Acoustical Society of America

In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, Greg Tocci discusses his life and career, focusing on his entry to the acoustics field, his relationship with ASA, and his long career with the acoustics consulting firm Cavanaugh Tocci. Tocci recalls his upbringing outside Boston as the son of an engineer, his undergraduate education in mechanical engineering at Tufts University, and master’s-degree work at MIT with Richard Lyon. He also discusses early jobs as a draftsman at a mechanical engineering firm and a researcher at the Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center at Watertown Arsenal, and his service in the Army Reserve during the Vietnam War. He then discusses his early career in architectural acoustics through the firms Cambridge Collaborative and Cavanaugh Copley and the circumstances leading to the splitting off of Cavanaugh Tocci in 1975. The interview concludes with a discussion of Tocci’s personal life and his ongoing work to train young employees and maintain the culture of Cavanaugh Tocci following his sale of his stake in it.

In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, Per Brüel discusses his life and career, focusing especially on his introduction to the field of acoustical instrumentation and his work in industry. It also discusses his association with ASA and other national acoustical societies. Brüel recalls his upbringing in Jutland, education at what is now called the Technical University of Denmark, experiences during World War II, early R&D work in Sweden, and his relationship with figures such as P. O. Pedersen and Viggo Kjær. He also discusses his work on architectural acoustics and the origins and successes of such Brüel & Kjær products as the constant percentage analyzer, level recorder, and condenser microphone, as well as his criticisms of the A-weighting curve used in noise measurement. He reflects on Brüel & Kjær management issues, including his division of responsibilities with Kjær, how they made decisions jointly, relations with universities, advertising, and the strategic decisions leading up to the sale of the company in 1992. The interview concludes with discussions of Brüel’s interest in cars and flying, his family, and his activities following the sale of Brüel & Kjær.

In this interview with former Acoustical Society of America president Mike Stinson, the discussion begins with Stinson’s experiences as a member of the society and recollections of his work with Shyam Khanna. The interview then shifts to Stinson’s youth near Vancouver, British Columbia, including his undergraduate education and master’s degree work in physics at Simon Fraser University. Stinson then recounts work in the sawmill industry and his decision to pursue a doctorate at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, involving research on the electrical and thermal conduction properties of metals at low temperatures. Stinson discusses his career at the National Research Council of Canada, where he moved into acoustics, working with researchers such as Gilles Daigle, Dave Havelock, Edgar Shaw, and Tony Embleton, and technicians such as Allen Hellard and Marina Vaillancourt.  He also recounts particular projects, such as work on the acoustics of Blackberry devices and the effects of atmospheric turbulence on sound, as well as the NRC’s decision to discontinue his group and his establishment of the company MG Acoustics with Daigle, who is also the interviewer.

In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, the discussion begins with Pisoni’s experiences as a member of ASA and the influence of a presentation at a 1980 meeting by Brian Eukel as well as earlier work by the Harvard Psychoacoustics Lab. The interview continues with memories of Pisoni’s youth in New York City and undergraduate education in experimental psychology at Queens College of the City University of New York, including the influence of Lou Gerstman. Pisoni then recalls his doctoral work in psycholinguistics at the University of Michigan and research at Haskins Laboratories, as well as his move in 1970 to his only place of employment, Indiana University, and his sabbaticals at MIT. Other subjects Pisoni discusses include the creation and growth of the IU “Training in Speech and Hearing Sensory Communication” program funded by the National Institutes of Health, some of his most influential books and papers, his participation in the Institute for Defense Analyses’ Summer Camp in Applied Mathematical Problems, and his moves into clinical work and cognitive aging and speech perception.

In this interview, AIP Oral Historian Jon Phillips interviews Dr. Earl Blodgett, Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin River Falls and Historian for Sigma Pi Sigma and the Society of Physics Students. Blodgett discusses his undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin River Falls and graduate education at Washington University St. Louis in detail, including his work on acoustics with James Miller at Washington. He describes his return to River Falls as a teaching professor, and the development of physics pedagogy there, as well as his longstanding activity with both the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Society of Physics Students, for which he has served as both President and Historian. The interview includes extensive discussion of both the administrative and pedagogical dimensions and trends within undergraduate physics education in the United States over the course of Blodgett’s full career.

Interview with Gilles Daigle. The interview begins with Daigle discussing his current work at MG Acoustics, a small consulting R&D firm. Then he recalls joining Acoustical Society of America (ASA) as a master’s student after being encouraged to join by his thesis supervisor, Tony Embleton. Daigle overviews the committees he has served on and positions he held within ASA over the years, culminating in his term as president from 2007-2008. Daigle then recounts his childhood in New Brunswick and how a chemistry project in high school inspired him to major in chemistry at the University of Moncton. However, he changed his major to physics and worked in a small nuclear physics lab. Daigle describes pursuing his master’s degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, initially studying nuclear physics but eventually switching to acoustics, where he studied atmospheric turbulence. He continued at Carleton for his doctorate and took a teaching position at University of Moncton, before accepting a position with National Research Council Canada, where he remained for 30 years. At the end of the interview, Daigle discusses the creation of MG Acoustics, the awards he has received from the ASA, his family life, and his avid interest in bird photography.

In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, the discussion begins with West’s experiences as a member of the society before moving into his family background and youth in Virginia, education at Hampton Institute and Temple University, and military service in the Korean War. West describes his employment with Bell Labs and his work on the electret microphone, for which he and Gerhard Sessler would be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He also discusses his experiences as a Black member of the technical staff at Bell Labs, the importance of being in a research environment with people of similar backgrounds, and the creation and successes of the Association of Black Laboratory Employees (ABLE). West further describes his work in the acoustics of concert halls and hospitals and on the design of devices for taking medical measurements. The interview concludes with West highlighting his work during his presidency of ASA to expand its reach in Latin America and to attract and support people of Hispanic origin to acoustics.

Interview with Allan Pierce, Professor Emeritus at Boston University and President of the Cape Cod Institute for Science and Engineering. Pierce recounts his childhood in Kansas and New Mexico, where his father worked on building aircraft during World War II. He remembers tinkering with a chemistry set as a child and building his own little radio. Pierce describes his undergraduate studies in physics at New Mexico State University and winning an NSF Fellowship to attend MIT for free for his graduate studies. Upon completing his PhD, Pierce recalls working for RAND Corporation on defense-related issues at the height of the Cold War, as well as his burgeoning interest in acoustics. Pierce describes his career trajectory that took him to Avco Space Systems Division, the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT, and Georgia Tech. He recounts his research in a variety of fields such as helicopter noise, sonic booms, wind turbines, and underwater acoustics. Pierce talks about the genesis of his famed acoustics textbook and speaks in detail about several topics in the book, such as the wave theory of sound, plane waves, and room acoustics. Pierce describes moving to Penn State, then Boston University, and finally the formation of the Cape Code Institute. He also reflects on his time as Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The interview concludes with Pierce reflecting on his unique historical perspective and appreciation for acoustics, and how he has seen the ASA change over the years.

In this interview organized through the Acoustical Society of America, Malcolm Crocker recounts his childhood in England during World War II and attending the University of Southampton for his undergraduate and master’s degrees in the aeronautical engineering program. Crocker then worked at Wyle Labs in Huntsville, Alabama, before returning to England to complete his graduate studies at Liverpool. He describes accepting an offer to join the faculty at Purdue University, where he stayed for years before he was offered a position as department head at Auburn University, where he eventually took emeritus status. Crocker discusses his involvement in the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) and his role as a founder of INCE International. He also details his activity within the Acoustical Society of America, where he has served on the Noise Committee and the History Committee.

Interview with Diane Kewley-Port, Professor Emeritus at Indiana University in the Speech and Hearing Department. Kewley-Port recounts her involvement in the Acoustical Society of America over the years, including serving as Chair of the Speech Technical Committee, member of the Executive Council, and Vice President. She describes her childhood in Cleveland and her early interest in science and engineering. Kewley-Port then discusses her undergrad and graduate years at University of Michigan, as well as the year she spent working in Denmark for a Danish computer company. She also talks about her time as a research assistant in the Neurocommunications Lab at Johns Hopkins, as well as at Haskins Laboratories, before pursuing her PhD at City University of New York. Kewley-Port reflects on how important ASA has been throughout her career, especially the mentorship and support she has received.