AES News

The Audio Engineering Society has announced the incoming Officers and Governors following the 2019 Board of Governors elections, with terms beginning January 1, 2020. The Society's membership has elected Jonathan Wyner as President-Elect and re-elected Richard Wollrich as Treasurer. Additionally, Thomas Görne has been re-elected as Vice President Central Region, Europe; Cesar Lamschtein has been re-elected as Vice President Latin America Region; Shusen Wang has been re-elected as Vice President Asia-Pacific Region; Ian Corbett will join the Board of Governors as Vice President Central Region, USA/Canada; and Alberto Pinto will join the Board as Vice President Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa Region. Newly elected Governors are Brecht De Man, Valeria Palomino and Magdalena Piotrowska. Save for the President-Elect, each newly-elected individual will serve a two-year term, while those re-elected will have their current term of office extended for two years. Wyner will serve a year as President-Elect, in 2021 as President, in 2022 as Past-President and two-years as a Governor.

Outgoing from the Board of Governors as regional Vice Presidents are Ufuk Önen (Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa Region) and Mike Porter (Central Region, USA/Canada). Governors with terms ending at the end of 2019 are Martha de Francisco, Kyle P. Snyder and, as he assumes the position of President-Elect, Jonathan Wyner. Additionally, Governor (and Past President, twice removed) John Krivit will complete his five-year commitment to the BoG, while Current Past President David Scheirman will transition to Governor for the first year of a two-year term.

"The Society owes a debt of gratitude to all those who have served on the Board of Governors," says AES President Nadja Wallaszkovits, "as well as those continuing to serve. We also sincerely appreciate the entire slate of outstanding candidates on the 2019 ballot for their commitment to the AES, and we congratulate our newly-elected Governors and Directors. I look forward to their contributions as we work together in the coming year."

Per the AES bylaws amendment passed in the 2019 elections, the Society's governing structure will be revised to conform to legal requirements, effective in August of 2019. A newly formed Board of Directors (BoD), the governing body of the Society, will consist of the Society's Member-elected officers plus two Directors to be elected by the Board of Governors (BoG). Those eligible to become BoG-elected Directors must be either a current or recent member of the BoG. The Board of Governors (BoG) will retain many of its current responsibilities and will continue to be composed of the Regional Vice Presidents and Governors-at-large, along with the members of the BoD. The responsibilities currently held by the Executive Committee of the BoG, which will cease to exist, will be filled primarily by the BoD.

The election was monitored, and the results presented, by Gary Louie, Chair of the AES's Tellers Committee.

The 2020 Audio Engineering Society Board of Directors will be:
Agnieszka Roginska: President
Nadja Wallaszkovits: Past President
Jonathan Wyner: President-Elect
Valerie Tyler: Secretary
Richard Wollrich: Treasurer
Two additional Directors will be named by the Board of Governors per the new AES Bylaws.

In addition to the Directors listed above, the 2020 Board of Governors will be:
Ian Corbett: Vice President, Central Region, USA/Canada
Thomas Görne: Vice President, Central Region, Europe
Gary Gottlieb: Vice President, Eastern Region, USA/Canada
Alex Kosiorek: Vice President, Western Region, USA/Canada
Cesar Lamschtein: Vice President, Latin American Region
Per Sjösten: Vice President, Northern Region, Europe
Alberto Pinto: Vice President, Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa Region
Shusen Wang: Vice President, Asia-Pacific Region
Alex U. Case: Governor
Brecht De Man: Governor
Leslie Gaston-Bird: Governor  
Jessica Livingston: Governor
Piper Payne: Governor 
Valeria Palomino: Governor  
Magdalena Piotrowska: Governor  
David W. Scheirman: Governor

- The display augments a cutting-edge program of broadcast and online delivery content - 

The Empire State Building has gifted the Audio Engineering Society with one of the 32 elements from its Alford antenna array, which overlooked Manhattan from high above for more than half a century. This piece of FM broadcast history will be on display at AES New York 2019, the 147th Audio Engineering Society International Pro Audio Convention, at the Jacob K. Javits Center in October.

“The Alford Antenna is an important part of what made broadcasting as we know it today possible, and the Empire State Building is excited to share this special piece of history with the Audio Engineering Society,” said Anthony E. Malkin, Chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust. 

Since its opening in 1931, the Empire State Building has been on the cusp of innovation. When the Alford master FM antenna was installed around the 102nd-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building in 1965, it was a revolutionary development in broadcast technology. Instead of operating at lower power from various rooftops and hilltops around the city, for the first time multiple FM stations could operate at full power from a single shared antenna system atop what was then the tallest building in the U.S., carrying the signals of more than a dozen top New York radio stations to tens of millions of listeners in the tri-state area.

“The Alford Antenna played a critical role in the delivery of spoken word and music to millions for decades,” notes Nadja Wallaszkovits, AES President. “The AES is proud to present this slice of New York’s rich broadcasting legacy to the attendees of AES New York.”

The 32 elements from the Alford antenna ringed the 102nd-floor observation deck, 16 each above and below the viewing windows, each element angled at 45 degrees to create both horizontal and vertical polarization, another pioneering aspect of Andrew Alford's design. The array continued to serve as a backup antenna for New York FM stations well into the 21st century, including being used for emergency restoration of FM signals that had transmitted from the World Trade Center.

The antenna's 50th anniversary was celebrated at a joint AES/SBE event held at the World Trade Center in 2015, recognizing its place in FM history as the first of what would eventually be hundreds of FM master antenna systems around the globe. Additionally, due to their longstanding relationship with the Audio Engineering Society, the Empire State Building authorities and the broadcasters of the building have long supported the Society and have hosted special tours and events for AES members and convention attendees.

The Alford Antenna display is just a part of a full slate of Broadcast and Online Delivery content at AES New York 2019, including workshops, tutorials and presentations of cutting-edge research, best practices, standards work and additional historical perspectives. Registration for AES New York 2019 is now open at www.aesshow.com. 

Additionally, videos of special events hosted during the AES New York 139^th International Convention in 2015 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Empire State Building’s Alford antenna are available:

Video 1 - AES Empire State Building special event at AES 139th International Convention celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Master FM Alford Antenna during the AES New York 139th International Convention (https://youtu.be/h3_Xv78fK-E)

Video 2 - Empire State Building Alford antenna 50th anniversary lightshow held during the AES New York 139th International Convention (https://youtu.be/rhrI9Xgg6j4)

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