Talking Acoustics

Walter Alfredo Montano is an Argentinian, now based in Peru. He has an interest in the history of noise control and has been involved with the ASA Archive and History Committee in investigating the lives of the 34 lesser-known founders of the ASA. He has also been involved in low frequency noise and communication with communities about such noise including with indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest. 

Rebecca Warren is passionate about getting more women involved in acoustics and engineering. We talked about how we can raise awareness about engineering, engage in role modelling, advocacy and mentoring. She also shares some thoughts on imposter syndrome and how leaders can help their staff overcome it.

Jim Metzner has spent a lifetime recording soundscapes, from which he has produced records, radio programs and now podcasts. His podcast Pulse of the Planet, started on radio in 1988 and is now also heard widely as a podcast. In 2020, Jim's sound archive was acquired by the US Library of Congress which will be the new home of the Metzner archive: 40 years of soundscapes, programs, interviews, music and non-categorizable audio.

The architectural perspective on the interaction between acoustics and the built form learning environment from Hayball's Fiona Young. An immersive adventure about an acoustician and a team of architects going back to school to run a project based learning exercise with year 7 students at Domremy College, thanks to principal Vivienne Awad. 

After completing a degree in physics, Marion Burgess commenced working in acoustics in an Australian building research laboratory. Since then she has had over 40 years broad experience in many aspects of acoustics including building, environmental and occupational noise measurement, assessments, control and research.

Joanne Valentine started out studying architecture and with Harold Marshall as a lecturer, quickly developed a passion for room acoustics. She has followed that passion for over 30 years, working on the acoustic design performing arts projects around the world.

Rick Bond is a speaker builder from Melbourne Victoria and his company Lucie Audio not only builds speakers but also a matching DSP-based audio processor to apply room corrections to the system in real time.

Meisha Stevens is a consultant with Wood & Grieve, based in Sydney who has an interest in psycho-acoustics and how we react to unpleasant sounds. She was this year awarded the Future Leader Award by the National Association of Women in Construction.

This episode is a recording of a presentation delivered by Sir Harold Marshall as part of a colloquium on Presence that took place in Auckland in July 2018. The presentation is entitled 'The Oblique Imperative: the acoustic dimensions of presence'.

Jos Mulder lectures in Sound at Murdoch University in Perth, WA. How do you get a great acoustic concert hall to sound good amplified? And what can we do to save the hearing of musicians and concertgoers?

Marcia Isakson is the immediate past president of the Acoustical Society of America. She went to West Point and served in the military before moving into research and teaching in underwater acoustics, and currently works with the University of Texas in Austin. She has a passion for attracting more women into the field and has works with the Women in Acoustics committee as part of her work with the ASA.

Christopher Allen works for NASA as Manager of the Johnson Space Centre Acoustics Office. He works on the acoustics of space vehicles and faces some pretty interesting challenges that you don't have to deal with on earth.