On August 1-3, the halls of ComArtSci were filled with some of the brightest minds in the field of voice research for the 2018 International Conference on Voice Physiology & Biomechanics (ICVPB), including nine faculty and eight student presenters from our college.
“We were asked to consider hosting this conference because of the huge strides the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders has made in the past few years, particularly in the area of voice research,” said Eric Hunter, the conference chair and associate dean for the Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders.
ICVPB 2018 featured keynote speakers from three countries, including MSU alumna Mara Behlau. 20 years after graduating from MSU, Behlau is now a speech-language-pathologist, voice specialist, communication consultant and a professor for the Universidade Federal de São Paulo in Brazil.
Presenters shared research on subjects such as cell growth and scaring, sound production, high-speed imaging and clinical care in relation to health and voice production. It was a time of invigorating discussion and collaboration among students, researchers and clinicians from around the globe, all with the joint purpose of spreading ideas to improve human health.
In addition to the presentations, participants toured the college’s state-of-the-art Media Greenhouse, a newsroom and immersive media studio, and received two virtual reality demonstrations.
“ComArtSci is a technology-heavy college; however, the types of technologies are different. This gives us a chance to let them merge by bringing them into the same space,” said Hunter. “We had scientists from all over the United States and from around the world who had the opportunity to experience MSU's phenomenal educational community.”
By Kristina Pierson