Ocean Acoustics Seeks Greater Profile

The field of ocean acoustics in the U.S. has few dedicated educational programs and lacks public visibility at a time when career opportunities tied to the discipline are expanding well beyond military roles, according to a consensus report released this week by the National Academies.

“What was once a niche subdiscipline in acoustics created from military need and investment has blossomed, seeding innovations in science and technology that impact society through exploration, policy, and environmentally responsible use of marine resources,” writes study committee chair Jennifer Miksis-Olds in the report’s preface.

“Although still fiercely committed to and dependent upon its defense-related roots, the ocean acoustics community has proliferated in applied uses of ocean sound to include those outside the traditional disciplines of math, physics, and engineering,” adds Miksis-Olds, who directs the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire. For instance, the growth of commercial sectors tied to marine technology has created new demand for expertise in areas such as the impacts of human-generated noise on marine life.

Despite this trend, the committee found that only four institutions of higher education in the U.S. offer formal degrees or certificates at the graduate level that specifically reference acoustics expertise in the title: Pennsylvania State University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition, the committee warns that expertise in the field is at risk of drying up given it often relies on faculty distributed across a range of academic departments.

“The small number of faculty teaching ocean acoustics-related courses or mentoring grad students, combined with the various home departments they reside in, can result in ocean acoustics expertise being lost and not backfilled when faculty retire,” Miksis-Olds said at a report release event.

Accordingly, the committee recommends that relevant federal agencies and companies provide funding to create or reestablish dedicated faculty positions in acoustics at institutions of higher education. It also calls for agencies to fund new “Centers of Excellence in Ocean Acoustics,” which would work to “raise the profile of the discipline, coordinate infrastructure and support to build capacity, maximize resources, and prevent redundancy to promote preparation of the next generation of the ocean acoustics workforce.”

At the K-12 level, the committee proposes agencies and companies increase funding for extracurricular activities such as the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, an academic competition for high school students that is run by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Miksis-Olds said it would be “extremely difficult” to modify national K-12 curriculum to include ocean acoustics, but that leaning on extracurricular programs is a more-achievable means of providing early exposure to the field.

The report also recommends expanding support for non-advanced degrees related to marine technology, such as two-year technical degrees or certificates, and making it easier for military members with acoustics experience to transition into careers in the civilian acoustics sector.