activities, visit the web site of the SEA at http://www.ia.csic.es/Sea/index.html.