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Figure 2. Synchronized boredom: Allan Pierce (left) and article au- thor Jerry Ginsberg at the plenary session at the spring 2005 ASA meeting on May 18, 2005, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
more than one occasion that if we were successful as their instructor, at the end of the two-course sequence they would hold the book in the same high regard that we do (or at least be able to read it!). Allan's philosophy in writing his book is summarized by a clause in the first page of its preface, “...a deep understanding of acoustics is not acquired by super- ficial efforts.” This philosophy led to a book that we were equally comfortable using as a text and a reference work. Whenever we wished to explore an unfamiliar area, Pierce's Acoustics was the place where we began. There one can find the key analytical steps, usually accompanied by a thorough list of references to the primary works on the topic and often a chronology of how the topic developed. Even now, 35 years after it was first published, this textbook is the most popular in the ASA books program and, most likely, in the world.
Allan Pierce has affected education in acoustics in many other ways, some of which surprised the authors. He al- most is the Johnny Appleseed of acoustics. No one is more responsible than he for the growth of the acoustics pro- grams at Georgia Tech and Boston University, and he greatly strengthened the program at Penn State University. The most remarkable aspect is the manner in which he advanced the cause of acoustics at these institutions. He did not follow the classic approach of an administrator trying to lead his flock. Rather, he recruited and mentored young people for facul- ty and graduate student positions and worked jointly with many to pursue research objectives. The researchers around the world who have benefited from these interactions are too numerous to list here, but we certainly consider ourselves to be in that group.
We know Allan best as a colleague during his years at Geor- gia Tech. As we have said, the growth of its program in acoustics is very much the result of Allan's efforts. Indeed,
he was the primary force for our recruitment. One of the authors, Jerry Ginsberg, first met Allan when he interviewed at Georgia Tech in 1980. Allan was on sabbatical that year but visited Georgia Tech to participate in the interview. His enthusiasm for the subject captivated Ginsberg. The institu- tion was not highly regarded at that time, but the prospect of working with Allan was an important factor in Ginsberg's decision to move there. On Allan's return from sabbatical, he went to work building the program by expanding its re- search scope and grabbing all available resources.
In the mid-1980s, a newly appointed Chair of the School of Mechanical Engineering initiated a drive to raise the number and qualifications of the faculty without regard for technical area. As an incentive, the Chair announced that he would give an IBM PC, which was a highly valued commodity at that time, to the faculty member who first contacted an indi- vidual who was ultimately hired. Allan came to attention at this announcement like a cat watching a mouse parade. His first objective was recruitment of the other author of this ar- ticle, Peter Rogers. He too fell under Allan's spell. However, this achievement was not sufficient. At every ASA meeting, it seemed that whatever spare time Allan Pierce had was de- voted to talking to talented graduate students and faculty with the objective of interesting them in mechanical engi- neering at Georgia Tech. By the time the recruitment drive ended, Allan should have had three IBM PCs. However, the Chair reneged with the remarkable assertion that no one could possibly need more than two PCs.
Allan departed from Georgia Tech to become the Leonhard Chair at Penn State University. This allowed him to expand his influence. He mentored several young faculty and col- laborated with them on a number of topics, of which the concept of a fuzzy structure received much attention.
However, even back in the days at Georgia Tech, Allan and his wife Penny retained ownership of the home in Wellfleet on Cape Cod that they had acquired just after Allan left MIT. Penny is a Boston girl by birth and inclination. She visited their Wellfleet home whenever possible and never lost a yearning to live there once again. After one too many cold winters out of view of the ocean, they satisfied this desire. Allan and Penny took up residence in Wellfleet when Allan became the Chair of the Department of Aerospace and Me- chanical Engineering at Boston University. Allan regularly traveled to Boston to perform his academic duties. The com- mute was tough, but so is he.
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