2023 Across Acoustics Wrapped

As another year comes to a close, we wanted to take a look back at the Across Acoustics episodes over the year. In 2023, we published 22 episodes, including interviews with researchers about their latest findings, behind-the-scenes looks at our journals and other acoustics resources, award-winning student research, discussions with editors about recent special issues… and more!

Here are the five episodes that were listened to the most this year:

1) A Different Way to Look at Soundscape Data

In our most popular episode of the year, we talk to the host of The Rest is Just Noise, Andrew Mitchell, about how researchers can better analyze soundscape data in a way that is representative of multiple perspectives, rather than considering just one perspective at a time.

2) Headphone Sound Quality: What Do Listeners Prefer?

When smartphones really began to take off in the early 2010s, allowing people to watch and listen to multimedia whenever and wherever they wanted to, headphone technology was still decades behind. Sean Olive of Harman International discusses his research into improving headphone sound quality to better reflect listeners’ preferences.

3) Save the Fishes!: Offshore Wind Farm Noise and Aquatic Life

As offshore wind farms become a more popular, the question of how these sources of sustainable energy impact their surrounding environments. In this episode, we talk to Arthur Popper of University of Maryland and Kate Williams of Biodiversity Research Institute about what scientists should research to better understand the impact of these wind farms on fishes and aquatic invertebrates.

4) Reconsidering Classic Ideas in Speech Communication

We may know the research that has had a big impact on our field… but what happens when that research is misinterpreted or exaggerated, time and again? We spoke with editors of a JASA special issue on reexamining ideas in Speech Communication, Matthew Winn (University of Minnesota), Richard Wright (University of Washington), and Benjamin Tucker (Northern Arizona University).

5) How loud is NASA’s Space Launch System?

We talked to Brigham Young University’s rocket noise expert, Kent Gee, about how loud the Artemis-I mission of the Space Launch System actually was and why it’s so important to consider rocket launch acoustics.

Thank you for listening this year. We’ll be back in 2024 with more great interviews with our authors and editors!

New Across Acoustics Episode: Wait, What’s That? Weird Data in Underwater Acoustics

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.

Like the episode? Read the article in Acoustics Today!

New Across Acoustics Episode: Student Paper Competition – Chicago

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.

Like the episode? Read the associated articles:

  • 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/10.1121/2.0001751
  • Nicholas 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/10.1121/2.0001766
  • Logan 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/10.1121/2.0001768
  • Alessio 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/10.1121/2.0001755
  • Dariush 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/10.1121/2.0001753

And if you’re a student presenting at the latest meeting in Sydney, don’t forget to submit your POMA to the next Student Paper Competition!

New Across Acoustics Episode: Exploring Timbre of Stradivari Violins

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.

(Like the episode? Read the article!)

New Across Acoustics Episode: Optimizing Concrete Floors for Building Acoustics

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 of Across Acoustics, 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.
(Like the episode? Read the article!)