Page 59 - Volume 8, Issue 4 - Winter 2012

acoustics is considered by many to be the father of modern signatures technology. Over this time, his professional inter- ests touched on virtually every relevant acoustic source mechanism and over time gained relevance to the then- emergent signature issues as Navy ship technologies advanced. Throughout, Strasbergs’s views were always con- temporary and to the end continued to make contributions to Carderock Division’s work.
In his early career at DTMB, in addition to designing electroacoustic instruments, he often went to sea to measure submarines and surface ship radiated noise. His earliest pub- lished works, now declassified, involved propeller cavitation noise measurements, made either directly on World War II submarines or with model propellers in water tunnels. From 1949 to 1952 he was Noise Consultant at the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, and during this time, with help from other researchers, he initiated the first known sea trials to measure the occurrence of propeller cavitation and radiated sound on three SS 212 class submarines using specially installed out- board hydrophones.
The results of this effort, and associated measurements Strasberg obtained in the 24-inch variable-pressure water tunnel facility at West Bethesda, led to an improved under- standing of propeller-generated sound and methods of sup- pressing propeller cavitation. Strasberg also worked on struc- tural acoustics problems, publishing his first technical paper on the topic in 1948, with numerous papers to follow. In 1959 Strasberg and another researcher presented a technical paper describing various flow phenomena resulting in underwater sound in flowing water. This was the first comprehensive publication connected with the new specialty of hydroa- coustics.
Following his assignment at the Bureau of Ships, Strasberg returned to Carderock Division, and during this time he earned a Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics from Catholic University of America in 1948 and 1956, respectively. Colleagues have given Dr. Strasberg cred- it for first describing the concept of acoustic levitation of bubbles in a 1956 doctoral dissertation. His work on bubble noise at that time, with application to both cavitation and bubble splitting, is highly regarded by contemporaries in the field and Strasberg’s work in this area led to considerable international recognition.
From 1958 to 1960, he worked at the Office of Naval Research, London Branch, as a Scientific Liaison Officer. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1960, he began the most sig-
nificant technical project of his career. When the first nuclear powered submarine, ex-USS Nautilus (SSN 571), went to sea, a previously unrecognized acoustic source was detected at very long ranges. Dr. Strasberg coordinated efforts to uncov- er the source, and then suggest remedial actions to correct the problem. The project lasted for almost two decades and utilized the investigative talents and resources of multiple organizations within and outside the Navy. He designed the Anechoic Flow Facility, located at West Bethesda, which came online in 1970 and is still used for project work today.
In 1974, Dr. Strasberg retired from Carderock Division, and for a number of years was a Visiting Professor in the acoustics curriculum at Catholic. Up until a year before his death, he was still active at Carderock Division as a re- employed annuitant, continuing research efforts, though at a slightly reduced pace, and counseling younger technical per- sonnel. Throughout this time Dr. Strasberg enjoyed being invited to briefings and seminars and gained high regard from fellow engineers at all experience levels for his pene- trating questions and interest in topics presented.
“Murray’s presentations,” wrote Dr. David Feit, a col- league at Carderock Division, “whether formal papers at Society meetings or informal discussions at the DTMB cafe- teria, are a delight to hear...they are noted for their clarity, and usually made more colorful by a physical demonstration or interesting story from the past. When Murray is on the other side, amongst the audience, the speaker must be wary of Murray’s questions, always posed in an amiable manner, the answers to which most always help clarify the issues for the speaker as well as the rest of the audience.”
In addition to Dr. Strasberg’s many technical achieve- ments, he was a dedicated and active member of the Acoustical Society of America, serving the Society long and well in many capacities, most notably in the Executive Council, 1969– 72; as associate editor of the Society’s techni- cal journal for “Acoustical News from Abroad,” 1970–75; as president, 1974–75; as secretary, 1987–90; and as the ASA representative on the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics, 1983–95. During his term as President, Dr. Strasberg reorganized the ASA’s Standards program, and established a relationship between the ASA and the newly formed Institute of Noise Control Engineering. In recogni- tion of his dedication to the Society, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation in 1990.
Reprinted with permission from Waves Summer Review 2012
ASA has learned of the passings of: Victor C. Anderson Richard H. Campbell
Passings 55