The 21st International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV21) was successfully held 13-17 July 2014 in Beijing, China. Professor TIAN Jing, the president of the Acoustical Society of China (ASC), was the general chair of this conference. Professor Marek Pawełczyk, the president of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV), and Professor Malcolm J. Crocker were invited to give speeches at the opening ceremony. WANG Xiaomin, ZONG Jian and MAO Dongxing, Vice Presidents of the ASC, also attended the conference. 

The Congress was hosted by the ASC and the Institute of Acoustics (IOA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), under the aegis of the IIAV and massive support from the Key Laboratory of Noise and Vibration Research, IOA. The theme of this year was “In Depth Sound and Vibration Research”. The international congress attracted interests and attentions of prestigious professionals and outstanding scholars in the fields of sound and vibration, including Chinese scholars from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas.  

Six plenary sessions were carefully organised by the Scientific Committee. The plenary lectures were presented by the world renowned experts in the fields of sound and vibration, covering many hot research topics including ancient Chinese chimes, railway, aircraft, vehicle, combustion noise and sound field control. They are closely related to the state pillar industry such as automotive industry and high speed railway, as well as aircraft and other key development areas, which will effectively transform China’s economy from “Made in China” to “Created in China”. The congress not only updated the recent academic achievements by the modern acoustic theory and techniques, but also discovered the profound cultural heritage of Chinese chimes with enhancement of Chinese civilisation. 

With 841 representatives from 50 countries and regions, 672 technical papers and 580 oral presentations and 41 exposition booths, the ICSV21 was the largest annual congress ever. The congress ran 16 parallel sessions to provide a world-wide forum for technical discussion and interchange of ideas. It covered the main fields of acoustics, noise, sound and vibration. In particular, more papers have been presented in the research areas of most concerns, including active noise and vibration control, noise and vibration in ships, railway noise and vibration, wave propagation and its applications in complex solids and structures, building acoustics, measurement techniques and sensors etc.  

The congress provided the scholars worldwide a fantastic opportunity for better understanding of the most advanced research with Chinese characteristics. Many world renowned scholars showed great interests in visiting our national research institutes of acoustics for promoting and initiating future collaboration. The conference established the “Sir James Lighthill Award” for the best student paper, the Best Student Travel Award and the Outstanding Volunteer Award. 

The Congress Secretariat was dedicated to providing an inviting academic environment by offering the most advanced conference facilities, and to assisting the representatives and exhibitors to access to the conference information via public internet bar and wireless internet connection. 40 volunteers with greater insights and improved commutation skills during the conference provided professional services and contributed tremendously to the success of the congress. 

The ICSV is an annual premier world event organised by the IIAV from 1994 with attendees around 400~800 every year, which combines all areas of acoustics, noise and vibration. It also exhibits the cutting-edge of instrumentation, equipment and technologies in the areas of sound and vibration. Professors MAA Dah-You and TIAN Jing were elected Honorary Fellow by the IIAV. (Up until recently, there are only 14 prestigious Fellows). 

The ICSV21 in Beijing was a milestone event for the society of sound and vibration in China. The participants of the congress all praised the rapid development of Chinese economy and the tremendous changes of cities. They were greatly impressed by the planning and on-site operations of the organising committee. Professor Malcolm J. Crocker highly appraised the conference organising work at the closing ceremony and the IIAV board meeting. The representatives of the Acoustical Society of Australia said that they felt the pressure for hosting the oncoming Inter-noise 2014 in Melbourne after attending the ICSV21, which set up a world class standard. 

Professor TIAN Jing, the general chair of the ICSV21, the president of the ASC

Congress site

(Source: GAO Yan from the Key Laboratory of Noise and Vibration Research, IOA)