At the 141st Audio Engineering Society Convention hosted in Los Angeles from 28th September – 2nd October 2016, numerous Ohio University students and faculty participated in the exciting convention and conference program. 

The 141st AES Convention brought together the world’s largest gathering of audio professionals, offering attendees opportunities to hear from top audio industry figures while also sharing in the latest research and technology information through informative papers, tutorials, workshops and special events. One exciting opportunity made possible this year; students and alumni from the Media Arts & Studies OHIO-in-LA program frequented the convention. This is possible every-other year when the show is in Los Angels. 

Lecturer Kyle P. Snyder, also AES Education & Membership Chair, presented his paper, Understanding Project-Based Learning in the Audio Classroom: Using PBL to Facilitate Audio Storytelling. According to Snyder, “One of the more prevalent buzzwords in education today, project-based learning is a natural fit for the audio engineering classroom."

"With students that thrive by working toward a common goal or “learning by doing,” this constructivist framework is worth examining as implemented by educators.” Snyder also co-chaired the panel MIDI Makes Music, MIDI Makes Money and MIDI Makes Careers! and coordinated the AES Education, Student, & Career track. "The convention was a phenomenal success with fantastic participation in student events and competition," said Snyder. "We're excited to start planing for the 142nd AES Convention in Berlin."

As well, this year marked the first AES International Conference On Audio For Virtual And Augmented Reality. MDIA lecturer and audio researcher Josh Antonuccio was on hand to participate and exchange research ideas from the Ohio University Immersive Media Initiative. “This year’s AES provided an extraordinary opportunity for the researchers and producers of VR/AR audio to discuss their progress in this rapidly exploding field,” said Antonuccio. 

“The leading thinkers in tech, music, film, education, and gaming audio provided critical insights about the workflow and burgeoning marketplace for experiential audio. As well, George Sanger of Magic Leap delivered a rousing keynote about the critical role that audio will play in this future area of media."

Michael France, a School of Media Arts & Studies student from the Honors Tutorial College, continued his service to the Audio Engineering Society Student Delegate Assembly and is now Chair for North & Latin America. The Student Delegate Assembly (SDA) is led by four AES student members, elected by their peers to represent over 4000 AES student members around the world. 

There are two regions, North/Latin America, and Europe/International, and each region is represented by a chair and vice chair. These students essentially commit to a volunteer part-time job in which they assist the Education Committee Chair and Vice Chair to plan, organize, and run student events at conventions, as well as represent student members to the AES.