Across Acoustics

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/10.1121/10.0017068 Read 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.2023.19.3.46 Try 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/10.1121/2.0001751 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 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

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/10.1121/2.0001354 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 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 Policy 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

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/10.1121/10.0020071 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

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 Communication 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 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/10.1121/10.0019359 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