Whitlow Au: Difference between revisions

'''Whitlow W. L. Au''' is(July 31, 1940 – February 12, 2020) was a leading expert in bioacoustics specializing in [[Animal echolocation|biosonar]] of [[Toothed whale|odontocetes]] ([[dolphin]]sdolphins, [[porpoise]]sporpoises, and toothed [[whale]]swhales).<ref>Nachtigall, Paul. (1998) Citation for Whitlow W. L. Au. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America '''104''': pages 981-985.</ref> He is author of the widely known book ''The Sonar of Dolphins'' (1993) and, with Mardi Hastings, ''Principles of Marine Bioacoustics'' (2008). Au was honored as a Fellow of the [[Acoustical Society of America]] in 1990 and awarded the ASA's first [[ASA Silver Medal|Silver Medal in Animal Bioacoustics]] in 1998. He was graduate advisor to [[MacArthur Fellow]] [[Kelly Benoit-Bird]], who credits Au for discovering how sophisticated dolphin sonar is, developing dolphin-inspired machine sonars to separate different species of fish with the goal of protecting sensitive species, and for making numerous contributions to the description of [[Humpback whale]] song, which helped protect these whales from ship noise and ship traffic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/02/21/in-memoriam-whitlow-au/|title = In memoriam: Marine mammal echolocation pioneer, Whitlow Au &#124; University of Hawaiʻi System News}}</ref>

HisHe currentacted position isas the Chief Scientist of the Marine Mammal Research Program of the [[Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology]] at the [[University of HawaiiHawaiʻi]] until his death in February 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/02/21/in-memoriam-whitlow-au/|title = In memoriam: Marine mammal echolocation pioneer, Whitlow Au &#124; University of Hawaiʻi System News}}</ref>

== Background ==

Whitlow Au was born in [[Honolulu]]. He received his early education at St. Louis High School from the Catholic Brothers and went on to graduate from the University of HawaiiHawaiʻi with his B.S. in [[electrical engineering]] in 1962. Following that graduation he left the Islands to study electrical engineering in the doctoral program at [[Washington State University]] on the drier side of the state of [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]] in [[Pullman, Washington|Pullman]], completing his M.S. in Electricalelectrical Engineeringengineering in 1964 and his Ph.D. in Electrical Science in 1970. While a student he became a member of both [[Sigma Tau]] and [[Sigma Xi]] honor societies. The new Dr. Au joined the [[United States Air Force]] space program and was the project officer on a research program studying the propagation of radar signals through the plasma sheath of reentry vehicles at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in New Mexico. He died on February 12, 2020, after two months of heart problems at age 79.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/02/21/in-memoriam-whitlow-au/|title = In memoriam: Marine mammal echolocation pioneer, Whitlow Au &#124; University of Hawaiʻi System News}}</ref>

== Early Navy Work ==

Upon completion of his Air Force service, Whit was recruited and hired as a new professional at the [[Naval Undersea Warfare Center|Naval Undersea Center]] in [[San Diego]], California. Part of the new professional program was to expose newly hired professionals to the various types of programs going on at the San Diego Laboratory and also at its "[[skunk works]]" facility on the Kaneohe [[Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay]] in Hawai'iHawaiʻi. Being Hawaii-raised, Whit took the opportunity to step down out of the ionosphere and to take a quick look toward the ocean at the biosonar or echolocation performance of the Navy's "secret" dolphins. It can't be said for certain how much Whit's fascination for understanding the dolphin's echolocation, or his love of the Islands, influenced his decision, but he decided to join the biosonar research group at the Hawaii Laboratory of the Naval Undersea Center. He then was quickly advanced to the head of its Biosonar Branch.

Au's first paper on the echolocation of dolphins surprised a few people. He, along with physicist Bob Floyd and biologists Earl Murchison and Ralph Penner ["Measurement of echolocation signals of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, ''Tursiops truncatus'' Montague, in open waters," J. Acoust. Soc Am. 56, 1280-1290 (1974)]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Au|first1=Whitlow W. L.|last2=Floyd|first2=Robert W.|last3=Penner|first3=Ralph H.|last4=Murchison|first4=A. Earl|date=1974-10-01|title=Measurement of echolocation signals of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus Montagu, in open waters|url=https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1903419|journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|volume=56|issue=4|pages=1280–1290|doi=10.1121/1.1903419|pmid=4425222 |issn=0001-4966}}</ref> found that typical dolphin echolocation signals in the open water had average durations near 40 microseconds with peak energies between 120 and 130&nbsp;kHz, much higher than the previously reported energy peaks centered at 35 to 60&nbsp;kHz. That report did much to explain why Scott Johnson had earlier found that bottlenosed dolphins heard sounds up to 150&nbsp;kHz, but only later did Au report that the previously reported lower peak energy clicks were typical of animals in pools while higher peak energy signals were typically found in the open waters when the animals were looking for small targets a good distance away. That paper also began a precise and methodical examination of the echolocation of dolphins and other small whales carried out by Au that has served to establish, describe, and quantify the echolocation performance and signal characteristics of animals that echolocate under water.

== Biosonar of Dolphins ==

The [[Journal of the Acoustical Society of America]] from 1974 to the present day contains dozens of articles with Au's name in the authorship line, a remarkably productive development of the fundamental knowledge of dolphin and whale biosonar. Based on this work and his service, Au became a [[Learned or professional societies|Fellow]] of the [[Acoustical Society of America]] in 1990. His 20-plus years of investigation were summarized and expanded in his book ''The Sonar of Dolphins''. An analysis and appreciation of this work might best be described by quoting some of the reviewers that did the initial book reviews. David Pye wrote that "... Whitlow Au has written a splendid book, which is likely to become a classic in its field, and of considerable interest well outside it." ([[Nature (journal)|Nature]] 366, 376 (1993)) while Bertel Møhl wrote that "This book is an authoritative, precise and comprehensive treatise in 277 pages of what is known about sonar (or echolocation) in dolphins, written by the leading scientist in the field" [Aquatic Mammals 19 (3), 125-126 (1993)]. James Fullard ([[Science (journal)|Science]] 260, 1672 (1993)) noted that "Au's book is an excellent synthesis of the mountain of work on dolphin sonar&nbsp;..."

== University of Hawaii ==

The name of the Naval Undersea Center's Hawaii Laboratory changed many times and in 1993 the then-named Naval Ocean Systems Center's Hawaii Laboratory was closed by Congress. While the entire group had the opportunity to move to San Diego and join the Space Warfare Systems Center's program, Au had an offer to move over to the University of Hawaii's [[Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology]] on [[Coconut Island (Oahu Island)|Coconut Island]] in [[Kaneohe Bay]] to join the marine mammal research program. Au did not hesitate; he immediately took the opportunity to become a faculty member and continue echolocation and hearing research with dolphins and small whales in Hawaii. His research effort did not decline; in fact, his productivity, as evidenced in the number and breadth of publications, has accelerated. He has taken on several students and expanded work to include the acoustics of wild [[Atlantic spotted dolphin|spotted]] and [[bottlenose dolphin]]s echolocating through sediments in [[the Bahamas]], the acoustics of wild [[spinner dolphins]] off of the Eastern Coast of [[Oahu]], and singing [[humpback whale]]s off of Maui. He was invited to review the biological acoustics laboratories for the Danish National Research Foundation and has been collaborating on the echolocation of [[harbor porpoise]]s in the [[Netherlands]].

== Work for the Acoustical Society of America ==

His work with the [[Acoustical Society of America]] has been extensive: In 1993-941993–94, he made Animal Bioacoustics a separate technical committee within the ASA, and in 1994 he and Mardi Hastings were appointed its first co-chair.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ASA at 75 {{!}} asahistory.org|url=https://asahistory.org/asa-at-75/|access-date=2021-11-29|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1997 he was elected Chairchair of that committee. Since the late 1990s he has been the associate editor for [[bioacoustics|Animal Bioacoustics]] for [[Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America]]. He has been on the Executive Council of the ASA since 1998, becamewas Vicevice-Presidentpresident of the ASA in 2006, and President in 2008 became2009.<ref>{{Cite Presidentweb|date=2020-elect,06-12|title=Obituary toWhitlow takeW. officeL. inAu, 20091941–2020|url=https://acousticstoday.org/obituary-whitlow-w-l-au-1941-2020/|access-date=2021-11-29|website=Acoustics Today|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Books ==

=== Author ===

* Whitlow W. L. Au (1993). ''The Sonar of Dolphins''. New York: Springer-Verlag. Provides a variety of findings on signal strength, directionality, discrimination, biology and more.

* Whitlow W.L. Au and Mardi C. Hastings (2008). ''Principles of Marine Bioacoustics''. New York: Springer-Verlag. Covers measurement and generation of underwater sounds, propagation of acoustic signals, signal processing techniques, and advanced devices used in the field, animal recording methods, animal auditory systems and vocalizations, psychological and physiological testing procedures, and echolocation in marine mammals.

=== Editor ===

* Whitlow W. L. Au, Arthur N. Popper, and Richard R. Fay (2000). ''Hearing by Whales and Dolphins''. Covers cetacean ears, impulse sound sources, communication and acoustic behavior, the auditory central nervous system, electrophysiological measures of auditory processing, psychoacoustic studies of dolphin, echolocation in dolphins, and acoustic models of sound production.

== Awards ==

* 1993: Fellow, Acoustical Society of America

* 1998: [[ASA Silver Medal|Silver Medal in Animal Bioacoustics]] (the first ever awarded), Acoustical Society of America, "for contributions to the fundamental knowledge of the acoustics of dolphin sonar."<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1999-05-01|title=Acoustical News—USA|url=https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.426937|journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|volume=105|issue=5|pages=2539–2541|doi=10.1121/1.426937|issn=0001-4966|doi-access=free}}</ref>

* [[Animal Echolocation]]

* [[Acoustical Society of America]]

* [[Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology]]

== References ==

* [http://www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/Faculty/au.html Au's home page] at the [[Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology]]

[[Category:American1940 academicsbirths]]

[[Category:Year2020 of birth missing (living people)deaths]]

[[Category:LivingAmerican peoplemarine biologists]]

[[Category:University of HawaiiHawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni]]