Page 70 - Spring2022

ASK AN ACOUSTICIAN
Department at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH; New York) where, one day, one of the investiga- tors happened to show me an otolith (a fish “ear bone”); little did I know then that otoliths would become an integral part of my future research. Ultimately, my time as an under- graduate working at the AMNH led me to the museum’s Department of Animal Behavior where I met William N. Tavolga (see https://www.ahukini.net/tavolga). Later, Bill became my doctoral advisor, life-long mentor, and very close friend to my wife Helen and myself. And Mexican blind cave fish became the subjects of my doctoral research and my first two research publications!
More recently, I was called by a researcher for the US Con- gressandaskedabouttheresponseofsalmontosound.She then asked me to review the literature on how sounds can be used to control fish movement. That path let me to other opportunities that ultimately resulted in a substantial shift in my research from doing basic science to applying the work I’d done for the first half of my career to real-life problems.
I could go on, but my point is that I have been truly fortu- nate to not only have a great career but to also be able to take advantage of opportunities that arose unexpectedly.
What is a typical day for you?
Unlike when I was “working,” my day starts with reading The New York Times. A positive thing about semiretirement is that I no longer must attend department meetings, sit on tenure committees, or seek grant funding. (Although I do miss teaching and working with students.) Most of my day is devoted to writing and editing, meeting with colleagues
on joint research and writing projects (via Zoom), or work- ing with groups around the world on issues related to the effects of anthropogenic sound on the aquatic environment.
I do interrupt my day with various nonwork things. I am reasonably active in the community in which we live, and so I work with various community groups dealing with such things such as strategic planning and development of electric car charging stations. I also try to get to our local fitness center to work out or swim at least four days a week.
How do you feel when experiments/projects do not work out the way you expected them to? Part of doing science is that things don’t always work out. Indeed, I try to teach students that one of the most important things they can learn while they are a student
is that experiments often do not work the first, second, or even fifth time and that they must accept this and come up with ways to solve problems. So, I try to figure out why things may not have worked and ask whether I was asking the wrong question or if I’d tried to answer the question in the wrong way. And then I explore other approaches. I try not to give up but to be creative.
Do you feel like you have solved the work-life balance problem? Was it always this way?
As a semiretiree, my focus is on family and work comes second. So, my work-life balance now is primarily life- work. When I was working, this was harder, but I think I handled things pretty well and that my priority was always Helen and our girls, Michelle and Melissa. Of course, I am truly fortunate that Helen has always been extraordinarily supportive of my work, and, as a biolo- gist herself, she has some appreciation of the work I do1.
What makes you a good acoustician?
I want to rephrase this question: What makes me a good scholar? I say this because I don’t classify myself as an acous- tician per se but rather as a biologist (or neuroscientist or neuroethologist or ichthyologist, depending on who I’m talk- ing with) interested in how biological systems deal with sound.
Then, the answer to the question is curiosity, looking at issues with an open mind, and enjoying being a problem solver.
But the other part of the answer is that my work has benefit- ted immensely because I have been fortunate to have a great network of colleagues (many who have become close friends) with whom I’ve collaborated for much of my career. A critical part of these collaborations is that each participant brings a different skill set and way of thinking to our work, and this strongly enhances what we are doing. I’ve actually written about my collaborations in a recent paper (Popper, 2020).
My point is one of the things that has made me good at what I do is being able to collaborate and share ideas. This is not only productive but is perhaps one of the most
enjoyable parts of my career.
How do you handle rejection?
I cannot recall how I dealt with rejection early in my career, but at this stage in my life, I expect it and try not to get too upset (although I don’t like it and never have).
1 Full disclosure: Helen is the copy editor for AT.
70 Acoustics Today • Spring 2022