Page 60 - Summer 2006

Tony Jones (l) and Michael Barron (r) (Photo: Institute of Acoustics)
Bath, was awarded the medal for his outstanding contributions to research and his illumination of auditorium acoustics over a period of more than 40 years. Michael Barron is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.
The presentation was made by Dr. Tony Jones, President of the Institute of Acoustics at the Institute’s recent Spring Conference at Southampton University. Southampton University was an appropriate venue for the pres- entation of Dr. Barron’s award as it was there in 1967 that he embarked upon his career, having graduated from the University of Cambridge with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Engineering.
Following receipt of his medal, Dr. Barron gave a lecture entitled “The development of Concert Hall Design – a 111 Year Experience.”
Accepting his medal, Dr. Barron said, “When I started work in acoustics at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) in 1967, I had the extreme good fortune to be given a research project to do experiments to check the recent proposal by Harold Marshall that early lateral reflections were important for good concert hall acoustics. Marshall’s proposal had
already excited much interest in the world of audi- torium acoustics, which is however only a small one, even internation- ally. This meant that several years later when my own results appeared, con- firming Marshall’s basic thesis, I found myself communi- cating with an international audience in spite of my inexperi- ence. Being offered the Rayleigh medal
was a great surprise to me and to receive it is an immense honor. I am delighted that my work has been appreciated by a larger public and that I have had the opportunity to talk about a fascinating subject to a wider audience.”
The Institute of Acoustics is the UK's professional body for those work- ing in acoustics, noise and vibration. It was formed in 1974 from the amalga- mation of the Acoustics Group of the Institute of Physics and the British Acoustical Society (a daughter society of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers). The Institute has some 2600 members from a rich diversity of backgrounds, with engineers, scien- tists, educators, lawyers, occupational hygienists, architects and environmen- tal health officers among their number. For further information about IOA, visit http://www.ioa.org.uk/
Neville Fletcher receives award from Australian Acoustical Society
Professor Neville Fletcher, Visiting Fellow Research School of Physical Science and Engineering Australian National University, was presented the inaugural award for “Outstanding Contribution to Acoustics” from the
Australian Acoustical Society.
The award citation read:
“Throughout his career, Neville has made extensive contributions to the advancement of acoustics, particularly in the areas of acoustics of musical instru- ments, biological acoustics, and vibra- tions. He has achieved international recognition for his work and has pub- lished extensively. He has been a strong supporter of all the activities of the Australian Acoustical Society. In partic- ular he has been the chief editor of the journal Acoustics Australia since 1993.”
The award was a silver tray, a cut- glass decanter and four cut-glass port glasses. The tray is engraved with the words “Presented to Neville Fletcher by the Council of the Australian Acoustical Society in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of acoustics and signifi- cant service to the Society.”
Neville Fletcher is a Fellow of ASA and recipient of the 1998 Silver Medal in Musical Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America “for contributions to understanding sound production and especially the role of nonlinear processes in string, wind, and percus- sion musical instruments.” Dr. Fletcher currently serves as Associate Editor of JASA for Music and Musical Instruments, a position he has held since 2001.
58 Acoustics Today, July 2006
Neville H. Fletcher