AES Section Meeting Reports

This is a photograph of Reid using a Rubens tube to demonstrate standing wave principles to a class at Portland State.

Meeting Topic: Section bylaws and the upcoming annual meeting - Audio Education

Moderator Name: Bruce Hofer

Speaker Name: Reid McCargar - Portland State University

Other business or activities at the meeting: Proposed modifications to the section bylaws, which would redefine the number of members necessary at a meeting achieve quorum. Currently, 2/3rds of the local membership must be in attendance to meet quorum. Our proposed bylaws would change this to ten (10) active members.

Bruce Hofer, interim chairman for the Portland Section, referred to the recent approval by AES headquarters of the LA Section bylaws, which only require 15 members for quorum. The LA section membership is approximately ten times greater than the Portland section, so ten members should be reasonable and practical for a smaller section.

Meeting Location: Audio Precision, Beaverton, OR

Summary

Bruce Hofer opened the meeting with a brief summary of recent committee activities, including scheduling of the upcoming annual meeting, at which the revised bylaws and slate of officer candidates will be voted on.

Reid McCargar then presented on the topic of audio education for musicians and other individuals interested in audio engineering, but lacking a scientific or engineering background. Reid delivered such a course last spring at Portland State, and will be doing so again this fall. The course is unique in that it focuses on conceptually grasping the physical and physiological principles of audio much more so than typical audio education for non-scientists. The methodology and course resources are still in a formative stage. The course at PSU generated considerable interest, and helped consumers of music-industry-grade audio products make more educated decisions about their purchasing and application of audio technology.

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