For a long time, it was believed that words were mostly arbitrary symbols. However, with advances in our ability to study speech, it has become clear that we must reconsider the fundamental relationship between words' sounds and their meanings. In this episode, we talk to two of the editors of the Special Issue on Iconicity and Sound Symbolism, Aleksandra Ćwiek and Susanne Fuchs (Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics), about research in the issue that examined these connections. 

Read all the articles from the special issue here!

Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).
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Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Recreating the natural hearing experience has long challenged researchers who study auditory perception. Recently, ambisonic panning has been developed as a method to accurately reproduce soundscapes. In this episode, we talk with Nima Zargarnezhad and Ingrid Johnsrude (Western University) about their research testing the accuracy of the "AudioDome," a device that using ambisonic panning to simulate soundscapes in the lab.

Associated paper:
- Nima Zargarnezhad, Bruno Mesquita, Ewan A Macpherson. and Ingrid Johnsrude. "Focality of sound source placement by higher (ninth) order ambisonics and perceptual effects of spectral reproduction errors." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 157, 2802–2818 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0036226.

Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).
Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.

Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Much of the research into the historical acoustics of worship spaces has focused on Christian churches or Islamic mosques. However, little is known about the acoustic history of Hindu worship spaces, despite Hinduism being the third largest religion in the world. Shashank Aswathanarayana and Braxton Boren (American University) share their efforts to fill this knowledge gap by studying the acoustics in Hindu temples from the 8th and 15th centuries. 

Associated paper: Shashank Aswathanarayana and Braxton Boren. "Acoustic analysis of two Hindu temples in Southern India." JASA Express Letters  5, 031601 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0036033.

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 Music: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

This episode showcases the latest winners of the POMA Student Paper Competition: First, Jonathan Michael Broyles (University of Colorado, Boulder) discusses his database to help acoustical consultants design more environmentally friendly spaces. Next, John Latta (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) shares his work regarding spatial impulse response measurements. Finally, Michelle Ruth Crouse (California State University, Dominguez Hills) talks about the acoustic spectrometer she created using off-the-shelf parts. 

Associated papers:

Jonathan Michael Broyles and Wil Srubar, III. "A comprehensive dataset of environmental emissions, health, and manufacturing information of building acoustic products in North America." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 015002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001997.

John S. Latta and Lauren M. Ronsse. "An analysis of spatial impulse response measurements and their ability to validate spatial features within acoustic models." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 015001 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0002004.

Michelle R. Crouse, Małgorzata Musial, Jason A. Widegren, Jacob Pawlik, Bryan Bosworth, Nathan Orloff, Aaron Hagerstrom, Angela C. Stelson, and Robert Lirette. "A low-cost ultrasonic absorption spectrometer mainly using off-the-shelf parts."Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 55, 030002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0002003.

Learn more about entering the POMA Student Paper Competition for the Spring 2025 meeting in New Orleans.

Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).

Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.

Large venues like amphitheaters and stadiums are used across the world for a variety of purposes, hosting everything from sporting events to concerts to large social gatherings and other events. The massive size of the spaces, alongside their multifaceted uses, however, mean their acoustic needs are quite different from those of smaller rooms or even concert halls. This episode, Gary W. Siebein (Siebein Associates, Inc.), Keely Siebein (Siebein Associates, Inc.), Jack Wrightson (Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon, & Williams, Inc.), and Joe Solway (Arup) discuss the unique considerations for designing these structures. 

Read the associated article: Gary W. Siebein, Keely Siebein, Jack Wrightson, Joe Solway, and Raj Patel. (2024) “Large-Venue Acoustics- Arenas, Stadiums, and Amphitheaters,” Acoustics Today 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2024.20.1.55.

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Intro/Outro Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

In this episode, we explore things that go boom: from volcanic eruptions to underwater ordinances to the (relatively) tiny explosions of gunshots. Thomas Blanford (University of New Hampshire) joins us as a cohost as we discuss the use of high-amplitude acoustic sources in research with three members of a special session on the topic from the Ottawa ASA meeting: Steve Beck (Beck Audio Forensics), Daniel Bowman (Pacific Northwest National Laboratories), and Andrew McNeese (University of Texas at Austin). 

Associated paper: Thomas E. Branford. "Summary of “Things that go boom: High amplitude acoustic sources." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 002002 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001991.

Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).

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Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

The phenomenon of acoustic scattering, when a sound wave bounces off a surface and is redirected in different directions because of the surface texture, has been recognized since ancient Greece. Accounting for acoustic scattering when designing a built space, however, can be tricky. In this episode, we speak with Michael Vorländer (RWTH Aachen University) about his work to develop a general guideline for estimating the effects of acoustic scattering from a given surface.

Associated paper: Michael Vorlaender and Stefan Feistel. "Show your scattering coefficients." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 50, 015003 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001816.

Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).

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Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Human-made noise from shipping is an ongoing problem for aquatic life. However, actually implementing measures to reduce noise can be costly and time consuming-- a risk many ship makers don't want to take without knowing how effective those methods will be. In this episode, we talk with Vanessa M. ZoBell (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) about her research that simulates the impacts of various strategies, with hopes for finding the most effective methods to improve the lives of our underwater neighbors.

Associated papers:
- Vanessa M. ZoBell, John A. Hildebrand, and Kaitlin E. Frasier. "Assessing approaches for ship noise reduction within critical whale habitat." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156, 3534–3544 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0034455

Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).
Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.

Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

Acoustic levitation allows objects to be suspended in air or in liquids without falling. In this episode, we speak with Philip Marston (Washington State University) about the history of acoustic levitation, and his work to translate previous research into terminology more accessible to modern readers and those outside of the field of physics.

Associated papers:
- Philip L. Marston. "Trapping in acoustic standing waves: Effect of liquid drop compressibility." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, R5–R6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020809

- Philip L. Marston. "Contrast factor for standing-wave radiation forces on spheres: Series expansion in powers of sphere radius." JASA Express Lett. 4, 074001 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0027928.

- Philip L. Marston. "Position dependence of the standing-wave radiation pressure quadrupole projection on a sphere applied to drop shape." J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 156, 1586–1593 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0028518.

Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).
Read more from JASA Express Letters.
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Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. 

This episode is part two of our interviews with the POMA student paper winners from our meeting in Ottawa. First, we talk with Miranda Jackson (McGill University) about her research regarding modeling the mouthpiece and bells of brass instruments. Next, Mark C. Anderson (Brigham Young University) talks about the noise created by the Falcon 9 boosters as they fly back to Earth and the impact that noise can have on surrounding communities.

Associated papers:
- Miranda Jackson and Gary Scavone. "A comparison of modeled and measured impedance of brass instruments and their mouthpieces and bells." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 035004 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001925

- Mark C. Anderson, Kent L. Gee, and Kaylee Nyborg. "Flyback sonic booms from Falcon-9 rockets: Measured data and some considerations for future models." Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 54, 040005 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001916

Learn more about entering the POMA Student Paper Competition for the Fall 2024 virtual meeting.

Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).

Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.