A company that develops ground-breaking noise reduction technology scooped the IOA-sponsored innovation award in the 2016 noise “Oscars”.

Sonobex was presented with the award at the Noise Abatement Society’s annual John Connell Awards held at the Houses of Parliament.

The innovation award aims to encourage the development of new schemes to resolve noise pollution and recognise a pioneering approach that addresses this issue from a unique standpoint.

The Institute of Acoustics and the other 37 professional engineering organisations, representing all disciplines of UK engineering, have joined forces under the leadership of the Royal Academy of Engineering to provide evidence-based advice to the government on the opportunities and risks associated with leaving the EU.

Senior IOA members are to meet National Physical Laboratory (NPL) representatives to express the Institute’s concern at its decision to cease providing services in airborne acoustics. One of the potential consequences of this decision would be the loss to the UK of the primary acoustic standard that provides traceability for microphones and calibrators (in the range 1Hz to 20 kHz). This standard is disseminated primarily via UKAS-accredited laboratories and this change would potentially affect every organisation that uses a sound level meter.

Jo Webb is the new President of the the IOA. Aged 51, she is an Acoustics Associate with Arup in Manchester, where she has worked for the past 16 years and now manages teams working on large infrastructure, environmental and building projects.

The Institute of Acoustics has published its preferred method of measuring and rating amplitude modulation (AM) in wind turbine noise.

Known as the Reference Method, it is essentially a development of the Hybrid Reconstruction Method that was described in a discussion document published by the Institute’s Amplitude Modulation Working Group (AMWG) in April 2015.

The recommendation is contained in the working group’s final report, which follows a large-scale public consultation exercise that began with the publication of the discussion document.

The IOA and the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection (BOHS) have agreed to recognise each other’s professional qualifications.

The main terms are:

A book on the history of the first 40 years of the IOA has been published. Covering the period from how it came about and its inception on 1 January 1974 up to its 40th anniversary celebrations in 2014, the 132-page publication provides a detailed history of how the Institute has grown from small beginnings to the thriving professional body it is today.