Page 65 - Spring2019

Sound Perspectives
Kent L. Gee
Address:
Department of Physics and Astronomy Brigham Young University N243 ESC Provo, Utah 84602 USA
Email:
kentgee@byu.edu
Micheal L. Dent
Address:
Department of Psychology University at Buffalo State University of New York (SUNY) B76 Park Hall Buffalo, New York 14260 USA
Email:
mdent@buffalo.edu
Ask an Acoustician: Kent L. Gee
Meet Kent L. Gee
In this “Ask an Acoustician” column, we hear from Kent L. Gee, a professor in physics and astronomy at Brigham Young University (BYU), Provo, UT. If you go to the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) meetings, you have likely seen Kent around. He was awarded the prestigious R. Bruce Lindsay Award in 2010 and became a fellow of the Society in 2015. He currently serves as editor of the Proceedings of Meet- ings on Acoustics (POMA) and is on the Membership Committee. He has developed demonstration shows
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volume 15, issue 1 | Spring 2019 | Acoustics Today | 63
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for the physical acoustics summer school, advised his local BYU ASA student chapter for more than a decade, has brought dozens of students to the ASA meet- ings, and has organized numerous ASA sessions. Kent is active in the Education in Acoustics, Noise, and Physical Acoustics Technical Committees of the ASA. So if you think you know him, you probably do! I will let Kent tell you the rest.
A Conversation with Kent Gee, in His Words
Tell us about your work.
My research primarily involves characterizing high-amplitude sound sources and fields. With students and colleagues, I have been able to make unique measurements of sources like military jet aircraft, rockets, and explosions (e.g., Gee et al., 2008, 2013, 2016a,b). Along the way, we’ve developed new signal analysis techniques for both linear and nonlinear acoustics. Whenever possible, I also try to publish in acoustics education (e.g., Gee, 2011). For those interested, nearly all my journal articles and conference publications are found at acousticstoday.org/gee-pubs.
Describe your career path.
When I arrived at BYU as a freshman, I had a plan: major in physics and become a high-school physics teacher and track coach. That plan lasted about one week because I rapidly became disillusioned with the large-lecture format and over- enthusiastic students to whom I simply didn’t relate. But, after a year of general education classes and a two-year religious mission, I found my way back to phys- ics. After another year of studies, I became disenchanted again. I was doing well in my classes, but I didn’t feel excited about many of the topics, at least not enough to want to continue as a “general” physics major. I began to explore various emphases for an applied physics major and soon discovered that acoustics was an option. In my junior year, I began to do research with Scott Sommerfeldt and took a graduate course in acoustics. Although I was underprepared and struggled in the course, I discovered that I absolutely loved the material. That rapidly led to my taking two more graduate courses, obtaining an internship at the NASA Glenn Research Center, taking on additional research projects, fast tracking a master’s degree at BYU, and then pursuing a PhD in acoustics at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, under Vic Sparrow. Along the way, I found that my passion for
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