Happy New Year! Welcome to the Institute of Acoustics blog.

I’m thrilled to introduce this blog which will be written by a member of the IOA Young Members’ Group (YMG) or Publications committee each month. We will use this opportunity to cover a wide range of topics over the following months in line with the Institute’s aim to maintain and improve science and engineering education, research and practice.

This month I’d like to provide some information about our Group. The YMG aims to bring together a diverse network of acoustics professionals in the early stages of their career by promoting peer knowledge-sharing and peer support, providing a link to the knowledge of established acousticians and a platform for the continuing development of new and existing skills.

As well as being a good introduction to the IOA, the YMG organises a variety of activities, such as networking events, presentations, architectural tours and social gatherings, and encourages input from young members as to how best it can meet their needs. Over the past year we’ve:

Led the organisation of an inter-professional event in London and participated in the annual inter-professional event in Manchester;

Provided sessions at Acoustics 2015 in Harrogate;

Held a mock planning appeal in Birmingham; and

Arranged a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum Exhibition Road Project.

If you’d like more information please visit the YMG section of the Institute website (http://ioa.org.uk/about-us/specialist-groups) or keep an eye on the Events section (http://ioa.org.uk/events).

Back to the blog: we have technical topics such as ‘The future of noise measurements’ and ‘Statistics in acoustics’, examples of real-life acousticians such as ‘A day in the life of a research scientist’ and a travel blog and career insights such as ‘Observations about CPD/Professional registration’ and ‘Engagement with public’ in the pipeline so make sure you check back next month!

Angela Lamacraft

YMG Chair