The International Commission for Acoustics, ICA, was founded in 1951 and was a commission (C7) of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). ICA became an affiliated commission (AC3) of IUPAP in 1996 and is also an Affiliated Organization of IUTAM. The purpose of ICA, is to promote international development and collaboration in all fields of acoustics including research, development, education, and standardisation.
The main activity of the Commission through the years has been to convene the triennial International Congresses on Acoustics. The ICA-sponsored conferences are normally limited to a specialized topic with an expected attendance of about 100. Support for regional or national conferences, especially in developing regions, will be considered as long as the conference has an international character. In addition, the ICA provides Conference Attendance grants to Young Scientists and presents an Early Career Award at its triennial congress.
2020 was the International Year of Sound, a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound and related sciences and technologies for all in society for which the ICA was a lead union.