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and supporting materials.
Applicants are selected by the
Office of Naval Research based on: past performance, demonstrated by the sig- nificance and impact of previous research, publications, professional activities, awards and other recogni- tion, etc.; a creative proposal, demon- strating the potential for making progress in a listed priority research area; and a long-term commitment by his/her institution to the applicant and the research.
Purnima Ratilal received a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from the National University of Singapore in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002. Her research interests include Underwater Acoustics, Acoustical Oceanograpy, Bioacoustics, Ultrasound Imaging, Seismics, Nonlinear Scattering, Wave Propagation in Random Media, Signal, Image and Array Processing, Statistical Inference Theory. Dr. Ratilal's current research and development proj- ects include remote acoustic sensing sys- tem for rapidly imaging and localizing schools of fish and other biology over wide areas, spanning thousands of square kilometers, in near real time, including rapid-at-sea navigation, chart- ing and registration and an Extinction Theorem for object scattering in a dis- persive waveguide. This theorem will be used to design an acoustic ''burglar alarm'' or ''trip-wire'' system for detect- ing submerged objects.
Professor Ratilal is a member of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). She received best student paper awards for five of her presentations at ASA meetings (two coauthored) and was selected as one of the nine young investigators to present keynote addresses to the ASA on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary in 2004. In 2006 Purnima was awarded the R. Bruce Lindsay Award of the Acoustical Society of America, an award for ASA members who are under 35 years of age and who have contributed substantially to the advancement of theoretical or applied acoustics. The award citation read: "for contributions to the theory of wave propagation and scattering through a waveguide, and to the acoustic remote sensing of marine life. Dr. Ratilal's has also received other
awards including the MIT T. Francis Ogilvie Young Investigator Lectureship in Ocean Engineering (2006), the ONR Postdoctoral Award in Ocean Acoustics (2002-2004), and the DSO National Laboratories Graduate Scholarship, Singapore (1998).
Scott D. Sommerfeldt
Scott D. Sommerfeldt new dean at Brigham Young University
Scott D. Sommerfeldt, who has served as chair of the Brigham Young University (BYU) Physics and Astronomy Department since 2003, has accepted an appointment by Academic Vice President John S. Tanner as dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He replaces Earl M. Woolley who will retire on July 1.
Sommerfeldt completed a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in physics at BYU. In 1989, he completed graduate studies at Penn State University where he received his doctor- ate in acoustics. Following graduation, he accepted a Penn State University fac- ulty position, which he held for six years. He joined the BYU Department of Physics and Astronomy in 1995 focusing in the area of acoustics with much of his research centered on the study of active noise control.
He has published more than 60 technical papers and has received funding for his research from both industry and government agencies. Sommerfeldt has served on the Technical Council of the Acoustical Society of America and on the board of directors of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering.
Scott Sommerfeldt has also served as Chair of the ASA Technical Committee on Structural Acoustics
and Vibration (2000-03) and most recently as Chair of the 153rd meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Salt Lake City, Utah, 4-8 June 2007.
Marshall Buck
Marshall Buck receives Audio Engineering Society award
Marshall Buck was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) in 2006. He joined the AES in 1972 and later became Chair of the Los Angeles Section. Since then, he has served the AES as Convention Chair; Convention Papers Chair (twice); Convention Workshops Chair; Chair of the AES Finance Committee; Chair of the Convention Policy Committee; and member of the Standards, Technical, and Review Committees. Marshall has received the Board of Governors Award and an AES Fellowship. He was elected AES Regional Vice President, AES President and AES Treasurer (the latter office for 11 years).
Marshall Buck studied physics and engineering at Caltech and earned B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from UCLA. His postdoctoral work was in the UCLA Computer Science Department where he did research for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency and worked with some of the founders of the ARPAnet (which evolved into the internet). Upon leav- ing academia, Dr. Buck served as Chief Engineer at Cerwin-Vega; as Chief Acoustic Engineer for Harman Applied Technologies; as Chief of Technical Resources for Harman International’s
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