Across Acoustics

This episode showcases the latest winners of the POMA Student Paper Competition: First, Jonathan Michael Broyles (University of Colorado, Boulder) discusses his database to help acoustical consultants design more environmentally friendly spaces. Next, John Latta (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) shares his work regarding spatial impulse response measurements. Finally, Michelle Ruth Crouse (California State University, Dominguez Hills) talks about the acoustic spectrometer she created using off-the-shelf parts. Associated papers:Jonathan Michael Broyles and Wil Srubar, III. "A comprehensive dataset of environmental emissions, health, and manufacturing information of building acoustic products in North America." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 015002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001997.John S. Latta and Lauren M. Ronsse. "An analysis of spatial impulse response measurements and their ability to validate spatial features within acoustic models." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 015001 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0002004.Michelle R. Crouse, Małgorzata Musial, Jason A. Widegren, Jacob Pawlik, Bryan Bosworth, Nathan Orloff, Aaron Hagerstrom, Angela C. Stelson, and Robert Lirette. "A low-cost ultrasonic absorption spectrometer mainly using off-the-shelf parts."Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 030002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0002003.Learn more about entering the POMA Student Paper Competition for the Spring 2025 meeting in New Orleans. Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.

Large venues like amphitheaters and stadiums are used across the world for a variety of purposes, hosting everything from sporting events to concerts to large social gatherings and other events. The massive size of the spaces, alongside their multifaceted uses, however, mean their acoustic needs are quite different from those of smaller rooms or even concert halls. This episode, Gary W. Siebein (Siebein Associates, Inc.), Keely Siebein (Siebein Associates, Inc.), Jack Wrightson (Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon, & Williams, Inc.), and Joe Solway (Arup) discuss the unique considerations for designing these structures. Read the associated article: Gary W. Siebein, Keely Siebein, Jack Wrightson, Joe Solway, and Raj Patel. (2024) “Large-Venue Acoustics- Arenas, Stadiums, and Amphitheaters,” Acoustics Today 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2024.20.1.55.Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

In this episode, we explore things that go boom: from volcanic eruptions to underwater ordinances to the (relatively) tiny explosions of gunshots. Thomas Blanford (University of New Hampshire) joins us as a cohost as we discuss the use of high-amplitude acoustic sources in research with three members of a special session on the topic from the Ottawa ASA meeting: Steve Beck (Beck Audio Forensics), Daniel Bowman (Pacific Northwest National Laboratories), and Andrew McNeese (University of Texas at Austin). Associated paper: Thomas E. Branford. "Summary of “Things that go boom: High amplitude acoustic sources." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 002002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001991.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

The phenomenon of acoustic scattering, when a sound wave bounces off a surface and is redirected in different directions because of the surface texture, has been recognized since ancient Greece. Accounting for acoustic scattering when designing a built space, however, can be tricky. In this episode, we speak with Michael Vorländer (RWTH Aachen University) about his work to develop a general guideline for estimating the effects of acoustic scattering from a given surface.Associated paper: Michael Vorlaender and Stefan Feistel. "Show your scattering coefficients." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 50, 015003 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001816.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Human-made noise from shipping is an ongoing problem for aquatic life. However, actually implementing measures to reduce noise can be costly and time consuming-- a risk many ship makers don't want to take without knowing how effective those methods will be. In this episode, we talk with Vanessa M. ZoBell (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) about her research that simulates the impacts of various strategies, with hopes for finding the most effective methods to improve the lives of our underwater neighbors.Associated papers:- Vanessa M. ZoBell, John A. Hildebrand, and Kaitlin E. Frasier. "Assessing approaches for ship noise reduction within critical whale habitat." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156, 3534–3544 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0034455Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Acoustic levitation allows objects to be suspended in air or in liquids without falling. In this episode, we speak with Philip Marston (Washington State University) about the history of acoustic levitation, and his work to translate previous research into terminology more accessible to modern readers and those outside of the field of physics. Associated papers:- Philip L. Marston. "Trapping in acoustic standing waves: Effect of liquid drop compressibility." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, R5–R6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020809- Philip L. Marston. "Contrast factor for standing-wave radiation forces on spheres: Series expansion in powers of sphere radius." JASA Express Lett. 4, 074001 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0027928.- Philip L. Marston. "Position dependence of the standing-wave radiation pressure quadrupole projection on a sphere applied to drop shape." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156, 1586–1593 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0028518.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

This episode is part two of our interviews with the POMA student paper winners from our meeting in Ottawa. First, we talk with Miranda Jackson (McGill University) about her research regarding modeling the mouthpiece and bells of brass instruments. Next, Mark C. Anderson (Brigham Young University) talks about the noise created by the Falcon 9 boosters as they fly back to Earth and the impact that noise can have on surrounding communities. Associated papers:- Miranda Jackson and Gary Scavone. "A comparison of modeled and measured impedance of brass instruments and their mouthpieces and bells." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 035004 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001925- Mark C. Anderson, Kent L. Gee, and Kaylee Nyborg. "Flyback sonic booms from Falcon-9 rockets: Measured data and some considerations for future models." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 040005 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001916Learn more about entering the POMA Student Paper Competition for the Fall 2024 virtual meeting. Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.

This episode, we talk to a few of the latest round of POMA Student Paper Competition winners from the 186th ASA Meeting in Ottawa about their exciting research endeavors:- Using a small-scale ship-like structure to test noise mitigation techniques for shipping noise- Modeling spatial coherence in underwater sonar- Understanding the noise created by rotorcraftMake sure to keep an ear out for our next episode, which will include interviews with the remaining two winners!Associated papers:- Marc-André Guy, Kamal Kesour, Olivier Robin, Stéphane Gagnon, Julien St-Jacques, Mathis Vulliez, Raphael Tremblay, Jean-Christophe Gauthier Marquis. "Effectiveness of standard mitigation technologies at reducing ships' machinery noise using a small-scale ship-like structure." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 070001 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001912- Kyle S. Dalton, Thomas E. Blanford, Daniel C. Brown. “Bistatic spatial coherence for micronavigation of a downward-looking synthetic aperture sonar.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 070002 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001924.- Ze Feng Gan, Vitor Tumelero Valente, Kenneth Steven Brentner, Eric Greenwood. “Time-varying broadband noise of multirotor aircraft.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 040006 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001946.Learn more about entering the POMA Student Paper Competition for the Fall 2024 virtual meeting. Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Current touchscreen technology has its limitations. In this episode, we talk with Jérémy Moriot (Université de Sherbrooke) about his team's development of an ultrasound-based system that not only can work with various types of surfaces, but can also detect multiple touches at the same time. Associated paper: Maxime Bilodeau, Jérémy Moriot, Joëlle Fréchette-Viens Raphaël Bouchard, Philippe Boulais, Nicolas Quaegebeur, and Patrice Masson. "Embedded real-time ultrasound-based multi-touch system." JASA Express Letters  4, 082802 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0028323.Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

When pulsed active sonar was found to cause mass strandings of whales, researchers turned to the quieter continuous active sonar for underwater monitoring. In this episode, Brian K. Branstetter (Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific) shares his work to find out how this sonar affects killer whales. Associated paper: Brian K. Branstetter, Michael Felice, Todd Robeck, Marla M. Holt, and E. Elizabeth Henderson. "Masking in continuous sonar noise." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025855.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

We know noisy classrooms and learning environments can negatively impact students and teachers. However, these problems can be compounded for those with autism. We talk to Carmen Rosas-Pérez (Heriot-Watt University) about her research to better understand the experiences of autistic people in daily life acoustic environments. Associated paper: Carmen Rosas-Pérez, Laurent Galbrun, Mary E. Stewart, and Sarah R. Payne. "How can anyone learn or teach? Experiences of autistic people with sound in schools and universities," Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 015001 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001741.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Because cardiovascular disease is the world's leading cause of death, researchers have been looking for ways to diagnose it early. Low-frequency sounds have been used to assess the elasticity of blood vessels, but until now,  the elastic waves being studied were too fast to get precise measurements. Sibylle Gregoire (INSERM) discusses how here team has been able to image a different type of elastic wave, opening up the possibility to more precise assessments and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in the future. Associated paper: Sibylle Gregoire, Gabrielle Laloy-Borgna, Johannes Aichele, Fabrice Lemoult, and Stefan Catheline. "Flexural pulse wave velocity in blood vessels." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 2948–2958 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025855.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

We have yet to fully understand the wind on Mars, even though it transfers heat, momentum, and molecules from the surface. Traditionally, heat loss and motion detectors have been used to measure wind speeds. Robert D. White (Tufts University) discusses his team's work on ultrasound transducers that may offer a more precise way to measure turbulent eddies on the  Red Planet.Associated paper: Robert D. White, Rishabh Chaudhary, Zijia Zhao, Luisa Chiesa, Ian Neeson, and Don Banfield. "Modeling and characterization of gas coupled ultrasonic transducers at low pressures and temperatures and implications for sonic anemometry on Mars." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156, 968- 988 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0028008.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

In this episode, we dive into the world of acousto-optics, where light is used to visualize and measure sound-- particularly acoustic phenomena that are difficult to observe. Samuel Verburg (Technical University of Denmark) and Kenji Ishikawa (NTT Communication) share the history of this field of research, as well as discuss modern day applications and potential uses for acousto-optic sensing in the future. Read the associated article: Samuel A. Verburg, Kenji Ishikawa, Efren Fernandez-Grande, and Yasuhiro Oikawa. (2023) “A Century of Acousto-Optics: From Early Discoveries to Modern Sensing of Sound with Light,” Acoustics Today 19(3). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2023.19.3.54Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

This episode highlights three recent articles from the field of musical acoustics. First, we talk to Elvira Brattico (Aarhus University) about her research into what causes a person to experience music as noise. Next, Stefan Weinzierl (Technical University of Berlin) discusses how a musician's movement during a performance will impact the notes listeners hear. Finally, Pablo Miranda Valiente (University of Southampton) discusses his work to develop a model that shows the impact a piano soundboard has on the note played. Associated papers: - Giulio Carraturo, Marina Kliuchko, and Elvira Brattico. "Loud and unwanted: Individual differences in the tolerance for exposure to music."  J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 3274–3282 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025924.- David Ackermann, Fabian Brinkmann, and Stefan Weinzierl. "Musical instruments as dynamic sound sources." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 2302–2313 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025463.- Pablo Miranda Valiente, Giacomo Squicciarini, and David J. Thompson. "Influence of soundboard modelling approaches on piano string vibration." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 3213–3232 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025925.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Most people have encountered speech recognition software in their day-to-day lives, whether through personal digital assistants, auto transcription, or other such modern marvels. As the technology advances, though, it still fails to understand speakers of African American English (AAE). In this episode, we talk to Michelle Cohn (Google Research and University of California Davis) and Zion Mengesha (Google Research and Stanford University) about their research into why these problems with speech recognition software seem to persist and what can be done to make sure more voices are understood by the technology.Associated paper: Michelle Cohn, Zion Mengesha, Michal Lahav, and Courtney Heldreth. "African American English speakers' pitch variation and rate adjustments for imagined technological and human addressees." JASA Express Letters  4,  047601 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025484.Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

This episode, we talk to a new round of POMA Student Paper Competition winners from the 185th ASA Meeting in Sydney about their exciting research endeavors:- An analysis of how drums convey emotion- A method to assess stress caused by vibration in acoustic black holes- An improved estimator for background noise in underwater signals- A model to help remove distortion from the sound fields of parametric array loudspeakers- A numerical study of a little-understood phenomenon in bowed-string instrumentsAssociated papers:Zeyu Huang, Wenyi Song, Xiaojuan Ma, and Andrew Brian Horner. "The emotional characteristics of bass drums, snare drums, and disengaged snare drums with different strokes and dynamics." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 52, 035005 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001834Archie Keys and Jordan Cheer. "Experimental measurements of stress in an Acoustic Black Hole using a laser doppler vibrometer." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 52, 065003 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001829David Campos Anchieta and John R. Buck. "Robust power spectral density estimation via a performance-weighted blend of order statistics." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 52, 055006 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001849Wenyao Ma, Jun Yang, and Yunxi Zhu. "Identification of the parametric array loudspeaker system using differential Volterra filter." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 52, 055005 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001850Shodai Tanaka, Hiroshi Kori, and Ayumi Ozawa. "A mathematical study about the sustaining phenomenon of overtone in flageolet harmonics on bowed string instruments." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 52, 035006 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001835Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The tiny microphones used inside hearing aids can be very sensitive to vibration of the device, resulting in annoying feedback. Testing how sensitive these microphones are to vibration has been a problem that plagued engineers. In this episode, we talk to Charles King and Chris Monti of Knowles Electronics about their innovation to measure microphone vibration sensitivity.Associated paper: Charles B. King and Chris Monti, "Microphone vibration sensitivity: What it is, why it is important, and how to measure it," Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 50, 065001 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001702Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Speech Science courses are a key component to the curriculum within a variety of disciplines, but coursework is frequently lacking in terms of representation of those from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In this episode, we talk to Melissa Baese-Berk (University of Chicago) and Paul Reed (University of Alabama), about why it's so important for instructors to use a variety of voices in the classroom, and how to talk about other ways of speaking when one feels ill-equipped to do so. Associated paper: Melissa Baese-Berk and Paul E. Reed. "Addressing diversity in speech science courses." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, 918–925 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020613.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

In the aftermath of World War II, New York City wanted to built a new home for its orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and secure its place a cultural center of the world. In this episode, we talk to the Paul H. Scarbrough (Akustiks, LLC) about where these plans went awry and the multiple renovations over many decades to fix the hall. Read the associated article: Paul H. Scarbrough. (2023) “David Geffen Hall and the Evolution of Acoustics at Lincoln Center,” Acoustics Today 19(4). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2023.19.4.41Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

It's not always feasible to measure the sound field generated by an acoustic source; instead, scientists have to model to come up with a best guess for the missing pieces of the sound field. In this episode, we talk to Efren Fernandez-Grande and Xenofon Karakonstantis (Technical University of Denmark) about their new machine learning method to reconstruct sound fields. Associated paper: Efren Fernandez-Grande, Xenofon Karakonstantis, Diego Caviedes-Nozal, and Peter Gerstoft. "Generative models for sound field reconstruction" J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 153, 1179-1190 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0016896 .Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

While analyzing acoustic data from the Mariana Archipelago, Angela Szesciorka (Oregon State University) noticed something funny: a signal unlike any other she'd seen. It showed up over and over, and only seemed to occur at night. In this episode, we talk to Szesciorka about this mystery call and what animal possibly made it. Associated paper: Angela R. Szesciorka, Jennifer L. K. McCullough, and Erin M. Oleson. "An unknown nocturnal call type in the Mariana Archipelago." JASA Express Letters  3, 011201 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0017068Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Recent advances in technology have allowed scientists to gather larger quantities of acoustic data from locations more remote than ever before. As a result, the study of animal sounds can be used to inform species or habitat conservation and natural resource management practices in new and exciting ways. In this episode, we talk to Aaron Rice of Cornell University about how acoustics can be used to advance conservation efforts, as well as how folks outside of large research universities can take part in efforts to help save the planet with science.Read the associated article: Aaron N. Rice, Marissa L. Garcia, Laurel B. Symes, and Holger Klinck. (2023) “Conservation Bioacoustics: Listening to the Heartbeat of the Earth,” Acoustics Today 19(3). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2023.19.3.46Try out the BirdNET app mentioned in this episode!Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Metamaterials have been a hot topic in the acoustics community since the late 1990s, but there's no  consensus among researchers as to what a metamaterial actually is or when they first came about. Christina Naify (University of Texas - Austin) took a deep dive into the literature about metamaterials and then posed the question to an audience of researchers in a session at the ASA conference in Chicago. In this episode, we talk to her about what came up during this discussion.Associated paper: Christina J. Naify,  Alexey Titovich, and  Michael R. Haberman . "What is an acoustic metamaterial?" 51, 065002 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001813.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit for occupational noise is often cited as the upper limit for loudness in all situations-- but that's not actually the case. Worse, the limit may not even fit modern ears, which face a barrage of loud sound in and out of the workplace, starting at an early age. In this episode, we talk to Daniel Fink of Quiet Coalition about how NIOSH's recommended exposure limit for occupational noise impacts even those of us in quiet workplaces, and why the limit needs to be revised downwards.Associated paper: Daniel Fink. "The recommended exposure limit for occupational noise needs to be revised downwards." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 50, 040002 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001729.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Traditionally, speech researchers have asked participants to classify speakers on a binary scale for gender. However, as our understanding of gender changes, so must our research methods. In this episode, we talk to Brandon Merritt (University of Texas - El Paso) about their research into updating research protocols to better encompass a diversity of genders and gain a more nuanced understanding of listeners' perception of speakers' identity.Associated paper: Brandon Merritt, Tessa Bent, Rowan Kilgore, and Cameron Eads. "Auditory free classification of gender diverse speakers" J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, ##-## (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0024521.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Infants can distinguish caregivers' and other familiar voices early in life, and can even tell the difference between two unfamiliar female voices. In this episode, we talk to Madeleine Yu (University of Toronto) about her research into infants' ability to distinguish the voices of unfamiliar male speakers. Associated paper: Madeleine E. Yu, Natalie Fecher, and Elizabeth K. Johnson. "Learning to identify talkers: Do 4.5-month-old infants distinguish between unfamiliar males?" JASA Express Letters  4, 015203 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0024271. Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

More precisely, is silence the absence of sound? (What is sound, anyway?) In this episode, we get a little philosophical, talking with Bill Yost (Arizona State University) about what sound is and the role perception plays in our understanding of sound and silence. Associated paper: William A. Yost. "What is silence? Therefore, what is sound?" J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, 2333–2336 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0021872.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Oftentimes, when a scientist studying underwater acoustics begins an experiment, they have a specific goal in mind... but then there's a bloop or a crackle they don't expect, or the instruments are saying the ocean floor is at 500 meters instead of 5,000 meters like all the charts say, or a rogue pod of dolphins has caused measurements to go awry. In this episode, we talk to Erin Fischell (Acbotics Research) about all the weird data researchers can run into when they're trying to study underwater sound. Read the associated article: Erin M. Fischell. (2022) “Weird Data: The Element of Surprise in Underwater Acoustic Sensing” Acoustics Today 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2022.18.2.34.Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Another meeting, another round of amazing student research! This episode, we talk to winners of the POMA Student Paper Competition from the 184th meeting of the ASA about their research into using machine learning to model concert hall reverberation time, the effect of clear speech on memory, noise from the Atlas-V rocket launch, the bridge force exerted on the string of a bowed instrument, and a new approach to underwater acoustic source localization. Associated Papers:Jonathan Michael Broyles and Zane Tyler Rusk. Predicting the reverberation time of concert halls by use of a random forest regression model. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 015004 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001751Nicholas B. Aoki and Georgia Zellou. When clear speech does not enhance memory: Effects of speaking style, voice naturalness, and listener age. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 060002 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001766Logan T. Mathews, Mark C. Anderson, Carson D. Gardner, Bradley W. McLaughlin, Brooke M. Hinds, Megan R. McCullah-Boozer, Lucas K. Hall, and Kent L. Gee. An overview of acoustical measurements made of the Atlas V JPSS-2 rocket launch. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 040003 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001768Alessio Lampis, Alexander Mayer, Montserrat Pàmies-Vilà, and Vasileios Chatziioannou. Examination of the static and dynamic bridge force components of a bowed string. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 035002 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001755Dariush Kari, Andrew C. Singer, Hari Vishnu, and Amir Weiss. A gradient-based optimization approach for underwater acoustic source localization. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 51, 022002 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001753Find out how to enter the Student Paper Competition for the latest meeting.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Why is the sound quality of some violins preferred over others?  In this episode, we talk to Carlo Andrea Rozzi (National Research Council of Italy) and Massimo Grassi (University of Padova) about the myth surrounding Stradivari violins as well as their research into the aspects of violin timbre that cause listeners to prefer one instrument to another. Associated paper: Carlo Andrea Rozzi, Alessandro Voltini,  Fabio Antonacci,  Massimo Nucci, and  Massimo Grassi. “A listening experiment comparing the timbre of two Stradivari with other violins." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 151, 443 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009320.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The manufacturing and production of concrete construction building materials creates roughly 10% of global carbon emissions. As a result, architectural engineers are trying to find new ways to reduce the amount of concrete used in their buildings. Less concrete, though, can lead to some major ramifications in terms of the acoustics of a built space. In this episode, we talk to Jonathan Michael Broyles (Penn State) about techniques for optimizing the design of concrete slabs used in floors to reduce materials while improving acoustic performance. Associated paper: Jonathan Michael Broyles, Micah R. Shepherd, and  Nathan C. Brown. "Investigation of optimization techniques on structural-acoustical shaped concrete slabs in buildings." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust 42, 022001 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001354Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The sound environment of a classroom can significantly impact the experience of students, particularly for young learners. Yet most research on primary school classroom acoustics has focused solely on removing all sound, even though some sounds may be beneficial to young students' experience. In this interview, we talk to Chiara Visentin (University of Ferrara) about her research into the soundscape of primary school classrooms.Associated paper: Chiara Visentin, Simone Torresin, Matteo Pellegatti, and Nicola Prodi. “Indoor soundscape in primary school classrooms." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 154, 1813 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020833.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Started after a mysterious beaching of beaked whales and dolphins, Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS, https://dosits.org/) has been providing educational content to the public about the science of underwater sound for over 20 years. In this episode, we talk to Kathleen Vigness-Raposa (Inspire Environmental) and Holly Morin (University of Rhode Island) about how the site has developed over time, resources available on the site, upcoming initiatives, and how acousticians can get involved with DOSITS.Read more about DOSITS in Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications .Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Musical mixes are typically created with normal-hearing listeners' preferences in mind. How do the preferences of listeners with hearing impairment differ, though?  In this episode, we talk to Aravindan Joseph Benjamin and Kai Siedenburg (University of Oldenburg) about their recent article, which explores how various spectrum- and level-based mixing transforms might be altered to cater to listeners with different hearing abilities.Associated paper: Aravindan Joseph Benjamin and Kai Siedenburg. "Exploring level- and spectrum-based music mixing transforms for hearing-impaired listeners." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 154, 1048 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020269.Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022  

In this episode, we talk to the ASA's very own Keeta Jones, the Education and Outreach Coordinator, about science communication: everything from common mistakes scientists make when talking to others about their research, to how to communicate to different types of audiences, to a bevy of tips and tricks you can use when sharing your work with others-- whether it's your grandmother at Thanksgiving, a government official looking to inform new policies, or even colleagues in adjacent fields. Read all about science communication with the articles in this AT Collection! Other resources mentioned in this episode:Effective Media Interactions Training materialsASA Meeting Hands-on SessionsPanel on Public PolicyRead more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

 We know that dolphins and bats echolocate, but less is known about the ultrasonic vocalizations of other animals-- including the northern short-tailed shrew. Some suggest they don't even make ultrasonic vocalizations at all, but instead produce noise when they move. In this episode, Valerie Eddington and Laura Kloepper (both currently at University of New Hampshire and previously at St. Mary's College) discuss their research into the sound made by these creatures. Associated paper: Margaret E. Gleason, Valerie M. Eddington, and Laura N. Kloepper. "Acoustic behavior in the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda): Ultrasonic click production in a novel environment." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 154, 411 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020071Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022 

Most researchers know the seminal articles that have impacted their field. Sometimes, though, the research in those articles can get misinterpreted or exaggerated, and those misunderstandings can take hold and reappear year after year. In this episode, we talk to the editors of the Special Issue on Reconsidering Classic Ideas in Speech Communication, Matthew Winn (University of Minnesota), Richard Wright (University of Washington), and Benjamin Tucker (Northern Arizona University), about ideas in Speech Communication that were reexamined in the special issue.Read the Reconsidering Classic Ideas in Speech CommunicationRead more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The annoyance caused by airplane noise can have adverse effects on those living near airports. Can anything be done when the plane lands to mitigate the noise? In this episode, we talk to Anders Johansson (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden) about his research into how airplane configuration and weather may affect landing noise. Associated paper: Anders Johansson and Karl Bolin "Analysis of landing noise from Airbus A321neo using long term noise measurements and flight recorder data." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 153, 3482 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0019713 Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Researchers know that bats will alter the calls they use for echolocation depending on their task or environment. In this episode, we talk to Léna de Framond and Holger R. Goerlitz of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology about their research into whether bats from temperate regions, which experiences large variations in temperature and humidity which could affect call attenuation, vary their calls based on weather.Associated paper: Léna de Framond, Verena Reininger, and Holger R. Goerlitz. "Temperate bats may alter calls to partially compensate for weather-induced changes in detection distance." J Acoust Soc Am 153, 2867 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0019359Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Besides hosting exciting meetings and publishing the latest in acoustics research, the Acoustical Society of America has another branch: ASA Standards! In this episode, we talk to Steve Lind, Director of ASA Standards, Donald Peterson (Northern Illinois University) and Derrick Knight (Trane Technologies) about what standards are, why we need them, and current initiatives that those in the acoustics community can take part of. Read more about recent initiatives from ASA Standards in Acoustics Today.Check out the ASA Standards blog.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications . Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

The answer: As loud as 40 million bowls of Rice Krispies. In this episode, we talk with Kent Gee of Brigham Young University about his recent research trip to measure the launch acoustics of NASA's Artemis-I mission, why understanding launch noise is so important, common misconceptions about how loud rockets are, and more. Associated paper: Kent L. Gee,   Grant W. Hart, Carson F. Cunningham, Mark C. Anderson, Michael S. Bassett,   Logan T. Mathews, J. Taggart Durrant, Levi T. Moats,   Whitney L. Coyle, Makayle S. Kellison, and Margaret J. Kuffskie. "Space Launch System acoustics: Far-field noise measurements of the Artemis-I launch." JASA Express Letters 3, 023601 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0016878Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Noise can damage hearing in numerous ways: hearing loss, tinnitus, difficulty hearing in noisy settings, as well as other sound detection or sound processing deficits. In this episode, we talk to Colleen LePrell (UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences) and Odile Clavier (Creare), two editors of the recent Noise-Induced Hearing Disorders Special Issue of JASA. Learn about current clinical and investigational tools for studying noise-induced hearing disorders, as well as the latest on research about noise monitoring and hearing protection. Read the Special Issue on Noise-Induced Hearing Disorders: Clinical and Investigational ToolsRead more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Could moths' hearing be the key to figuring out how to localize sound with tiny microphones?  How do we prevent rocket launch noise from damaging the ship's payload? Is it possible for algorithms to account for microphone arrays that don't stay in a rigid structure? These are some questions considered by Acoustical Society students who won the latest round of the POMA Student Paper Competition from the 183nd meeting of the ASA. In this episode, we interview the three competition winners, Lara Díaz-García, Mara Salut Escarti-Guillem, and Kanad Sarkar, about their research. Associated papers: Lara Díaz-García, Andrew Reid, Joseph Jackson-Camargo, and James Windmill. “Directional passive acoustic structures inspired by the ear of Achroia grisella.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust 50, 032001 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001715Mara Salut Escarti-Guillem, Luis M. Garcia-Raffi, Sergio Hoyas, and Oliver Gloth. “Assessment of Computational Fluid Dynamics acoustic prediction accuracy and deflector impact on launch aero-acoustic environment.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust 50, 040001 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001716Kanad Sarkar, Manan Mittal, Ryan Corey, Andrew Singer. “Measuring and Exploiting the Locally Linear Mapping between Relative Transfer Functions and Array deformations.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust 50, 055001 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001707 Find out how to enter the Student Paper Competition for the latest meeting. Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Is there an ideal level for lead vocals compared to accompaniment in popular music? Researchers at University of Oldenburg investigated this question by analyzing the Billboard Hot 100 year-end list from 1946 to 2020 as well as Grammy award nominees from 1990 to 2020.  In this interview, author Kai Siedenburg discusses what his group learned about an important aspect of music mixing and the impact the research may have.Associated paper: Karsten Gerdes and Kai Siedenburg. "Lead-vocal level in recordings of popular music 1946–2020.“ JASA Express Letters 3, 043201 (2023). http://doi.org/10.1121/10.0017773 Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

As mobile technology has evolved, allowing people to carry music, movies, books, and a host of other types of infotainment in their pockets, headphones have become more prevalent. However, in the 2010s, as smartphones became ubiquitous, headphone technology remained stuck twenty years in the past. In this episode, we talk to Sean Olive of Harman International about his research regarding the perception of headphone sound quality and how standards can be updated to better reflect listener preferences. Read the associated article: Sean E. Olive. (2022) “The Perception and Measurement of Headphone Sound Quality: What Do Listeners Prefer?” Acoustics Today 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2022.18.1.58.Read more from Acoustics Today.Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Offshore wind farms are a sustainable option for producing energy, but little is known about their effect on fish on aquatic invertebrates. In this episode, we talk to Arthur N. Popper (University of Maryland) and Kathryn A. Williams (Biodiversity Research Institute) about research priorities to better understand how sound and vibration from wind farms may affect aquatic life.Associated paper: Arthur N. Popper, Lyndie Hice-Dunton, Edward Jenkins,   Dennis M. Higgs, Justin Krebs,   Aran Mooney,   Aaron Rice, Louise Roberts,   Frank Thomsen, Kathy Vigness-Raposa,   David Zeddies, and Kathryn A. Williams. "Offshore wind energy development: Research priorities for sound and vibration effects on fishes and aquatic invertebrates." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 151, 205 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009237Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Is there one "true" perception or assessment of a soundscape, or is it actually a combination of many different perspectives/assessments? How does a researcher represent data for a multifaceted view of soundscapes? In this episode, we interview Andrew Mitchell of University College London about his article, "How to analyze and represent quantitative soundscape data," (JASA Express Letters, March 2022), which addresses these questions. Associated paper: Andrew Mitchell, Francesco Aletta, and Jian Kang. "How to analyse and represent quantitative soundscape data." JASA Express Letters 2, 037201 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009794More on Soundscapy:Github repo: https://github.com/MitchellAcoustics/SoundscapyDocumentation and main site: https://soundscapy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/The Rest is Just Noise podcast: https://www.justnoisepod.com/Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

In honor of JASA Express Letters' (JASA-EL) two-year anniversary as a fully independent, gold open access journal, we're taking a trip down memory lane with three figures who've been involved with the journal over the years: Christy Holland, of University of Cincinnati, who took part in the inception of JASA-EL's predecessor, Acoustic Research Letters Online, and the creation of JASA-EL; Keith Wilson of US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, the first JASA-EL Editor; and Charlie Church, current Editor of JASA-EL. Listen to these three ASA members tell tales from their tenures with the ASA and reflect on the shifting landscape of scholarly publishing over the past 20+ years! Read more from JASA Express Letters. Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications  Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Studying music poses a conundrum: real musicians don't play consistently, while machines designed to play an instrument in exactly the same way every time may omit the effects of other factors on the music. In this episode, we talk to Sam Bellows about his research into modeling how the musician's body affects the diffraction and absorption of clarinet music in directivity measurements. Associated paper: Samuel David Bellows and Timothy Ward Leishman. “Modeling musician diffraction and absorption for artificially excited clarinet directivity measurements.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 46, 035002 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001586Find out how to enter the Student Paper Competition for the latest meeting.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022

Typically, to block sound of a particular frequency, a structure of comparable wavelength dimensions is required. For low-frequency sounds with very long wavelengths, this can mean needing prohibitively large objects to reduce noise. In this episode, we talk to Trigun Maroo about his research regarding using 3d printing to create noise-attenuating structures that take up less space.Associated paper: Trigun Maroo and Andrew Wright. “Sound transmission loss improvement using additively manufactured multimaterial.” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 46, 030001 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001609 Find out how to enter the Student Paper Competition for the latest meeting.Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications. Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022