Tohoku Universal Acoustical Communication Month 2018

Program Theme

Sound has played a fundamental role in communications since the dawn of humankind and the rise of spoken languages. With the advent of technology, we devised methods to record sounds and to transmit them over long distances. Nowadays, sound plays a central role in smart assistants and immersive 3D and extended reality platforms.
The theme of this program is the future of “universal acoustical communication.” It will bring together world-class researchers and young scientists throughout a Universal Acoustical Communication Month. The program will revolve around an International Symposium and will be complemented by a series of satellite seminars in specialized topics.

Main Event

International Symposium on Universal Acoustical Communication 2018 [Oct. 24, 2019 Updated]
(October 22, 2018 – October 24, 2018)

Satellite Seminars

Seminar on music, sound, speech and artificial intelligence
(October 20, 2018)

Seminar on psychology and brain sciences related to hearing and multisensory processing [Oct. 24, 2019 Updated]
(October 20, 2018 – October 22, 2018)

Seminar on brain, hearing and speech sciences for universal speech communication [Oct. 24, 2019 Updated]
(October 25, 2018 – October 26, 2018)

Seminar on the spatial aspects of hearing and their applications [Oct. 24, 2019 Updated]
(October 29, 2018 – October 30, 2018)

Special Event [Oct. 24, 2018 Updated]

General Lectures
(October 25, 2018)

Registration [Oct. 03, 2018 Updated]

Online pre-registration is now closed. Attendants can still register on-site at the event.

On-site registration fees are:

Symposium participation (regular): 40,000 JPY
Symposium participation (student): 25,000 JPY
Seminar-only participation: FREE

If you have any questions, please contact the organizing committee at uac2018@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

Organizers [Jun. 15, 2018 Updated]

Yôiti Suzuki
(Professor, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)

Brian C. J. Moore
(Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge)

Masato Akagi
(Professor, School of Information Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

Jiro Gyoba
(Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)

Akinori Ito
(Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)

Tetsuaki Kawase
(Professor, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University)

Universal Acoustical Communication International Symposium Organizing Committee

Organizers
Yôiti Suzuki** (Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)
Brian C. J. Moore** (Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge)
Masato Akagi (School of Information Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Jiro Gyoba (Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)
Akinori Ito (Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)
Tetsuaki Kawase (Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University)
(**) Co-chair

Technical Committee
Masato Akagi* (School of Information Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Maria Chait (UCL Ear Institute, University College London)
Yuya Chiba (Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)
Shigeto Furukawa (Human Information Science Laboratory, NTT Communication Science Laboratories)
Hedwig Gockel (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge)
Craig Jin (Faculty of Engineering & Information Technologies, University of Sydney)
Junfeng Li (Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Yi-Wen Liu (Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University)
Shuichi Sakamoto (Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)
Wataru Teramoto (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kumamoto University)
(*) Chair

Steering Committee
Yuya Chiba (Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)
Zhenglie Cui (Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)
Yusuke Imoto (Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Tohoku University)
Nobuyuki Sakai (Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)
Shuichi Sakamoto† (Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)
Jorge Trevino (Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University)
(†) Treasurer

Main Program Sponsor [May 28, 2018 Updated]

Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University

Call for contributions [Aug. 20, 2018 Updated]

Acceptance notices will be delayed a few days due to technical issues. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Registration of new contributed presentations is now closed.

Call for Contributions to the International Symposium on Universal Acoustical Communication
Dates: October 22–24, 2018 (with specialized satellite seminars throughout October 2018)
Venue: Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

Outline of the event
The Universal Acoustical Communication (UAC) Month will take place in October 2018 as a series of specialized seminars and an international symposium bringing together world-class researchers and young scientists under the global theme of acoustical communication.
The symposium will feature keynote lectures by distinguished researchers, a panel discussion and a poster session for contributed presentations. Contributions by young researchers are highly encouraged and financial support to cover the travel expenses of a few outstanding young contributors will be available (Invited Young Lecturers program).

Topics
All proposals under the main topic of universal acoustical communication will be considered for inclusion in the poster session of the international symposium. Specific topics include: hearing and multisensory perception, affective aspects of communication, brain science, speech, applications of AI to communications, etc.

Submission process
Authors are to submit their proposals electronically using the UAC2018 website. Initial proposals must include a title, author list and an abstract of up to 200 words. After a review process, the authors of accepted proposals will be asked to prepare a two-page manuscript for inclusion in the proceedings (the option of additional pages will not be available for contributed papers).

Publication of the proceedings
All proceedings papers will be considered for publication as an “Acoustical Letter” in a special edition of Acoustical Science and Technology (AST), the English-language journal of the Acoustical Society of Japan. This will require another round of peer-reviewing based on the two-page manuscript (contributed papers cannot exceed the two‑page limit). Revision deadlines will be managed by AST directly; authors will be contacted by the editorial board.

Important Dates
Application deadline (200-word abstract): July 31, 2018
Acceptance notice: August 17, 2018
Deadline for the proceedings paper (two pages strictly enforced): September 30, 2018

Registration
At least one author of each contribution must register for the symposium and attend to present their poster. Advanced registration is required for authors and highly recommended for all attendants.
The advanced registration form also serves as pre-registration to the satellite seminars.

Registration fees
All attendants to the international symposium are required to pay a participation fee. Attending the satellite seminars is free and those who pre-register and attend at least one seminar are entitled to a 10,000 JPY discount if they also register for the international symposium. The participation fees are:
Baseline participation fee 40,000 JPY
Discounted rate for students 25,000 JPY
Discounted rate for those who also attend a satellite seminar 30,000
Discounted rate for students who also attend a satellite seminar 15,000
Seminar-only participation is free (pre-registration is encouraged)

Satellite seminars
The international symposium will be complemented by specialized seminars throughout October. These will include keynotes, tutorials and lectures by selected young scientists on some of the main topics also covered in the symposium. Participation in the seminars is free and attending them does not require participation in the symposium. However, those who attend at least one seminar are entitled to a 10,000 JPY discount on the international symposium registration fee.
Participants are encouraged to pre-register their attendance on the website to receive their discount. On-site registration, without the discount, will also be available.

List of satellite seminars:
Seminar on music, sound, speech and artificial intelligence
(October 20, 2018)
Seminar on psychology and brain sciences related to hearing and multisensory processing
(October 20–22, 2018)
Seminar on brain, hearing and speech sciences for universal speech communication
(October 24–26, 2018)
Seminar on the spatial aspects of hearing and their applications
(October 29–30, 2018)

Organizers
Yôiti Suzuki (Tohoku University)
Brian Moore (University of Cambridge)
Masato Akagi (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Jiro Gyoba (Tohoku University)
Akinori Ito (Tohoku University)
Tetsuaki Kawase (Tohoku University)

Contact
UAC2018 Organizing Committee
uac2018＊riec.tohoku.ac.jp (change＊to @)

Download [PDF] [May 25, 2018 Open]

Travel expenses support: Invited Young Lecturers program [Aug. 20, 2018 Updated]

Acceptance notices will be delayed a few days due to technical issues. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The IYL application deadline has been extended to July 31, 2018.

IYL registration is now closed.

Call for Applications to the Invited Young Lecturers program for participation in the International Symposium on Universal Acoustical Communication and its satellite seminars

Outline of the program
The organizing committee of the Universal Acoustical Communication (UAC) Month encourages young researchers to attend the events, centered around an International Symposium and complemented by satellite seminars. The Invited Young Lecturers (IYL) program promotes the participation of talented young scientists by offering to cover the registration and full travelling costs of selected presenters. In exchange for this financial support, selected researchers are expected to give a poster presentation in the symposium and an invited lecture in the satellite seminar that best matches their area of expertise.

Event schedule
The Universal Acoustical Communication Month consists of one International Symposium to be held from October 22 to 24 and four satellite seminars held between October 20 and 30. For more information see the Call for Contributions.

Qualifications
The program is open to students enrolled in a PhD program, as well as researchers who concluded their PhD or equivalent studies in the past 10 years (not earlier than 2008). Applicants must be able to travel to Sendai, Japan to participate in the International Symposium and give a lecture in the satellite seminar that best fits their research topic.

Financial support

Travel expenses for selected young lecturers will be covered in full by the UAC organizing committee. This includes:

Round-trip flight tickets (economy class) between their nearest airport and Sendai*
Accommodation for up to 2 weeks to attend the International Symposium and at least one satellite seminar where they are expected to give a lecture
A small daily allowance to cover meals and miscellaneous expenses
Registration fee to the International Symposium

* Selected young lecturers who reside in Japan can opt to travel by train.

Application process
Applications should be submitted electronically through the UAC website. Applicants must complete the standard application process for the international symposium (title, author list and 200-word abstract) in advance. Note that the deadline for IYL aspirants is two weeks before the official symposium deadline.The deadline for IYL applications has been extended to July 31.

In addition to a full application to the international symposium, candidates to the IYL program must submit:

Full proceedings manuscript ready for peer review using the “Acoustical Letters” template of Acoustical Science and Technology (standard length is 2 pages, but those applying to this program are allowed up to 4 pages)
Curriculum vitae in free format (around 2 pages) including academic and professional history, list of selected publications, awards, and any other information deemed appropriate.
Selection of the satellite seminar to which they would like to contribute.

Only applications for which all documents have been received by the deadline of July 16 July 31, 2018 will be considered. Those selected for the program will be notified electronically by the organizing committee on August 17.

Duties of invited young lecturers
Those selected for this program will be required to attend and give a poster presentation in the international symposium. They are also required to participate in at least one of the satellite seminars and give an invited lecture.
The 2 to 4 page manuscript submitted as part of the application procedures will be included in the proceedings of the symposium and sent to Acoustical Science and Technology, the English-language journal of the Acoustical Society of Japan, for peer-review and possible publication as an Invited Acoustical Letter or Invited Paper.

Important Dates
Application deadline: July 16 , 2018 Extended to July 31, 2018
Notification of selection results: August 17, 2018

List of satellite seminars
Seminar on music, sound, speech and artificial intelligence
(October 20, 2018)
Seminar on psychology and brain sciences related to hearing and multisensory processing
(October 20–22, 2018)
Seminar on brain, hearing and speech sciences for universal speech communication
(October 24–26, 2018)
Seminar on the spatial aspects of hearing and their applications
(October 29–30, 2018)

Technical Committee

Chair:: Masato Akagi (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Secretary:: Shigeto Furukawa (NTT)
Members:: Hedwig Gockel (University of Cambridge); Maria Chait (University College London); Yi-Wen Liu (National Tsing Hua University); Craig Jin (University of Sydney); Junfeng Li (Chinese Academy of Sciences); Wataru Teramoto (Kumamoto University); Shuichi Sakamoto (Tohoku University); Yuya Chiba (Tohoku University)

Contact
UAC2018 Organizing Committee
uac2018＊riec.tohoku.ac.jp (change＊to @)

Thematic Programs