The Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics offers an intense curriculum in acoustics for effectively shaping sonic environments to achieve optimum acoustic performance and sound quality. The Program offers studies toward both Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees. This unique program in architectural acoustics provides the knowledge for next-generation acousticians involved in room acoustics, psychoacoustics, acoustic and vibration measurement techniques, and sound reinforcement.

The Program offers the knowledge and skills needed for advanced practice and applied research. Fieldwork develops the experience of sensitive perception of sound environments and musical performance, and industry relations give access to advanced techniques and materials used in acoustical practice.

Latest News

RPI Graduate Tim Perez promoted at THRESHOLD again

Tim Perez, graduate student (Class'11) of RPI-Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, is promoted to Partner of Threshold. Tim joined Threshold, a acoustical consulting firm in Chicago area, thirteen years ago. Interested at first in acoustics, he gravitated to AV where his expertise expanded in step with the firm, he has played an indispensable role in growing and strengthening Threshold's AV group. His insight, calm demeanor, and dry wit are an asset to the partnership and bode well for Threshold's future -- according to Threshold's announcement.

Congratulations, Tim!

Graduate Student Phebe S. Cunningham Received Prestigious Awards

Phebe S. Cunningham, graduate student (Class'23) of RPI-Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, has been awarded the 1st Prize of the Student Paper Presentations from the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). She presented her research within the scope of her MS thesis project on meta-absorbers at the 186th ASA Meeting in Ottawa, May 2024. Her presentation is titled "Absorptive performance of layered metasurfaces using microslit panels" coauthored by Phebe S. Cunningham, , Ziqi Chen and Ning Xiang. Due to her outstanding research work on acoustic meta-absorbers, Phebe has also been awarded WSDG-RPI Student Award 2024.

Congratulations, Phebe!

Dave Conant lectured at RPI

Dave Conant, RPI School of Architecture's alumni (75's), Principal of McKAY CONANT HOOVER Inc., lectured during RPI 200 year's Anniversary at the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics on Sept. 27th 2024.

Dave's lecture addresses Room-Acoustical Design in Performing Arts (creative solutions). In addition, Dave went on to discuss creativity in Teaching and Learning with the architectural acoustics students.

Dr. Peter D'Antonio lectured at RPI Architectural Acoustics Program

Dr. Peter D'Antonio, Wallace Clement Sabine Medalist (2023 from the ASA), lectured on '50 Years of Musical, Diffraction Physics and Acoustical Memories' at RPI Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics on Mar. 12th 2024.

Dr. D'Antonio combined his passion for music and his diffraction physics experience to create an innovative career in architectural acoustics and pioneered the science of sound diffusion. His theories and innovations led to practical applications, transforming recording studios, educational facilities, worship spaces, performance venues, and home theaters. Peter was inducted into the recording industry's TECnology Hall of Fame in 2013. We are honored and privileged to have the oppertunity to listen to Peter's lecture.

Architectural Acoustics Alumni Reunion at RPI (09/26/2024)

As part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Bicentennial commemoration during Reunion & Homecoming weekend we invite you (RPI Arch Acoustics Alumni) to join Dean Evan Douglis at The State Room in Albany to celebrate our collective journey that began at RPI and continues to shape who we are as professionals and global citizens today.

Read more and register.

John Storyk lectured at RPI

John Storyk, eleven-time TEC Award winner, lectured on '55 Years of Architecture and Studio Designs' at RPI. RPI School of HASS and the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics co-hosted John's lecture on April 9th 2024.

John's lecture continued when the RPI team of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics visited Studio A and B (designed by WSDG) at Berklee College in Boston on April 11th (see Photo above).

Dr. Peter D'Antonio lectured at RPI Architectural Acoustics Program

Dr. Peter D'Antonio, Wallace Clement Sabine Medalist (2023 from the ASA), lectured on '50 Years of Musical, Diffraction Physics and Acoustical Memories' at RPI Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics on Mar. 12th 2024.

Dr. D'Antonio combined his passion for music and his diffraction physics experience to create an innovative career in architectural acoustics and pioneered the science of sound diffusion. His theories and innovations led to practical applications, transforming recording studios, educational facilities, worship spaces, performance venues, and home theaters. Peter was inducted into the recording industry's TECnology Hall of Fame in 2013. We are honored and privileged to have the oppertunity to listen to Peter's lecture.

RPI Alum, Ben Markham is awarded Fellow by the ASA

Ben Markham (Class 08's), the President of AcenTech, has been elected Fellow by the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) for his leadership and teaching in the field of architectural acoustics. The ASA Fellow is awarded to Ben Markham at the 185th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Sydney, Australia in December 2023. Please see Ben Markham's accomplishment from AcenTech's website.

We offer our heartiest congratulations to Ben!

RPI Student Team Won the Top Honor of 2023 ASA Student Design

Graduate student team Melina Jonas, Renzhi Guo and Sean Barbar of Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, led by Melina Jonas has won the FIRST Honor of 2023 Student Design Competition, sponsored by The Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America. The award was announced at the 185th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Sydney, Australia in December 2023. The RPI team has competed with many international student teams. This top honor of the competition reflects their excellence in architectural acoustics design on a new 2,300-seat Concert Hall for the local resident symphony orchestra to present the full range of symphonic repertoire performances. Additional details about the competition can be found on the website of the Robert Bradford Newman Fund. We offer our congratulations to the RPI winners!

RPI Alum Becomes President of Acentech

Ben Markham (Class 2008) has become President of Acentech, a world-class consultant in architectural acoustics, noise and vibration control, and audiovisual and technology systems design. Markham earned his Master of Science in Architectural Acoustics from the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics at Rensselaer in 2008. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and is an active member of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) serving on the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics and on the board of the Acoustical Society Foundation. He was selected in 2019 for the prestigious "Top 20 under 40" list both in Engineering News Record's National and New England Edition.

Ben, congratulations!

Read Acentech Announcement

More RPI Alum Promoted to the Leadership Roles

John Strong (Class 2009) and Tim Perez (Class 2010) have recently been promoted to the Principles of Threshold Acoustics, leadership roles at Chicago-based Acoustics Consulting Firm. Collectively, they have held responsibility for some of the most significant projects in Threshold's history while demonstrating leadership and commitment to Threshold beyond their project work.

Tim and John, congratulations!

Read Threshold Announcement

JASA EL features Nolan & Xiang's paper

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Express Letters (JASA EL) features Dr. Nolan's Work on Plane-Wave Decomposition Using Bayesian Model Selection for its cover page of the March Issue (2023). Dr. Melanie Nolan accomplished this within the scope of her post-doctoral research at the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Nolan's post-doctoral research has been funded by the prestigious F.V. Hunt's Post-Doctor Fellowship from the Acoustical Society of America. Read the paper online

Congratulations go to Melanie Nolan!

RPI Alum Promoted to the Leadership Roles

Ioana N. Pieleanu and Jonah Sacks (our Alum, Class 2004) have recently been promoted to lead the Architectural Acoustics Group at AcenTech, one of the largest acoustics practices in the United States. Ioana and Jonah will take on dual leadership roles in the Architectural Acoustics Group. These distinct roles will ensure continued project leadership, technical excellence, and focus on the firm's national client development efforts.
Read the Press release

Acoustics Today featured Scott's Article

'Acoustics Today' Magazine featured an article "The Acoustics of the Modern Jazz Drum Kit" by one of our current graduate students E.K. Ellington Scott co-authored with Dr. Andrew Morrison in its December 2022 issue. Check it out!

Well Represented at th 24th International Congress on Acoustics

The Rensselaer's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, School of Architecture was well represented at the 24th International Congress on Acoustics, held between Oct. 24th and 29th in Gyeongju, Korea. The faculty and graduate students have presented altogether 8 international conference papers. The faculty has also chaired three Special Sessions. The most notable highlight of our program at this Congress was the plenary lecture delivered by RPI alum, Dr. Yun Jing. His plenary lecture was chaired by Ning Xiang. [Photo above, from left: Dr. Philip Robinson (MS 2009, Ph.D. 2012, now with Oculus), Dr. Yun Jing (MS 2007, Ph.D. 2009, now an asso. professor at the Penn State Univ.), Dr. Ning Xiang (their former advisor), Dr. Zuhre Su-Gul (MS 2006, now an asso. professor at Bilkent Univ. Ankra, Turkey).

Papers presented:

Tyler et al.: Predicting room acoustical parameters from running signals using a precedence effect model
Xiang et al.: Model-based machine learning in acoustics applications from a Bayesian perspective
Braasch et al.: Rapid 3D auralization of historically significant buildings for immersive classroom activities
Xiang & Metzger: Near-field localization of sound sources using a spherical microphone array
Chen & Xiang: Bayesian inference for sound speed and dissipation estimations in impedance tubes
Chang et al.: A spatially-aware companion system for language learning and foreign-language dialogue
Zhang et al.: Diffusion equation-based modelling of reverberation chambers
Nolan & Xiang: Bayesian wavenumber spectrum inference for sound field analysis in reverberant spaces

David Kahn has joined our Program

Since the beginning of Fall Semester 2022, David Kahn, LEED AP, has joined Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. David holds a BS degree in Engineering from Columbia University. He obtained MS degree in Acoustics from Penn State University. As an adjunct faculty member, David is teaching Architectural Acoustics (I & II) courses. David is a specialist in the field of architectural acoustics with extensive experience shaping the sonic environment of performing arts centers, theatres, museums, libraries, public and private educational institutions, offices, broadcast facilities, outdoor recreational resources, and event spaces.

Jiahua Zhang received the Newman Medal (2022)

The Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture. It honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world.
We offer our congratulations to Jiauha Zhang, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Jiahua is a 2022 graduate of our Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent research work on Acoustics in reverberation chambers using a diffusion equation model. Within the scope of his MS degree research, Jiahua presented a paper "Modelling of reverberation chambers for sound absorption measurements using a diffusion equation," coauthored by Jiahua Zhang, Melanie Nolan, Juan Navarro and Ning Xiang in a Special Session on 'Advanced Measurement and Modeling of Sound Absorption and Scattering' at the 182nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), May 2022. Jiahua has also presented another paper "Diffusion equation-based modelling of reverberation chambers for sound absorption measurements" at the 24th International Congress on Acoustics, Oct. 2022 in Gyeongju, Korea, and the third paper 'Finite-difference diffusion-equation modeling of reverberation chambers in time-domain' in a Special Session on 'Finite Difference Time Domain Methods Across Acoustics,' coauthored by Jiahua, Juan Navarro, Ning Xiang and Melanie Nolan at the 183rd Meeting of the ASA in Dec. 2022.
Congratulations, Jiahua!

Dr. Melanie Nolan joined our Program (2022)

Since the beginning of 2022 Dr. Melanie Nolan has joined our program as a Post-doctorial Scientist. Dr. Nolan has been awarded the F. V. Hunt post-doctorial fellowship from the Acoustical Society of America. This prestigious award is able to support her research stay in our program for the entire year.
Dr. Melanie Nolan obtained her doctoral degree in Engineering Acoustics from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2019. Her research efforts were dedicated to addressing long-lasting problems in standardized chamber-based absorption measurements, resulting in theoretical and experimental advancement. Prior to joining our program she has already published 7 archival peer-reviewed articles, all in the Journal of Acoustical Society of America (JASA). Among them, two articles were featured in JASA cover pages of April Issue 2019 and August Issue 2022. Within our program, Dr. Nolan keeps her research effort in "Bayesian selection of plane-wave decomposition models". She has also organized a Special Session 'Advanced Measurement and Modeling of Sound Absorption and Scattering' at the 182nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Denver, CO, May 2022. At the same ASA Meeting, Melanie has also presented an invited paper 'Measuring angle-dependent sound absorption in ordinary rooms'. She has also organized a Special Session on "Measurement of Sound Absorption: Standardized and Upcoming Methods" at the 24th International Congress on Acoustics, Gyeoungju, Korea.
Welcome, Melanie! Keep up your excellent work!

Tommy Metzger received the Newman Medal (2020)

We offer our congratulations to Tommy Metzger, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Tommy is a 2020 graduate of our Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent research work on sound source localization using a spherical microphone array. Within the scope of his MS degree research, Tommy presented an invited paper "Bayesian framework for three dimensional, near field source localization using spherical harmonics," coauthored by Tommy Metzger and Ning Xiang in a Speical Session on ' Machine Learning in Acoustics' at the 179th Acoustics Virtually Everywhere Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Dec. 2020. At the same ASA Meeting, Tommy along with his team member, Nima Farzaneh has also won the The First Prize in the Architectural Acoustics Student Design Competition. Tommy has also presented an invited paper 'Uncertainty and interdependence of localization parameters within Bayesian framework for near-field source localization,' coauthored by Tommy Metzger and Ning Xiang, in a Special Session on 'Bayesian Signal Processing and Machine Learning' at the 180th Acoustics in Focus Meeting of the ASA in June 2021.
Congratulations, Tommy!

RPI Team Wins the Top Honor of the 2020 ASA Student Design

12/08/20- Nima Farzaneh and Thomas Metzger, graduate students in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, won the First Prize in the Student Design Competition judged at the Acoustics Virtually Everywhere, the 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Additional details about the competition can be found on the website of the Robert Bradford Newman Fund. We offer our congratulations to the RPI winners!

E. K. Ellington Scott awarded The James E. West Fellowship (2020)

The James E. West Fellowship from the Acoustical Society of America supports outstanding minority students in their pursuit of graduate-level degrees in acoustics.
Congratulations, Ellington!

Michael Hoeft received the Newman Medal (2019)

We offer our congratulations to Michael Hoeft, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Michael is a 2019 graduate of our Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent research work on broadband transparent micro-slit panel absorbers for room acoustic applications where traditional fibrous materials can not be used. Within the scope of his MS degree research, Michael presented a paper "Broadband design of multilayer micro-slit panel absorbers for improved transparency using Bayesian inference," coauthored by Hoeft, M., Fackler, C.J. and Xiang, N. at the 177th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Louisville, Kentucky in May 2019. His presentation is awarded the First Prize for Student Paper Presentation from the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics (TCAA) of the ASA. At the same Meeting in May 2019, Michael along with his team members, Ellington Scott, and Ben Loshin has also won the Commendation Award in the Architectural Acoustics Student Design Competition. Michael has also presented an invited paper 'Bayesian optimization of optically transparent multi-layer micro-slit panel broadband sound absorbers,' coauthored by Hoeft, M., Fackler, C.J. and Xiang, N. in a Special Session on 'Signal Processing for Architectural Acoustics and Noise Control' at the 178th Meeting of the ASA in Dec. 2019, San Diego.
Congratulations, Michael!

Prof. Jonas Braasch is awarded Fellow by the Acoustical Society of America

Prof. Jonas Braasch has been elected Fellow by the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) for his interdisciplinary contributions to musical acoustics and psychoacoustics of spatial audio technology. The ASA Fellow is awarded to Prof. Braasch at the 178th ASA Meeting in San Diego on Dec. 4th 2019. Please see Prof. Braasch's accomplishment in his CV.

We offer our heartiest congratulations to Jonas!

Congratulations, Yun as well!

Dr. Karlheinz Brandenburg (Pioneer of MP3) Lectured at RPI (Oct. 21st 2019)

On Oct. 21st, Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Brandenburg delivered a guest lecture 'Perfect auditory illusion over loudspeakers and headphone: How to use the properties of the human ear and brain' at our Program in Architectural Acoustics. He also visited CRAIVE_Lab and EMPAC facilities.

Dr. Brandenburg is Chair of Electronic Media Technology at the Institute of Media Technology at the Technische Universitaet Ilmenau, director of the Institute for Media and Mobile Communications at the Technische Universitaet Ilmenau and founding director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology. He is a Fellow of both IEEE and the Audio Engineering Society, and is the recipient of awards so numerous that we present only a small fraction here: Internet Hall of Fame, IEEE Consumer Electronics Award, Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, IEEE Engineering Excellence Award, and several awards from the Audio Engineering Society.

Max Miller III Receives Prestigious Leo L. Beranek Student Medal (June 2019)

Our Ph.D. candidate, Max Miller III, received the prestigious Leo Beranek Student Medal for excellence in noise control studies, June 2019. This award recognizes Max' work in characterizing bending wave parameters of light-weight, low-cost cross-link aerogel panels, which have the potential to provide drastically increased sound transmission losses of thin wallboard panels without adding weights. His work has been presented at the 177th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Louisville, Kentucky in May 2019. In Sept. 2019 his paper titled "Bending wave properties of organic cross-link aerogel panels using a laser Doppler vibrometer-based method" has also been presented at the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics (ICA 2019), Aachen Germany. Congratulations, Max!

Michael Hoeft Receives First Prize for Student Paper Presentation (2019)

Michael Hoeft, a 2019 graduate of our Program, received the First Prize for Student Paper Presentation from the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics (TCAA) of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) for his paper presentation on "Broadband design of multilayer micro-slit panel absorbers for improved transparency using Bayesian inference," coauthored by Hoeft, M., Fackler, C.J. and Xiang, N. His paper was presented at the 177th Meeting of the ASA, Louisville, Kentucky in May 2019.

RPI Teams Win the 2019 ASA Student Design Competition

05/14/19- Max Miller III, Jessica Gentile, and Stephen Weikel, students in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, won the First Prize in the Student Design Competition judged at the 177th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. The 2nd RPI team, Ellington Scott, Ben Loshin, and Michael Hoeft, and the third team, Yaoxin Chen, Sage Freter and Amy Ziffer, each team won Commendation Award (two of four). Additional details about the competition can be found on the website of the Robert Bradford Newman Fund. We offer our congratulations to the RPI winners!

Daniel Tay Receives First Prize for Student Paper Presentation (2018)

Daniel Tay, a 2018 graduate of our Program, received the First Prize for Student Paper Presentation from the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America for his paper presentation "High spatial resolution scanning for experimental room-acoustic measurements in scale models," coauthored by Tay, D., Xiang, N., and A. Alamuru. The award was recently announced at the 176th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, held in Victoria, Canada, Nov. 2018.

Jonathan Kawasaki Receives the Newman Medal (2018)

We offer our congratulations to Jonathan Kawasaki, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. The Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture. It honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world.

Jon is a 2018 graduate of our graduate program in architectural acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent research work on Experimental Investigations on Acoustic Diffractions Using a Portable Goniometer with High Angular Resolution and Large Radii. Within the scope of his MS degree research, he presented a paper “Portable goniometers with high angular resolutions and large radii for experimental investigations of acoustic diffractions” at the 175th Meeting the Acoustical Society of America in Minneapolis, MN, May 2018. Jon has also coauthored another paper submitted to the upcoming 177th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Louisville, Kentucky, May 2019.
Congratulations, Jon!

Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert Receives Helmholtz Medal (2018)

Prof. Michael Vorlaender (left), president of the German Acoustical Society presented the Helmholtz Medal to Prof. Wolfgang Ahnert (middle), with Prof. Ning Xiang who delivered the encomium for Dr. Ahnert's lifetime achievement

Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert, one of our visiting professors, has received the Helmholtz Medal (2018) from the German Acoustical Society for his lifetime achievement in room-acoustic simulations and sound reinforcement systems. The award ceremony took place on Mar. 20th 2018 in Munich during the plenary meeting of the 44th Acoustic Conference of the German Acoustical Society (DEGA). Dr. Ning Xiang delivered an encomium which highly praised Ahnert's excellent achievements in acoustics research, application, and education.

Dr. Ahnert has been lecturing the graduate students of our Program for more than 10 years. Our graduate students have benefitted from his teaching with intensive hands-on sessions on room-acoustic and sound system simulations, as well as room-acoustic measurements. All the faculty and graduate students of the program would like to offer Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert our heartiest congratulations!

Alex Case Guest Lectures at RPI (2018)

Alex Case, graduate of the Architectural Acoustics program at RPI, former president of the Audio Engineering Society, and Associate Professor of Sound Recording Technology at UMass Lowell, visited RPI to guest lecture on the principles of synthesized reverberation, and strategies on its application in sound recording and mixing.

Ning Xiang, Ph.D., Presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who

Albert Nelson Marquis' Who's Who has featured Dr. Ning Xiang in its Biographical Volume "Who's Who in America 2018", and bestowed upon Dr. Ning Xiang it's Lifetime Achievement Award; "An accomplished listee, Dr. Xiang celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field". See the Press Release on Feb. 22nd 2018.

Aleksandra Rozynova received the Newman Medal (2017)

We offer our congratulations to Aleksandra Rozynova, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Aleksandra is a 2017 graduate of our graduate program in architectural acoustics. The award recognizes her excellent research work on the Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD) for efficient and accurate room acoustic simulations. Within the scope of her MS degree research, she presented a paper ‘Secondary surface sources at rigid wedges based on the physical theory of diffraction’ at the Joint Conference of the Acoustical Society of American with European Acoustical Association in Boston, June 2017. Aleksandra has also coauthored another paper ’Exact and Asymptotic Solutions of Wedge Fields for Sound Propagation Modeling Using the Physical Theory of Diffraction’ at the 46th International Conference on Noise Control Engineering (InterNoise 2017) in Aug. 2017, HongKong. She is also going to present another paper "Improved theory of acoustic elementary edge waves of finite, rectangular plates" at the upcoming 175th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, in Minneapolis, MN May 2018!
Congratulations, Sasha!

Kelsey Hochgraf Featured in Acoustics Today (2017)

Kelsey Hochgraf, a graduate of the Architectural Acoustics program (class of 2015), has been featured in Acoustics Today, Volume 13, Issue 4 (2017), as part of their Sound Perspectives series. Kelsey is currently an acoustical consultant for Acentech. She obtained her BSE in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton, and MS in Architectural Acoustics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. To learn more about Kelsey and her current work, click here for a copy of the article.

YiQiao Hou Receives Young Presenter Grant (2017)

YiQiao Hou, graduate Student of the Architectural Acoustics Program, has been awarded a Young Presenter Grant (YP Grants) from the 46th International Congress on Noise Control Engineering (INTER-NOISE 2017), held in Hong Kong, 27-30 August 2017. This grant has a value of 600 EUR including a complimentary registration for the Congress. Mrs. Hou has presented a paper "Bayesian Design and Fabrication Framework for Multilayered Microperforated Panel Absorbers", Hou, Yiqiao; Fackler, Cameron J.; Xiang, Ning!

Douglas Beaton Receives Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal (2016)

We offer our congratulations to Douglas Beaton, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Doug is a 2016 graduate of our graduate program in architectural acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent graduate study in architectural acoustics and his research work on "Trans-dimensional Bayesian approaches to room acoustic modal analysis", which he presented at the 171st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Salt Lake City, May 2016. He is also going to present an invited paper "Room acoustic modal analysis via model-based Bayesian inference" at the upcoming Joint Conference of the Acoustical Society of American with European Acoustical Association in Boston, June 2017. Congratulations Doug!

RPI Acoustics alum Alex Case becomes the President of the AES (2016)

Alex Case, graduated from Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics in 1999 at Rensselaer has assumed the presidency of the world's preeminent professional audio organization, the Audio Engineering Society (AES).

AES President Case has dedicated his professional life to the study of electroacoustics, room acoustics, perception, and signal processing for the creation and enjoyment of recorded music. Bringing a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience to his pursuits as an acoustician, an audio engineer and as an educator, Alex is also a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, he has also served as Chair of the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the ASA between 2009 and 2012.

In addition to his leadership both in the Acoustical Society of America and in the Audio Engineering Society, Case currently serves as an Associate Professor of Sound Recording Technology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Alex is a widely published author of over one hundred articles in industry journals and trade publications, as well as two books.

Peter Dodds Receives Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal (2015)

We offer our congratulations to Peter Dodds, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Peter is a 2015 graduate of our graduate program in architectural acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent graduate study in architectural acoustics and his research work on "The Effects of Noise of Physician Cognitive Performance in a Hospital Emergency Department", which he presented at the 169th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Pittsburgh. Congratulations Peter!

Dr. Ning Xiang Receives Wallace Clement Sabine Award (2014)

Dr. Ning Xiang, director of our Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics is the 16th recipient of the medal. The award is presented to an individual who has furthered the knowledge of architectural acoustics. The citation for Prof. Xiang states the award is given "for contributions to measurements and analysis techniques, and numerical simulation of sound fields in coupled rooms." The award was presented October 29 in Indianapolis, IN. From its inception of the Wallace Clement Sabine Award in 1957, worldwide renowned acousticians , such as Vern Knudson (US), Leo Beranek (US), Erwin Meyer (Germany), Lothar Cremer (Germany), Harold Marshall (New Zealand), Thomas Northwood (Canada), and Christopher Jaffe (US) were among the former recipients. The encomium presented by Dr. Jason Summers along with Prof. J. Blauert states that Prof. Xiang, the 16th recipient of the Medal, is well known for his work in binaural scale-model measurement, theory and practice of maximum-length sequences, and Bayesian signal processing. The article further states, "A consummate theoretician and experimentalist, his work reflects the growing importance of computational modeling and mode-based signal processing across the broader field of acoustics, but is unique for making significant general contributions while maintaining a strong and specific focus on architectural acoustics."
Congratulations Dr. Xiang!

RPI Alum awarded AES Fellow (2014)

Alex U. Case, the first architectural acoustics graduate student at RPI, was just awarded Fellowship in the Audio Engineering Society (AES). The award reads, in part, "for service to the society and excellence in audio education." He is Co-Chair of the Membership Committee and sits on the Education Committee (past chair) and the Technical Committee for Recording Technology and Practices. He's delivered some 31 papers, workshops and tutorials at international conventions of the AES. Case is also a Fellow in the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) where he's authored or co-authored 38 papers since graduating from RPI. He sits on the Technical Committee for Architectural Acoustics (past chair), the Technical Committee for Noise, the Membership Committee, and the Publication Policy Committee. He is Associate Professor for Sound Recording Technology in the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Music Department of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He has two titles in print with Focal Press: Sound FX and Mix Smart. In addition, he has four online training courses on the Audio Channel at Lynda.com. Case was particularly honored to be a co-chair of the recent special session at the ASA honoring Christopher Jaffe, RPI alumnus and founder of the Architectural Acoustics program. Congratulations Alex!

Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert Visits RPI (October 2014)

Prof. Wolfgang Ahnert, CEO of AFMG GmbH, lectured and taught RPI Graduate Students on "Room-acoustic modeling, measurement techniques" during Oct 20th -24th 2014. In addition to intensive hands-on classes on EASE/EASERA modeling and measurement programs, Dr. Ahnert also lectured on topics ranging from wave-based modeling of scattered objects, the sound transmission through wall structures, to the in-situ measurements of occupied venues. Thank you Dr. Ahnert!

Dane Bush Receives Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal (2014)

We offer our congratulations to Dane Bush, graduate student in our program, for being awarded the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics. Dane is a 2014 graduate of our graduate program in architectural acoustics. The award recognizes his excellent graduate study in architectural acoustics and his research work on "Room-Acoustics Investigations of Beamforming Performance Using Coprime Linear Microphone Arrays", which he presented at the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Indianapolis. Congratulations Dane!

Cameron Fackler Receives Leo Beranek Student Medal (May 2014)

Our Ph.D. candidate, Cameron Fackler, received the prestigious Leo Beranek Student Medal for excellence in noise control studies at the 2014 School of Architecture spring awards ceremony. This award recognizes Cameron's work in designing multilayer microperforated panel sound absorbers, which have the potential to provide broadband noise control in demanding situations where traditional materials may fail. Congratulations Cameron!

Robert Connick Receives Newman Medal (Oct 2013)

This year's Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal has been bestowed upon Robert Connick, a M.S. student from the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. This award is given once a year for meritorious student-conducted research in Architectural Acoustics. The Newman Student Medal program recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture and honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world. Congratulations Bob!

Sam Clapp Receives Prestigious Leo L. Beranek Award (May 2013)

At the Spring semester School of Architecture awards ceremony, the prestigious Leo L. Beranek Student Award from the Institute of Noise Control Engineering was bestowed upon our very own doctoral candidate, Sam Clapp. Well done! Congratulations Sam!

Visit from Dr. David Griesinger

Dr. David Griesinger (famous for his Lexicon reverb unit and his electronic room acoustics enhancement system LARES) delivere a lecture entitled "Something is Missing or Clarity, Presence, and Source Separation." The afternoon's lecture continued the themes of the first lecture and included a question and answer session with demonstrations.

Wesley Henderson Receives Newman Medal (Dec. 2012)

This year's Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal has been bestowed upon Wesley Henderson, a M.S. student from the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. This award is given once a year for meritorious student-conducted research in Architectural Acoustics. The Newman Student Medal program recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture and honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world. During his graduate study and research in the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, School of Architecture, Wesley's research resulted in two international conference papers (International Workshop on Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering held in Munich, July 2012, and the International Conference on Noise Control Engineering, held in New York City Aug. 2012), as well as one paper presentation at the 164th Acoustical Society of America Meeting in Kansas City, MO. Congratulations Wesley!

Hugo Fastl lectures at RPI (Sept. 2012)

Following Internoise 2012 in New York City, Prof. Dr. Hugo Fastl delived an introductory lecture series on sound quality and psychoacoustics to the Program in Architectural Acoustics. Dr. Fastl is Professor of Technical Acoustics in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Technical University Munich, Germany, well known for his foundational text in the field of sound perception, Psychoacoustics: Facts and Models, co-authored with Eberhard Zwicker.

Cameron Fackler receives ASA and I-INCE honors

Cameron Fackler, a Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, was recently appointed to the Acoustical Society of America Student Council. He will serve as the student representative from the Technical Committee on Noise from May 2012 to May 2014.

Cameron was also recently awarded the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering Young Scientist Grant for Inter-Noise 2012. This grant recognizes his research into the acoustical properties of aerogels and will support his attendance at the International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering.

Dr. Klaus Genuit Lectures at RPI

Dr. Klaus Genuit, the CEO of HEAD acoustics GmbH visited the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics at Rensselaer on Feb. 20th. Dr. Genuit delivered a series of lectures on psychoacoustics applications in industrial noise evaluations, on sound quality, sound design, and soundscape.

Two students awarded prestigious Newman Medal

The prestigious Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal, this year (2011) has been bestowed upon Cameron Fackler and Vanessa Li, M.S. students of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics for merit of their study and research in Architectural Acoustics.

Congratulations, Vanessa!

Christopher Jaffe to receive the Wallace Clement Sabine Award

J. Christopher Jaffe, the founding director, distinguished visiting professor of our program, received the Wallace Clement Sabine Award from the Acoustical Society of America. The Sabine Medal is presented to an individual of any nationality who has furthered the knowledge of architectural acoustics, as evidenced by contributions to professional journals and periodicals or by other accomplishments in the field of architectural acoustics. Jaffe receives this honor for innovative acoustical solutions in performance hall design and for architectural acoustics education. The award was presented in November 2011 at the ASA's 162nd meeting in San Diego, CA.

Dr. Yun Jing Appointed Assistant Professor

Dr. Yun Jing, a PhD. Graduate of our program, has been appointed an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. He will begin with this academic duty in late August 2011. Congratulations!

Dr. Yun Jing enrolled in the Fall of 2006 in the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He obtained his B.S. Degree in acoustics at Nanjing University, China in 2006. In Summer 2009, Yun has received a Ph.D. degree in Architectural Sciences from RPI School of Architecture. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree, he worked with Harvard Medical School as a research fellow before this academic appointment.

Since 2007 Dr. Jing has accumulated a long list of peer-reviewed journal publications in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and IEEE Transactions. Furthermore, he was awarded the Robert B. Newman award in 2007. Through his attending at the acoustical society of America meetings, he was awarded the Young Presenter Award in 2007, Naval Research Office Traveling Grant in 2008, and Young Investigator Travel Grants in 2010.

Prof. Jens Blauert Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From EAA

Prof. Jens Blauert, distinguished visiting Professor of the RPI Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, has been awarded Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Acoustics Association.

The name "Professor Dr. Dr. Jens Blauert" stands for a great variety of different acoustical disciplines. Starting with his research at the RWTH Aachen University at the Institute for Electrical Communications Engineering in the field of spatial hearing, wherupon he detected and scientifically described the "trend-setting" decisive bands, his book "Spatial Hearing" was developed in the early 70s, which worldwide is the basis for binaural signal processing and was published in several languages apart from German and English - also in Japanese and Russian.

Professor Blauert's scientific work covers several fields of acoustics, including building-, room-, and architectural acoustics; speech and signal processing; psychoacoustics; sound quality; and sound design. During his time as Director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Acoustics at the University in Bochum, he took care of more than 50 dissertations which cover a broad range of topics in acoustics. Many of his doctoral candidates successfully established themselves as professors all over the world.

One can congratulate the EAA for their choice to honor Professor Dr. Dr. Jens Blauert with the award, "Lifetime Achievement in Acoustics." His scientific work in numerous fields in acoustics, his visionary approaches, his constructive lateral thinking, and his active life and commitment to the acoustical communitiy all set him apart in a special way.

ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship Bestowed upon SoA Graduate Student

Philip Robinson, a Ph.D. student of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics has been awarded the 2011 ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship. ThinkSwiss offers scholarships for a research stay in Switzerland. It supports highly motivated and qualified U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to do research at a public Swiss university or research institute for 2 to 3 months.

Prestigious Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal

This year (2010), the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal has been bestowed upon Isaac Old, a MS. student of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics for Merit of his study and research in Architectural Acoustics. The Newman Student Medal program recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture and honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world.

Philip Robinson Awarded Fulbright Grant

Philip Robinson, a Ph.D. student of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, has been awarded a Fulbright award for an international research stay at the Aalto University of Science and Technology in Helsinki.

The Fulbright Program is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. The Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs worldwide, operating in over 155 countries. Forty-three Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes and seventy-eight have won Pulitzer Prizes. The program was established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. The program is active in over 155 countries in all world regions.

Philip W. Robinson has been awarded a Fulbright grant for study in Helsinki, Finland to investigate the effects of architectural enclosures on listeners' perception of sound. Philip received an M.Sc. in Architectural Acoustics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 2009 and is continuing studies towards a Ph.D. Collaborating with instructors from the Aalto University of Science and Technology in Helsinki, Philip's project will further knowledge that will be used in acoustic applications from concert halls to telecomunication systems.

Samuel Clapp

Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, has been appointed the Student Council Representative for the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America. Sam will serve from May 2011 to May 2013.

International Computer Music Conference Best Paper Award

Professor Jonas Braasch in collaboration with Pauline Oliveros and Doug Van Nort won the award for best paper at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) in New York City and Stony Brook, NY, June 1-5, 2010. They presented "Developing Systems for Improvisation based on Listening," a paper reporting the results of an NSF CreativeIT grant.

Leo Beranek lectures at RPI

Dr. Leo Beranek visited the Program in Architectural Acoustics on April 1-2, 2010. He met with students, toured classrooms and labs, and delivered two lectures: "Some Important Contributions to Acoustics" and "The History of Music in Concert Halls."

Leo Beranek donates professional library to RPI

Dr. Leo Beranek will present his personal library to the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics and RPI Libraries on April 1, 2010. More information can be found at the following link: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2701

Red Wetherill visits RPI

Renowned architectural acoustician Red Wetherill lectured at the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics on Mar. 25th and 26th 2010. He spoke to RPI acoustics graduate students on topics "Acoustics in Buildings", "Worship Spaces" and "Acoustical Experiments."

Dr. Peter D'Antonio of RPG delivers guest lecture

Dr. Peter D'Antonio, CEO of RPG Inc. delivered a guest lecture to RPI Graduate Students on "Sound insulations/Vibration Isolations - Fundamentals and Applications" on March 17th, 2010. Dr. D'Antonio also visited the Architectural Acoustics Labs LASIP (Lab of Acoustics Sensing and Information Processing) and CARL (Communication Acoustics and Aural Architecture Research Laboratory) in Greene Building and Gurley Lab at RPI.

Dr. Jason Summers visits RPI

Dr. Jason Summers delivered a guest lecture to RPI Graduate Students on "Acoustics in Coupled-Volume Systems" on Mar.24th 2010.

John Storyk: Critical Listening Environments

Mr. John Storyk, a renowned Architectural Acoustician, highly recognized though his work in recording studio designs, delivered a guest lecture "Critical Listening Environment in Recording Studios" on Mar. 4th, 2010 to RPI Architectural Acoustics graduate students at the School of Architecture.

Prof. Jens Blauert visits RPI

Prof. Jens Blauert, Distinguished Adjunct Professor of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) delivered a series of lectures during his 9-days stay at RPI between Feb.23rd and Mar.5th 2010, in addition to interaction with RPI MS. Degree Students and Ph.D. students. His lectures included:
   Room-Related Presentations of Auditory Scenes via Loudspeakers
   From Binaural Technology to Virtual Reality
   Perception & Measurement: Some Basics
   Aural Precedence Effect

Uday Trivedi and Philip Robinson receive Newman Award

The Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal, this year (2009) has been bestowed upon both Philip Robinson and Uday Trivedi, students of the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics for Merit of their study and research in Architectural Acoustics.
The Newman Student Medal program recognizes excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture and honors outstanding students at schools of architecture and architectural engineering throughout the world. Congratulations!.

Philip Robinson receives award from Institute of Noise Control Engineering

Philip Robinson, a PhD student in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, won a student paper award in the Institute of Noise Control Engineering's Student Paper Competition. The award, including a $1000 prize, is based on the merit of both the written article and the oral presentation. The presentation, co-authored by Prof. Ning Xiang, and Dr. Peter D'Antonio of RPG Diffusor Systems Inc., titled "A synthesized aperture gonoimeter for diffusion coefficient measurements." was presented at the 38th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering (INTER-NOISE 2009), in Ottawa, Canada, Aug. 26th 2009.

Dr. Jens Blauert Lectures at RPI

12/1/08- During the first 2 weeks of December 2008, adjunct distinguished professor Dr. Jens Blauert gave a series of lectures to the students in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics. His lectures included, "Binaural Hearing and Human Sound Localisation," "From Binaural Technology to Virtual Reality," and "Room-Related Presentation of Auditory Scenes via Loudspeakers."

RPI Students Win Student Paper Awards in Paris

08/21/08- Anne Guthrie and Yun Jing, PhD students in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, placed first and second, respectively, in the Best Student Paper Competition sponsored by the ASA's Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics at the Acoustics '08 meeting in Paris. Anne's presentation, co-authored by Prof. Jonas Braasch, was titled "Relevance of acoustic parameters for musician communication," and Yun's, co-authored with Prof. Ning Xiang, was titled "Modeling and analysis of acoustically coupled spaces using a diffusion equation model."

RPI Team Wins the 2008 ASA Student Design Competition

08/01/08- Kathleen Stetson, Alex Bockman, and Arthur van der Harten, students in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, won First Honors in the Student Design Competition judged at the Acoustics' 08 Conference in Paris. A second RPI team, with members Stephen Secules, Douglas Malora, and Benjamin Markham, won a Commendation Award (one of four). Four RPI teams were among a total of 17, representing Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), the Technical University of Denmark, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Nebraska, the University of Kansas, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Hartford, and the University of Florida. Additional details about the compeition can be found on the website of the Robert Bradford Newman Fund.

Students Visit Boston Symphony Hall

04/29/08- A group of students from the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics made a field trip to Boston Symphony Hall on April 29, 2008. After finishing a series of room-acoustic measurements in the Hall, Dr. Leo Beranek led the RPI students on a tour of the hall, and told many legendary stories about the hall design and Wallace Clement Sabine, the pioneer of the modern architectural acoustics. Following the measurements and the tour, the RPI students visited Acentech and met with Acentech consultants along with Dr. Leo Beranek, Dr. David Griesinger, and a group of MIT students to discuss their on-going research projects at RPI and Acentech.

3 Students Receive the Prestigious Newman Medal

11/25/07- Joseph Digerness, Yun Jing, and Dorea Ruggles each received the Robert Bradford Newman Student Medal for Merit in Architectural Acoustics, given by the Robert Bradford Newman Student Award Fund and the Acoustical Society of America. The medal is in recognition of excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture. Additional details can be found at the Newman Fund's website.

Paul Calamia and Yun Jing receive ICA Young Scientist Grants

05/01/07- Prof. Paul Calamia and Yun Jing have each received a Young Scientist Grant from the International Congress on Acoustics for their research to be presented at ICA 2007 in Madrid in September:

"Culling insignificant diffraction components for interactive acoustic simulations," Paul Calamia and Peter Svensson (Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology);

"Investigation on higher orders of spherical harmonics equations for efficient room-acoustic predictions," Yun Jing and Ning Xiang.

Dorea Ruggles receives an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

03/25/07- Dorea Ruggles, a graduate student in RPI's Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics, is a 2007 recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship is awarded to outstanding graduate students who demonstrate the potential to become knowledge experts and who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. Dorea's area of research is speech intelligibility. With NSF fellowship support she is going to pursue her Ph.D. research in the area of binaural room-acoustics evaluation in the Ph.D. Program of Architectural Sciences in the School of Architecture. She is a 2006 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, where she studied physics and music.

Distance and Intimacy: Musicians Transcend Distance to Join Voices Over the Internet

03/22/07- On Thursday, March 22, 2007, four ensembles located across the States came together via Internet2 for a co-located performance of improvisational music. Tintinnabulate, an ensemble helmed by pioneering composer Pauline Oliveros and co-run with Jonas Braasch's CARL group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY, joined Chris Chafe’s SoundWire ensemble at CCRMA Stanford University, Cynthia Payne’s DANM group from UC Santa Cruz, and Sarah Weaver’s Weave Soundpainting Orchestra at Chicago’s Loyola University. Together, the four groups performed original works by Pauline Oliveros and Else Olsen S., an improvisational celleto concerto featuring Chris Chafe and conducted by Sarah Weaver, and an improvisation with interactive visual art by Arthur van der Harten. The night featured a range of instruments from multi-channel celleto, laptop, harp, electronics, and live video manipulation. The ensembles were also joined by dancer Asimina Chremos. The event was not only attended by audiences at all locations, but also broadcast live to the public through the world wide web.

This project is a part of ongoing research in high quality internet transmission between artists across the globe. The performance was made possible by a technical collaboration between Jonas Braasch, Dan Valente, Juan Pablo Caceres, Lynne Sheehan, Jim Warner, Bob Vitale, Joe Owens, Terry Figel, Lyle Troxell, and Christopher Sorg, along with various members of all the ensembles.

Graduate students visit Acentech, Inc. for a round-table meeting with consultants and students from the University of Nebraska Acoustics Group.

03/16/07- Prof. Xiang and eight RPI graduate students visited the office of Acentech, Inc. in Cambridge, MA to take part in a round-table meeting on current projects and research with consultants as well as students from the University of Nebraska Acoustics Group. Each student made a short presentation on her/his thesis project. Dr. Leo Beranek was also present, and delivered a lecture on "Audience absorption in concert Halls".

Graduate students visit the Institute of Acoustics at Tongji University in Shanghai and the Institute of Acoustics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

03/02/07 - 03/14/07- Prof. Xiang and five RPI graduate students visited the Institute of Acoustics at Tongji University in Shanghai and the Institute of Acoustics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing during a two-week field trip to China. In Shanghai they worked ogether with Tongji acoustics graduate students, led by Prof. Shengwo Sheng, on a series of standard acoustics experiments using their acoustics facilities. In Beijing they met with Prof. Maa Dah You, Prof. K. Liu, and a large number of acoustics graduate students. They also toured various new performing arts centers, building sites, and acoustics laboratories in both cities.

Prof. JiQung Wang from the Institute of Acoustics at the TongJi University in Shanghai Lectures at RPI

02/06/07- Prof. Wang paid a visit to the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics at RPI on February 6 - 8, 2007 and delivered a lecture on the "Acoustics of Courtyard Theaters".

Dr. David Griesinger from the Harman Specialty Group Lectures at RPI

01/30/07- Dr. Griesinger delivered a guest lecture for the Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics at RPI on January 30, 2007 about the "Perception of Concert Hall Acoustics when the Reflected Energy is Stronger than the Direct Energy".

An Institute-Wide Academic Minor in Architectural Acoustics is Now Available

10/27/06- The minor in Architectural Acoustics is open to all Rensselaer students. Please click here for details.

Dr. Thomas Rossing, World Renowned Expert in Musical Acoustics, Lectures at RPI

10/19/06- On Thursday, October 19, Dr. Thomas Rossing delivered a lecture entitled, "Acoustics of Percussion Instruments, Old and New". He discussed the modes of vibration of bars, membranes, and plates and the physics of several percussion instruments, including drums, cymbals, gongs, bells, stone chimes, and Caribbean steel pans.

RPI Students Win Student Design Competition at the ASA Conference in Providence, RI

6/6/06- Anthony McCreery, Indi Savitala, and Arthur VanDerHarten won first honors for their architectural design at the meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Providence, RI. Their entry can be seen here. There were more than twenty entries from numerous schools. In addition two other groups from RPI, Matt Boyd and Dan Valente as well as Jarrod Whittington, Zühre Sü, and Gordon Rubin won commendations for their designs. More information on the competition can be found at www.newmanfund.org.

Graduate Student Wins Student-Paper Award

6/6/06- Graduate student Zühre Sü placed second in the Student Paper Competition in the area of the Architectural Acoustics during the Providence Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in June 2006.

Former Graduate Students Win Awards

6/6/06- Former graduate students Courtney McGinnes and Ken Andria each received a 2006 Newman Student Award from the Acoustical Society of America, a prestigious award bestowed upon Architectural Acoustics students.

Acoustician Red Wetherill Gives Guest Lecture

6/1/06 Acoustician Red Wetherill visited RPI and gave a guest lecture on some of his experiences as an acoustics consultant. In the photo he is seen working with two acoustics graduate students, Indi Savitala and Anthony McCreery.

Wooster Theater Group Visits Gurley NYSTAR Sound-Field Composition Lab

5/25/06 The Wooster Experimental Theater Group visited the Gurley NYSTAR Soundfield Composition Lab to experience the multi-channel rendering of audio using Virtual Microphone Control.

RPI Student is Awarded Fellowship from AT&T

5/23/06 Gordon Rubin was awarded a three year fellowship from AT&T for his Ph.D. research in the Architectural Acoustics Program. Rubin, currently a Master's student, will be continuing his research in Laser Doppler Vibrometry.

Leo Beranek Gives Lecture on Sound Quality

4/19/06 Renowned acoustician and author Leo Beranek came to RPI and gave two lectures to the students and staff. He also had an open book signing for his book "Concert Halls and Opera Houses".

Jonas Braasch Receives Lothar Cremer Award

3/20/06 Jonas Braasch received the Lothar Cremer Award, the highest honor of the German Acoustical Society (DEGA) for a young career scientist.

Richard Lyon Gives Guest Lecture

3/09/06 Richard Lyon, former MIT professor and president of Lyon Associates, visited the RPI Graduate Program in Architectural Acoustics and delivered a guest lecture on Statistical Energy Analysis applied in vibration-control projects.

Wolfgang Ahnert Speaks on EASE Software

2/15/06 Wolfgang Ahnert of ADA came to RPI to speak with students about using EASE acoustic modeling software and other acoustic modeling techniques. Ahnert remains a regular visitng professor and more information about him and his software can be found in the Faculty and Staff page.