Episodes

  • Student Paper Competition: Environmentally Friendly Acoustic Design, Spatial Impulse Response Measurements, and Acoustic Spectrometers
    May 26 2025

    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.

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    41 mins
  • Large Venue Acoustics
    May 6 2025

    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.

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    56 mins
  • Things That Go Boom
    Apr 14 2025

    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.

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    52 mins
  • Show Your Scattering Coefficients
    Feb 24 2025

    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.

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    38 mins
  • Reducing Shipping Noise for Fatter, Happier Marine Mammals
    Jan 20 2025

    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/10.1121/10.0034455


    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.

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    23 mins
  • Acoustic Levitation and Trapping
    Dec 16 2024

    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.

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    16 mins
  • Student Paper Competition: Modeling Trumpets and Falcon 9 Flyback Noise
    Dec 2 2024

    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/10.1121/2.0001916

    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.

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    36 mins
  • Student Paper Competition: A Small Ship-Like Structure, Underwater Micronavigation, and Rotorcraft Noise
    Nov 11 2024

    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 rotorcraft

    Make 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





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    50 mins