Page 33 - Spring 2007

industry. Thus, applications of acoustics in the entertainment industry ought to appeal to students. Entertainment, broadly cast, provides a strong opportunity for introduction of many of the technical specialties of acoustics. It is a venue for dis- cussion of speech communication, binaural hearing, signal processing, transduction, musical acoustics, architectural acoustics, and other acoustics subdisciplines.
While we never hope for natural and man-made disas- ters, those that have an acoustical link provide applications with tremendous appeal to students. Recent examples include the Indonesian tsunami, the Pakistani earthquake and the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Each of these has an acoustical link—primarily to wave propagation and to acoustic listening devices. These events showcase the impor- tance of research in acoustics and emphasize its potential sig- nificance in times of challenge. They present acoustics as an opportunity to “do good” for the world, rather than in terms of military applications that students tend to associate with
6
appealing to students is the biomedical arena, largely because improvements in medicine are likely to have great social sig- nificance. Here specific topics such as ultrasound for diag- nostic and therapeutic purposes, noise control and speech privacy in medical facilities, and the treatment of hearing and speech ailments can serve as interesting applications that engage students. Many of these topics also make it possible to
war and negative actions.
Another major application area with great potential of
examine ethical issues related to them, generally a very good
means of engaging students while enhancing learning, and a
means of fulfilling accreditation requirements in engineer-
7
ing. As an example, consider the issue of treatments for pro-
found deafness. While the acoustics technical issue relates to the design and use of cochlear implants, the controversy between restoring hearing and living with deafness (and using sign language) has been in the news frequently and provides a very interesting opportunity for students to engage in a discussion of the social issues surrounding tech- nical advancements.
Another category of applications with significant appeal to a diverse student population deals with environmental issues. In particular, the danger to ocean animals from noise, the use of acoustics to determine ocean temperatures with relevance to global warming, and acoustic refrigeration that eliminates the need for ozone-depleting chemicals are three contemporary environmental issues with application to dif- ferent subdisciplines of acoustics. Further, the potential dan- ger to marine mammals imposed by man-made (anthro- pogenic) sounds is a topic of significant current controversy, so this particular application provides an opportunity to dis- cuss how scientists go about resolving such differences. Exposing students to such a technical controversy can encourage them to pursue a research career.
Finally, the recent work to develop a classroom acoustics standard creates a fabulous benchmark by which every
Natural
Plastic Laminates
Wood Veneer
Now you have a choice...
Super-Natural
Whether it’s the traditional beauty of natural wood. – or the unlimited decorator choices of our new durable plastic laminates – the possibilities are endless with Overly Acoustic Doors:
s Traditionalwoodveneersanddecoratorcolors,plusexoticveneersandcustomandopaquecolors
s Decoratorplasticlaminatesintraditionalandexoticsimulatedwoodveneers,plusendlesscolorchoicesandpatterns,
individual designs and custom graphics
Either way, you get the same Overly quality – acoustic doors that have higher STC ratings and are lighter weight than most comparable doors on the market. Plus, many Overly Single Swing Acoustical Wood and Plastic Laminate Doors have been tested to the latest UL fire test standards for 3/4-hour duration.
For more information, please contact: Overly Door Company Tel: 1-800-0979-7300, Fax: 1-724-830-2871 Email: overly@overly.com, Web: www.overly.com
Undergraduate Acoustics Students 31