Page 66 - Spring2019

Ask an Acoustician
acoustics only increased the more I learned. Remarkably, af- ter receiving my doctorate, I found my way back to BYU as a faculty member and I’ve been here ever since.
What is a typical day for you?
My typical day at work involves juggling teaching, scholar- ship, mentoring, and service. I currently teach a graduate course on acoustical measurement methods and 550 stu- dents in 2 sections of a general education course in physi- cal science. Scholarship and mentorship are intertwined because I work with several graduate and undergraduate stu- dents on projects related to military jet noise, rocket noise, sonic booms, vector intensity measurements, and machine learning. Service involves committee work (like chairing the Awards Committee in my department), outreach activities at schools, reviewing journal manuscripts, and being editor of POMA. Those that have met me, and perhaps those that haven’t, know of my particular passion for the possibilities of POMA as a publication. Alliteration aside, I believe POMA has an important role to play in the long-term growth and health of the Society, and I work hard to address issues that arise and to expand its global reach and visibility.
How do you feel when experiments projects do not work out the way you expected them to?
I admit that when a project doesn’t work out the way I en- visioned because of data anomalies, misunderstandings, or poor experimental design, I tend to dwell on these failures for a long time. Sometimes, the dwelling will be productive and lead to other project possibilities, but when it just can’t be furthered, it’s tough. On the other hand, when we’ve dis- covered something that we didn’t anticipate leads to whole new ways of thinking, all the down moments melt away in the excitement of breaking science!
Do you feel like you have solved the work-life balance prob- lem? Was it always this way?
Not in the least. Every day is a battle to decide where and how I can do the most good. I have an amazing wife and 5 won- derful children, ages 9-16, who are growing up too quickly. I have a job that I am passionate about and that allows me to influence the next generation of educators and technological leaders. I have opportunities to serve in the community and at my church. At the end of the day, I try to prioritize by what is most important and most urgent and let other things fall away. I just hope I’m getting better at it.
What makes you a good acoustician?
In all seriousness, this question is probably best asked of someone else. But, any good I have accomplished probably
64 | Acoustics Today | Spring 2019
comes from three things. First, I have strived to be an ef- fective student mentor by learning and employing mentor- ing principles (Gee and Popper, 2017). I have been blessed to work with remarkable students. I help them navigate the discovery and writing processes and add insights along the way. Second, I have found connections between seemingly disparate research areas of my research and leveraged them for greater understanding and applicability. For example, as a new faculty member, I was able combine my prior experiences with vector intensity and military jet noise to investigate near- field energy-based measurements of rocket plumes. This study led to improved source models of rockets and a new method for calculating vector intensity from microphone probes that is being applied to a variety of problems, including infrasound from wind turbines. The hardware required for those infra- sound measurements was recently developed for space vehicle launches and is now being refined to make high-fidelity re- cordings of quiet sonic booms in adverse weather conditions. Seeking connections has led to unexpected opportunities for learning. Third, a lesson my father taught me was that hard work and determination can often compensate for lack of nat- ural ability. I hope to always apply that lesson. Perseverance and passion do seem to go a long way.
How do you handle rejection?
Not very well, I’m afraid. I tend to stew and lose sleep over these things. But I’m getting a little better with time, I think. One thing that helps is focusing on the other great things in my life when a grant or project doesn’t get funded. So, while it’s hard to balance all the things I listed above, it actually helps to balance the ups and downs very naturally.
What are you proudest of in your career?
I am proudest of my students and their accomplishments, both in research and in the classroom. Seeing the good they’re doing in the world is no small victory for me.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
Niels Bohr purportedly said, “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field” (available at en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr). Regrettably, I have not yet achieved expert status in any area of research, teaching, or mentoring, but I’ll share one experience from which I’ve learned. Before my first military jet aircraft measure- ment at BYU, I programmed the input range of the data-acqui- sition system in terms of maximum expected voltage instead of expected acoustic pressure. The moment the F-16 engine was fired up, many channels clipped because the hardware input range was set too low. Yet, I wasn’t able to figure out the problem until shortly after the measurement was over. I was able to pull