Page 8 - Winter2021

From the Editor
Arthur N. Popper
“AT Collections”
In the last issue of Acoustics Today (AT), I introduced a new feature of the magazine and web page called “AT Collections” (available at
acousticstoday.org/ATcollections). The goal of “AT Col- lections” is to bring together articles on specific topics from past issues of AT and make them available to indi- viduals, classes, and organizations interested in learning about acoustics-related topics. Please visit “AT Collec- tions” and see our initial topics.
I look forward to increasing the number of topics cov- ered in “AT Collections” and invite readers to create and curate new Collections pages. That is, if anyone would like a collection for use in a particular course or work use or is just interested in putting together a page on a topic that is of particular interest, drop me an email (apopper@umd.edu) and I’ll send you the simple form to list the URLs of the articles you’d like to include. I’ll take it from there.
About This Issue
This issue starts with an article by Allison B. Coffin about communicating science. Alli got interested in science communication when she was a graduate stu- dent (Full disclosure: Alli was my doctoral student at the University of Maryland, College Park). She has continued to build on this interest to the point where she founded and leads a national program teaching scientists how to share their expertise and knowledge with diverse audiences. I strongly encourage every Acoustical Society of America (ASA) member to read and think about what Alli has to say. It will be appli- cable whether you are trying to explain your work to the CEO of your company, the president of your uni- versity, a reporter, or a parent.
In our second article, Gregory W. Lyons, Carl R. Hart, and Richard Raspet address another topic that I certainly have never thought about: the noise from the wind and the challenges this leads to when doing outdoor record- ing. The authors explain the source of the problems in
doing recordings and explore a range of solutions that are simple and very interesting.
Our third article is based on a special issue on lung ultra- sound of The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA; see acousticstoday.org/jasa-lung-ultrasound). The topic is using ultrasound to examine the lung, and it is by Marie Muller and Libertario Demi. When I invited Libertario and Marie to write this article, I thought it would just be another in our series of articles on ultra- sound (see bit.ly/AT-ultrasound), but what I learned is that doing lung ultrasound is totally different from that of any other organ. The authors highlight the fascinating challenges in examining a tissue that combines fluid with tiny air pockets and help us understand the value of solv- ing these challenges for human health.
In the fourth article, Vladimir E. Ostashev, D. Keith Wilson, and John A. Colosi discuss wave propagation in random media. They show how the ways to appreciate propagation is not restricted to one media but can be applied to studies of everything from the atmosphere to
seismology to medical ultrasound to remote sensing.
The fifth article by Marie A. Roch, Peter Gerstoft, Bozena Kostek, and Zoi-Heleni Michalopoulou explores machine learning and is also based on a special issue of JASA (see acousticstoday.org/JASA-machine-learning). Although the article focuses on using machine learning in acoustics, it is really a great introduction to machine learning in general and a “must read” for anyone curious about the subject.
The articles are then followed by our essay sec- tion — “Sound Perspectives.” Indeed, this issue introduces a new idea for “Sound Perspectives,” Featured Perspec- tives. Featured Perspectives will appear from time to time. They will be extended essays that are on topics of particular value and interest to members of the ASA but that are rather different from regular articles in AT.
Our first Featured Perspectives is by James H. Miller, John A. Colosi, Timothy F. Duda, and James F. Lynch. The essay is a conversation with ASA Editor in Chief Jim
8 Acoustics Today • Winter 2021