Spring Issue of Acoustics Today now out!

The spring issue of Acoustics Today is now out! The cover features close up images of mud from the New England Mud Patch. The related article talks about why the acoustics of mud are interesting and important (pg. 37). (Fun fact, the image is actually adapted from a figure in this POMA article!)

Other topics in this issue:

  • The ways acoustical oceanographers use underwater ambient sound to measure the complex internal structure of the ocean,
  • The unprecedented changes in the world’s acoustical environments that people observed during the pandemic
  • Changes to soundscapes as the world enters a postpandemic era
  • Jim Simmons’ career studying bat echolocation
  • The unique acoustics of large venues like arenas, stadiums, and ampitheaters

Plus there’s an interview with Karl Grosh of University of Michigan, an overview of the International Liaison Committee’s Excellence in Acoustics Around the World session during the most recent ASA meeting, and look at how students are fostering inclusion in the field of acoustics.

If you don’t want to wait for your print copy to arrive in the mail, you can check out the entire issue online!

 

Spring Acoustics Today

New Across Acoustics Episode: Quiet Down! Lowering the Recommended Occupational Noise Exposure Limit

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.

Like the episode? Check out the related article!

Unlocking the Sounds of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras, renowned for its vibrant parades in New Orleans, brings to life the spirit of celebration with music and revelry leading up to Ash Wednesday. While the sound of parades may appear commonplace, research has uncovered fascinating nuances in the soundscape. A paper published in the Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) introduces an automated classification algorithm capable of discerning crowd reactions at a Mardi Gras parade from those at a basketball game. Explore the fascinating findings here: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001327.

For those who haven’t experienced the magic of a Mardi Gras parade in-person, the question lingers – what is it like? The prospect of virtually attending such events is on the horizon, prompting curiosity about whether the auditory experience can be replicated. In an insightful article published in Acoustics Today, the creation of dynamic virtual soundscapes is explored, offering a glimpse into the potential future of immersive virtual Mardi Gras experiences. You can read more in the article here: https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2020.16.1.46, or listen to the Across Acoustics podcast episode featuring the author: https://acrossacoustics.buzzsprout.com/1537384/9601986-virtual-sounds

Mardi Gras - Basketball

Cluster distribution of crowd noise for basketball and Mardi Gras data. https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001327

Mardi Gras - Virtual

Left: watching Mardi Gras on a TV set; right: being literally “inside” Mardi Gras, in a virtual acoustic environment. Original photo of marching band by Prayitno, used under the Creative Commons license with attribution (CC BY 2.0). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2020.16.1.46

Excitingly, ASA is set to return to the vibrant city of New Orleans for the 188th Meeting, jointly held with the International Congress on Acoustics from May 19-23, 2025. Having last convened in the city in 2017, the conference yielded a treasure trove of proceedings papers spanning a myriad of acoustics topics. For those captivated by the fusion of sound and science, immerse yourself in the 174th ASA Meeting proceedings here: https://pubs.aip.org/asa/poma/issue/31/1, or check out the Lay Language Papers (LLP) here: https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/new-orleans-louisiana/. We hope to see and hear you back in New Orleans in 2025!

Mardi Gras - NOLA Meeting

174th ASA Meeting held in New Orleans in 2017

Popular Social Media Posts – January

The first month of 2024 has flown by, which means it’s time to review January’s most popular social media posts. The following posts got people to like, share, and perhaps most importantly, read the published research!

On the ASA Facebook page, a JASA Express Letter post featuring “Sound power of NASA’s lunar rockets: Space Launch System versus Saturn V” had really good engagement. You can visit the post first or read the article at https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0022538.

Facebook-January Social MediaFacebook

Next, a Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) paper presented at the most recent ASA Meeting did well on Twitter (X). See the original tweet or read the paper at: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001812.

Twitter-January Social MediaLinkedIn

Next, a Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) paper presented at the most recent ASA Meeting did well on Twitter (X). See the original tweet or read the paper at: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001812.

Instagram-January Social MediaInstagram

Finally, folks on LinkedIn enjoyed a post featuring an article from the 3D Sound Recognition Special issue of JASA. View the post and read the article at https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0024159.

LinkedIn-January Social MediaLinked In

In fact, many of our upcoming social media posts will be about 185th Meeting, Acoustics 23 and will contain #Acoustics23. If you will be attending, be sure to include the hashtag so that we can follow along! We are especially looking forward to the POMAs that come after the meeting!

High School Brilliance in ASA Publications

In this post, we invite readers to look back at a few ASA articles that were written and/or co-written by authors who were still in high school at the time of publication, proving that age is merely a number in the pursuit of scientific excellence.

High School Dougherty-sqr

The author and her siblings (left to right) Brooke, Ross, and Morgan Dougherty

First up is Brooke Dougherty who reached out to the editor of Acoustics Today (AT) to pitch her article idea. Her passion and initiative resulted in the AT Sound Perspective piece, “The Sound Journey of a Future Acoustician” (DOI: 10.1121/AT.2021.17.4.70) where Brooke writes about Perfect Pitch Fluency—an accessible resource to master perfect pitch, delve into sound concepts, and explore the hidden world of frequency in music and beyond.

High School Lee-Park

Experimental setup for testing the benefit of the metamaterial structure.

Next up, Joonyoung Lee and Mincheol Park, who received the ASA Second Award at the 2019 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), also presented at the 2019 International Congress on Ultrasonics. Co-authored with Jong-Rim Lee, Younho Cho, and Young H. Kim, the Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) publication, “Optimize ultrasound condition for water treatment by coiled-up space metamaterial” (DOI: 10.1121/2.0001123) explores the efficiency boost of ultrasonic waves for cleansing.

High School Cayanan-Gozun-Tongol

Flowchart of Making the Sound Absorption Materials

The 2019 ISEF ASA Honorable Mention team made up of Neil David C. Cayanan, Shaira C. Gozun, and E’van Relle M. Tongol presented their project at the 178th Meeting ASA Meeting and then published their work in POMA. Their publication, “Hibla: Acoustic fiber” (DOI: 10.1121/2.0001264), showcases their innovative thinking in creating high-performance sound absorption panels from Abacá, Bamboo, and Water hyacinth.

High School Hillier

Spectrograms of the same utterance of “I know because I will” spoken by an adult female native English speaker.

After presenting their work at the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair in 2017, Adeline F. Hillier, Claire E. Hillier and their mentor, David A. Hillier, published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA). “A modified spectrogram with possible application as a visual hearing aid for the deaf” (DOI: 10.1121/1.5055224), describes how enhanced frequency resolution, optimized information clarity, and the elimination of distracting details is paving the way for a more intuitive and efficient interpretation of acoustic patterns.

The next time you come across a scientific publication, remember – it might just be the work of the next generation of acousticians, who penned their groundbreaking insights while still navigating the halls of high school!