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!)

New Across Acoustics Episode: Considering Classroom Soundscapes for Young Students

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.

(Like the episode? Read the article!)