Live, Online Press Event this Wednesday: The Science of Spooky Sounds, Charismatic Voices, Nestling Birds, Traffic Noise and More

WHAT: Press Event Webcast | Research from the ASA 168th MeetingDATE: Wednesday, October 29 TIME: "New Discoveries" @ 3:00 p.m. EDT; "Spooky Sounds" @ 4:00 p.m. EDT ONLINE REGISTRATION: http://www.aipwebcasting.comONSITE LOCATION: Florida Room, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel

Newswise — Washington, D.C., October 27, 2014 – Researchers uncovering the secrets of spooky sounds, charismatic voices, nestling birds, traffic noise and more will describe their latest findings during a two-hour live Webcast press event on Wednesday, October 29, 2014. It will be streamed live from the 168th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which takes place this week in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Webcast will be in two parts: a briefing on new discoveries in acoustics followed immediately by a briefing on the science of spooky sounds. Both briefings will feature topics being presented at the meeting. For a full list of speakers and talks, see below.

Reporters are invited to participate in this interactive webcast, and they can submit questions for the researchers in real time through the webcast interface. For information about the panelists and how to register, see below. For other questions, please contact Jason Bardi or Catherine Meyers

FIRST BRIEFING: New Discoveries in Acoustics – 3:00 p.m. EDT

1.) ANALYZING URBAN VIBRATIONSNima Riahi, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, will discuss how vibrations in the ground can reveal detailed information on planes, trains and automobiles. **MORE: http://www.newswise.com/articles/urban-seismic-network-detects-human-sounds/

2.) THE SCIENCE OF CHARISMATIC VOICESRosario Signorello, from UCLA, will discuss how the frequency characteristics of leaders’ voices can project dominance or benevolence, regardless of the words they are speaking. **MORE: http://www.newswise.com/articles/the-science-of-charismatic-voices/

3.) BABY TALKMaria Kondaurova, from Indiana University, will present research that raises a question of whether hearing loss in one infant twin affects the way a mother speaks to the other twin as well – as if the normal-hearing twin also had the hearing impairment. **MORE: http://www.newswise.com/articles/hearing-loss-in-one-infant-twin-affects-mother-s-speech-to-both-babies/

4.) NESTLING BIRDS STRUGGLE IN NOISY ENVIRONMENTS Andy Horn, from Dalhousie University, will discuss how ambient noise – which is increasing from traffic, construction and other human activities – could disrupt the communication link between young birds in the nest and their parents. **MORE: http://www.newswise.com/articles/nestling-birds-struggle-in-noisy-environments/

**NOTE: all the releases listed above are under embargo and behind the Newswise access wall. You must register as a credentialed reporter with Newswise prior to accessing them -- or you can obtain copies by emailing: [email protected] or [email protected]

SECOND BRIEFING: The Science of Spooky Sounds – 4:00 p.m. EDT

1.) COLLECTIVE WAVES AND SPIRITUAL DAZEMiriam Kolar, from Amherst College, will discuss the acoustical properties that give ancient Incan instruments their eerie, warbling, beat-like effects, and the instruments’ role in Inca religious life. More: https://acoustics.org/?p=560

2.) STRANGE PHYSIOLOGY, STRANGER VOICEBrad Story, from the University of Arizona, will discuss the origin of bizarre vocalizations as products of physical abnormalities – lungs, larynx and vocal tract withstanding. More:https://acoustics.org/?p=416

3.) SOUNDS AND MEANING LOST IN THE STATICBrad Story will also present research from a separate collaboration with colleagues from Harvard University regarding empty spaces and lost frequencies that transmission gaps leave in modern communication. More:https://acoustics.org/?p=499

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ABOUT THE MEETINGThe 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) will be held October 27-31, 2014, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel. It will feature more than 1,100 presentations on sound and its applications in physics, engineering, and medicine. Reporters are invited to cover the meeting remotely or attend in person for free. PRESS REGISTRATIONWe will grant free registration to credentialed journalists and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, contact Jason Bardi ([email protected], 240-535-4954), who can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

USEFUL LINKSMain meeting website: http://acousticalsociety.org/content/fall-2014-meeting Program and Abstracts: https://asa2014fall.abstractcentral.com/planner.jsp Live Webcast Oct. 29: http://www.aipwebcasting.com/webcast/registration/oct2014.php ASA’s World Wide Press Room https://acoustics.org/?page_id=165 WORLD WIDE PRESS ROOMASA’s World Wide Press Room is being updated with additional tips on dozens of newsworthy stories and with lay-language papers, which are 300-1,200 word summaries of presentations written by scientists for a general audience and accompanied by photos, audio, and video. See: https://acoustics.org/?page_id=273

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICAThe Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world's leading journal on acoustics), Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. For more information about ASA, visit our website at http://www.acousticalsociety.org

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