Noise Control Engineering Education in the USA

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IntroductionThe third National Noise Policy Workshop was held during NOISE-CON 2007 in Reno, Nevada, USA, on 2007 October 23. The theme of the workshop was “ U.S. Education in Noise Control Engineering.” The implementation of noise policy depends on the education of noise control engineers in America. The purpose of the workshop was to consider the current capacity to educate technologists and to recognize the challenges within academe to place greater emphasis on noise control education.

Many universities have one or more professors teaching courses in noise control engineering. There is evidence that current demand for trained professionals in this field may exceed the supply and that industry and government are now hiring people from other fields to perform noise control engineering work—aerodynamicists, crash-worthiness engineers, physicists, mechanical engineers, vibration specialists, electrical engineers, and others. To be fully effective as a noise control engineer, many educators stress that graduate training leading to a degree is needed in this field. The objectives of the Reno workshop were to determine the current demand for noise control engineers in the public and private sectors, assess the ability of higher education to supply these specialists, examine the current academic curricula available to meet this demand, and define the topics of major importance to the education of noise control engineers.

The workshop featured morning and afternoon sessions with presentations

Noise Control Engineering Education in the USAJanet Moss, Noise Control Foundation, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

by panelists from academe and industry. In Sessions 1 and 2 panelists addressed questions on noise control engineering education at their universities. The focus of Session 3 was on the needs of industry for noise control engineers.

The panelists from academe described the course offerings and research at their institutions and the current demand for noise control engineers in the public and private sectors. They assessed the capability of higher education to supply these specialists. The panelists from industry described their role in reducing noise, the educational requirements for a successful industrial career, and industry demand for noise control engineers.

Executive SummaryIn Sessions 1 and 2 panelists addressed questions on noise control engineering education at their universities. Much of the subject matter in these presentations concerned the extent of the noise control engineering education offered at the panelist’s university and whether it was adequate to supply industry’s need for qualified engineers. The panelists covered the number of courses, faculty, and students in such a program as well as the number of requests from industry for trained graduates. If no specific program in noise control engineering was offered, they indicated the other program areas (e.g. mechanical engineering) where some acoustics courses could be found

The scope of noise control engineering education varied greatly with each university. The focus of engineering

programs at each university had much to do with funding from industry to support the particular need they had. Hiring of faculty was also based on who was supporting the program.

During the discussion, in addition to the questions from the audience, the panelists in Sessions 1 and 2 were asked to answer the following three questions:1. If you had your choice of teaching a

course related to acoustics and noise control which is not being taught now, and you were not constrained by money or management approval, is there any course that you would like to teach that you’re not teaching now?

2. If INCE/USA were to have a program to define, for the benefit of employers, what a noise control engineer should know and ask the universities if they would agree on that subject, what would the response be?

3. If students thought that it would be beneficial to them to have some sort of certification from INCE/USA that they had knowledge of the key courses of noise control engineering, what would be the response from the academic world?

The subject of INCE/USA involvement with universities in several areas was a topic of much discussion. The bottom line, though, seemed to be that this was a bit of a gray area and at this time not well enough developed to make a major contribution to the field.

Regarding the off-campus training available, some panelists covered what

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their universities offered in this area. Cooperation with industry provided benefits to both the university and industry. Also, it was mentioned that some industries approached the students long before they were ready to graduate to support their studies in the areas most needed by that industry.

The focus of Session 3 was on the needs of industry for noise control engineers. Panelists spoke on the source of their noise control engineers (e.g. other disciplines but with additional training in NCE subjects). The conclusion was that there were not enough properly trained noise control engineers to supply the needs of industry. Additional training and the availability of publications to supplement the knowledge of those practicing noise control engineering in industry was discussed, but the individual must want to further pursue his training.

There was some discussion on whether chapters of INCE/USA and other professional societies should be founded at the universities. ASA has done just this. Some from industry mentioned that the noise control engineers in their company were not even aware of INCE/USA. (A recurring topic it seems is to get more publicity on and activity from INCE/USA.) There was a great deal discussion on the activities and roles of other related professional organizations.

A brief but important point was brought up and agreed on by both those in academe and industry regarding communication. Apparently writing and communication

skills are offered in the universities but not taken seriously by many of the students. However, once in the corporate world, the need for these skills becomes apparent and important if these engineers are to communicate the problems and solutions either verbally or in print.

Session 1 – University ProgramsPanelistsRobert BernhardUniversity of Notre Dame

Scott SommerfeldtBrigham Young University

Kenneth CunefareGeorgia Institute of Technology

Rajendra SinghOhio State University

PresentationsNoise control engineering education Robert J. Bernhard, University of Notre Dame

There is need for technologists in noise control engineering. Currently there is no comprehensive survey of the need for noise control technologists across the broad applications, but there is anecdotal information through inquiries that have found their way to the Herrick Labs and the profiles of current practitioners. For the past decade Herrick Labs has had 60 to 100 inquires per year from the automotive companies and their head hunters and consultants in the mechanical

and architectural fields (a limited set of the need). Follow-up inquiries show that many of these positions were not filled. It is a seller’s market—significant mobility occurs in the field.

Our current pool of noise control technologists has been recruited from many fields—aerodynamicists, crash-worthiness engineers, physicists, mechanical engineers, vibration specialists, electrical engineers, systems engineers, and others. There are three languages in the noise control field—waves, modes, and dBese. Few practitioners are trilingual.

A review of data from the Acoustical Society of America’s DIRECTORY

OF GRADUATE EDUCATION IN

ACOUSTICS and participation in ASME, ASA, SAE, AIAA, TRB, Noise-Con, INTER-NOISE, and ASHRAE conferences show that there are few universities with a critical mass in “noise and noise control.” Some that offer such curricula are: Penn State, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Virginia Polytech, M.I.T., Stanford, Michigan Tech, Ohio State, Iowa State, Texas Austin, Cincinnati, and Brigham Young. Other universities may have one faculty member with a noise control engineering background.

There are approximately 30 to 50 engineering graduates per year with an MS or PhD in the noise field and 150 to 250 engineering and architecture BS graduates who have taken one noise control class. The demand for these graduates far exceeds the supply. To compensate for the shortage, some businesses assign noise


control practitioners to corporate labs rather than disperse them to operations units where noise characteristics will be incorporated into the product. Some offer continuing education for current employees through a limited number of university programs, vendor and customer courses, peer mentoring, and conferences; but their depth of understanding is often limited.

Many issues impact the response of universities to this situation. These include Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation, national priorities and global challenges, the potential for research funding, and hiring practices. The issue is to find a home for noise control within the academic departments.

In Architectural Engineering, the program must demonstrate that graduates have proficiency in mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, and general chemistry; proficiency in statistics, strength of materials, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, electric circuits, and engineering economics; proficiency . . . in structures, building mechanical and electrical systems, and construction management; engineering design capabilities in . . . architectural engineering. . . In Mechanical Engineering, the program must demonstrate that graduates have knowledge of chemistry and calculus-based physics with depth in at least one; the ability to apply advanced mathematics through multivariate calculus and differential equations; familiarity with statistics and linear algebra; the ability to work professionally. [1] These requirements drive curriculum which drives faculty hires.

The U.S. Government’s Office of Science and Technology Policy instructs agencies to assess the priorities for and stewardship of Federal scientific collections, which play an important role in public health and safety, homeland security, trade and

economic development, medical research, and environmental monitoring. [2] These priorities drive universities which drive faculty hiring and new facilities.

Acoustics, dynamics, and vibrations are part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) FY2006 engineering budget. In addition to NSF’s “core” research and educational activities, NSF supports four major research initiatives, or “priority areas.” These are: nanoscale science and engineering, mathematical sciences, human and social dynamics, and biocomplexity in the environment.

Funding drives much of the discretionary effort of a university and may come from graduate student support, facilities, and faculty interest. During the Cold War, the need for underwater signature reduction dominated funding in noise control; but today there are no significant funding priorities aligned with noise control. At Purdue the funding metric is $400K per year per faculty member. Making the case to hire new faculty in noise control requires a proposal based on teaching, research funding, and national and global priorities for the long term. Depending on the administration it is possible to be squeezed between or to take advantage of the “old school” (one-for-one replacement for attrition) or the “new school” (inter-disciplinary initiatives aligned with global challenges). Noise control does not have a leading federal agency to advocate for a quieter America. The budgets for noise control among the several federal agencies involved are small. Noise is not mainstream environmental engineering but crosses academic disciplines and agency departmental organizations.

In summary, there is a large unfilled need for well-educated noise control technologists. A graduate degree is the entry-level degree required to practice in this field. Continuing education offerings

(informal post-graduate educational experiences) are not sufficient to fill the demand for noise control technologists. We should develop a noise control curriculum with accreditation standards and integrate noise control concepts throughout existing curricula to develop high-quality noise control practitioners. And we need to increase faculty hiring, which requires building a case for noise control engineering

1. ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 11/1/2004

2. Office of Science and Technology Policy, Excerpts from FY 2007 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities

Acoustics and noise control engineering at Brigham Young UniversityScott D. Sommerfeldt, Brigham Young University

At Brigham Young University (BYU), acoustics was historically housed in physics, due to Harvey Fletcher and Carl Eyring, who were both in the physics department. This program has been strengthened over the past decade with a focus on also being interdisciplinary (primarily with Mechanical Engineering). There are now three full-time and one part-time faculty members in physics and three full-time faculty members in mechanical engineering. To better understand the acoustics program at BYU, it is important to recognize that BYU’s primary emphasis is on undergraduate education. However, the university also seeks strong graduate programs in support of that mission. Thus, in building the acoustics program, we have sought to develop a strong graduate program in acoustics along with significant involvement of undergraduate students

The acoustics and noise control curriculum at BYU consists of “core” courses that require math preparation through (partial) differential equations, which usually


happens by the junior year. The following “core” courses are for graduate students, but are also taken by seniors or well-prepared juniors:• Physics/ME 561 – Fundamentals

of Acoustics: waves in fluids and solids, source radiation, reflection/transmission, sound in pipes, acoustic filters, community noise, basic noise control, nonlinear acoustics;

• ME 535 – Mechanical Vibrations: mass-spring systems, strings, membranes, rods, beams, plates, shells;

• Physics 660/ME 562 – Analysis of Acoustic Systems: equivalent circuit analysis, acoustic filters, arrays, directivity, transducers, duct acoustics, general spherical/cylindrical waves, scattering, energy-based acoustics;

• Physics 661 – Acoustics of Music, Speech, Architecture, and Audio: Room acoustics, audio, music/speech; and

• Physics 662 – Interaction of Sound Fields and Vibrating Structures: structural radiation, fluid loading, transmission and transmission loss, active noise and vibration control.

There are approximately 40 additional supporting courses related to acoustics. Some more closely aligned with noise control engineering are: ME 609 – Spectral Analysis of Dynamic Systems; ME 312/512 – Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics; ME 363 – Instrumentation; ME 431 – Design of Control Systems (classical control theory); EE 541 – Active and Passive Filter Design; and Physics 167 – Descriptive Acoustics of Music and Speech. At the junior/senior level, a future course is planned (Fall 2008) which will focus on fundamental acoustics with a strong emphasis on noise control and community noise.

A BS degree in physics or mechanical engineering typically takes 4 to 5 years. A popular degree for acoustics is a BS Applied Physics – Selected Options, which allows a student to have about four elective courses focused on acoustics as part of

his/her curriculum. An MS in Physics or Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in acoustics typically takes 2 to 2½ additional years while a PhD in Physics or Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in acoustics takes 4 to 6 years beyond the BS level. At BYU, flexibility now exists for graduate students to tailor their curriculum to meet their professional needs or interests. This is particularly attractive for the PhD program.

BYU offers a research program which typically involves approximately 12 to 14 graduate students (mostly MS), along with about 20 undergraduate students. We typically graduate 4 to 5 graduate students per year. Currently, we receive more inquiries from potential employers than the number of students we have to fill positions. Physics requires a senior thesis or capstone project for undergraduate majors (usually 3 to 6 per year). There are weekly Acoustics Research Group (ARG) meetings which cover numerous subjects related to acoustics and noise control and are typically attended by approximately 35 to 40 students. There are also a number of additional smaller group meetings for various research projects that usually meet weekly.

The research program has access to large (8.71 x 5.66 x 5.74 m) and small (3.00 x 2.38 x 2.80 m) anechoic chambers, a variable acoustics chamber, large (210 m3) and small (65 m3) reverberation chambers, as well as computer controlled scanning systems in most of those facilities The equipment available to students in this program includes at least six multi-channel (2-56 channels) analyzers, more than 70 Type 1 microphones, 3 Larson Davis Type 1 sound level meters, a Polytec Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer, a Larson Davis intensity probe, about 20 PCB accelerometers, a PCB impact hammer kit, shakers and speakers, filters and amplifiers. Also available is software such as Matlab, Maple, SysNoise, ANSYS, FLUENT, CATT Acoustics, and ADA EASE.

Over the past 5 years, the ARG faculty has had over $400k per year in research funding. About 45 percent of that has been industry funding, and the rest has been government (federal/state) funding. At this time, the ARG supports research projects in active noise control (axial fan noise, cab noise, and transmission loss), use of energy density measurements to measure acoustic power and absorption, nonlinear jet noise, nearfield acoustic holography (NAH), and throat microphones for high ambient noise environments

The demand for BYU graduates with noise control training is strong and recent industry placements have included major corporations such as Caterpillar, EAR Acoustics, Apple Computer, Starkey Labs, National Instruments, and many more. Many of our BS and MS graduates are pursuing further graduate work at some of the best schools in the country.

The limiting factor for BYU’s noise program seems to be time available for faculty members who mentor graduate students. (Those faculty members typically have about 3 graduate students which, when coupled with undergraduate student involvement and teaching assignments, makes it difficult to increase that number.) We are currently receiving more applications from qualified graduate students than we can admit. They also tend to be weighted more to the MS level, and we would like to attract a higher ratio of PhD to MS students. BYU is also looking at the possibility of developing an interdisciplinary bachelor’s program in acoustics that would focus on preparing students who do not plan to go on to graduate school. The program would have a strong emphasis on community noise and noise control topics.

In conclusion, from our perspective there appears to be significant interest among students, as well as demand from potential employers, to support acoustics and noise control training.


The challenge of noise control education at a major engineering research university Ken Cunefare, Georgia Institute of Technology

There is no formal “noise control engineering” program, certificate, or degree at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). However, there is a graduate program in acoustics and dynamics with faculty, students, graduate program courses, and facilities. The research interests of Georgia Tech faculty members include topics under acoustics, vibration, wave propagation, and other similar noise-related subjects.

During the past three years, 90 percent of the GIT students were from out of state. Of the new students, there were 12 with a primary interest in noise and 24 whose interest in noise was secondary. At present the population in acoustics-related programs includes 16 MS and 23 PhD students. The curriculum requires at least two years for an MS degree and at least 5 years for a PhD. During the past three years 12 MS and 9 PhD students with an acoustics major graduated. Most GIT students are supported by grants, contracts, or fellowships. After graduation, many are placed in academe, government laboratories, and industry with a small number entering the consulting field.

There are two core noise control courses: • ME 4760: Engineering Acoustics

and Noise Control which is a senior undergraduate technical elective taught every fall. There are thirty or more students in this course, and they are taught at the level of C. Hansen’s “Noise Control.”

• ME 6762: Applied Acoustics which is a graduate class taught every spring. There are usually at least 10 students per year, and they are taught at the level of D. Bies and C. Hansen’s “Engineering Noise Control” plus extensive supplementary material.

In addition, two new courses are planned—Human Response to Sound and Vibration and Architectural Acoustics.

The main facility devoted to the noise curriculum is the Integrated Acoustics Laboratory (IAL) which was developed as a campus resource to support education and research in acoustics and vibration. This facility was primarily funded by the Ford Motor Company and has three acoustic test chambers and an active control laboratory. The initial development of IAL began in 1996; and during the following three years, a fully-anechoic chamber, instrumentation backbone, sensors, and a laser vibrometer were installed. During the years from 1999 through 2004, a hemi-anechoic chamber, a reverberation chamber, additional instrumentation backbone items, and sensors were added.

The graduate program in acoustics and dynamics faces several challenges. The research that is undertaken determines the subjects to be taught, and faculty recruiting follows the dollars. Recently recruiting has heavily emphasized microelectromechanical systems (MEMs), biomedical engineering, and advanced nanotechnology (Nano-X). The faculty perception of fields of acoustics and noise control are too applied and there is a dearth of funding to support research. This mold was recently broken with two new acoustics courses and one new dynamics course.

As far as funding challenges are concerned, the keyword is “noise control.” From the National Institutes of Health there have been no grants; however, from the National Science Foundation 13 grants have been received between the years of 1997 and 2007, 9 involving active noise control and 4 involving passive noise control. Grants have also been received from NASA for modeling, exterior noise control, and optimal active and passive control. Funding has also been received from American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning

Engineers; is anticipated from DOT; and there are several industry sources.

In conclusion, GIT intends to develop a healthy graduate program with new faculty specializing in noise issues. Although the goal would be to produce graduates who have in-depth knowledge of acoustics and vibrations, they would not necessarily be considered noise control engineers. As the curriculum is determined by outside (industry) research interests and funding for these interests, new and creative funding opportunities are needed.

Practice and science track courses in noise and vibration controlRajendra Singh, The Ohio State University

Regular and Short CoursesThe science track courses offered by the Mechanical Engineering Department at The Ohio State University (OSU) are En-gineering Acoustics, Wave Dynamics in Fluids, Digital Signal Analysis, Vibrations of Discrete Systems, and Vibrations of Continuous Systems. Graduate specializa-tion in “Dynamics, Vibration and Acous-tics” is available as part of the MS degree in Mechanical Engineering. However, few students have shown an interest.

Courses and research opportunities for undergraduate students include Vibrations of Mechanical Systems and Acoustic Problems in Engineering. Undergraduate honors students can work on research projects leading to a thesis. Five undergraduates have received INCE/USA undergraduate awards. One student won the best student paper award at ACTIVE 2004. His paper appeared in Noise Control

Engineering Journal.

Practice track courses are offered as part of a graduate course sequence in automotive Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) control. The sequence consists of 3 courses based on an innovative case study approach patterned on what has been done


in business, law, and medical schools. This sequence has been developed in close collaboration with General Motors and is taught once every 2 years. The objectives are to enhance critical thinking skills and relate NVH issues to design, manufacturing, materials, performance, and economic considerations; and to integrate concepts of mechanical vibrations, acoustics, digital signal processing, and machinery dynamics into a cohesive graduate course sequence.

Several short courses are offered. Basic Gear Noise (3 days) has been taught for more than 28 years to more than 1300 engineers from over 310 companies. Advanced Gear Noise (2 days) is offered once every other year. Rubber and Hydraulic Mounts (3 days) has been taught at more than 6 companies with an attendance of over 300 engineers. Driveline NVH (3 days) has been taught at 4 companies with over 150 engineers attending. A certificate in Automotive Noise and Vibration Control (CNVH) has been offered by OSU in collaboration with KAIST (Korea) and General Motors since 2006. It requires the completion of 2 graduate courses in NVH and 4 self-paced seminars on contemporary topics.

OSU Research LabsEducation in noise and vibration control and related topics is research-based at four OSU research laboratories. The Acoustics and Dynamics Laboratory is combined with the Center for Automotive Research and the Smart Vehicle Concepts Center. This laboratory is supported by a new consortium of 12 companies. It focuses on noise and vibration sources in machine elements including non-linear sources, modeling and control of structure-borne noise paths, and the inclusion of smart materials. Applications are to automotive NVH and gear noise for helicopters, consumer products, etc.

The Flow, Engine, and Acoustics Research Laboratories that are part of the Center for Automotive Research are studying flow noise and its suppression in engine induction systems, engine simulation codes, and 3D frequency domain coupling for hybrid silencers for engines and turbo-charger silencers.

The Gear Dynamics and Gear Noise Research Laboratory is supported by a consortium of 47 companies and is studying gear noise excitation models, the relationship between gear noise and dynamic stress factors, and wear interactions in gear systems.

The Dynamics and Vibrations Laboratory is studying planetary and multi-mesh gear vibrations, belt dynamics, and experimental gear vibrations. The Gas Dynamics and Turbulence Laboratory is studying jet noise, flow control, aero-acoustics, and turbulence.

During 2002-2007 research-based education at OSU has graduated researchers with 14 PhD degrees, 35 MS degrees, and 5 BS honors degrees. Currently there are 16 PhD candidates, 10 MS candidates, and 2 BS honors candidates. There are 5 members of faculty, all in Mechanical Engineering. The graduate researchers and staff number approximately 30, and the grants and contracts for the laboratories are about $1.5M per year. For each graduate researcher, an average of $50K per year is needed for support from external sources.

SummaryThe practice track graduate course sequence and short courses have been motivated by the needs of the automotive industry. The research focus has been on noise sources and transmission paths and their relationship to design, processing, and manufacturing. The research has been supported by more than 75 companies and government agencies.

The results of the research have been published in technical journals and publications; over the last five years nearly 100 articles have been published. Fourteen OSU students have won best student paper awards at SAE, ASME, INCE and ASA conferences. The faculty has received the Outstanding Distance Learning Faculty Award from General Motors, the Excellence in the Education of Noise Control Engineers from INCE/USA, and the George Westinghouse Award for “Distinguished contributions to the teaching of engineering” from the American Society for Engineering Education.

Session 1 - DiscussionNoise Control in BuildingsQuestion to the panel: Is the question of education related to the criteria for noise control and community noise, for example, methods, surveys, and that sort of thing? When I was young, there was a WADC report; Ken Stevens was involved in community noise studies, criteria for office noise and that sort of thing. So if you could talk about the building acoustics—noise control in buildings—and the question of criteria for noise control engineering.

Comment: My experience interacting with the civil engineers for work on noise control in buildings hasn’t borne much fruit. Civil engineering departments are a consortium of about seven different sub-departments. Building acoustics just doesn’t fall in their area of interest. I see a lot of potential for the future in the area of community research work and doing a better job of community-based data collection, but the current practitioners in these areas need to become more interested in interdisciplinary approaches. Elsewhere, the connections between engineering and social sciences have increased dramatically, and I believe now that dialog can bring social sciences onto our community noise


teams to help us understand how to do some of the things that we may have done poorly in the past. I believe that we may even be able to feed back some of the research on things that are being done in those disciplines for our purposes.

Comment: My perspective on noise control in buildings is that we do have some parts of our curricula where we look at what may be called architectural acoustics, but it is fairly general, talking about absorption, reverberation, and transmission loss and not some of the nitty-gritty practical things. The challenge we face simply is time to be able to fit it into the courses. That’s a challenge we face at BYU. The environment at BYU is such that if we want to add something, the very first question asked is: That’s fine, what are you taking away? It’s really a net gain of zero game that we’re playing. So we struggle to cover everything. Community noise is the other issue and is somewhat similar. We have built community noise in to some extent, but to cover it more extensively gets us into the same game—what are you going to take away now?

Comment: In the program at Georgia Tech there is very little communication in civil engineering with the architectural program. There’s an ingrained, stove-piping academic structure arguing against us. We do cover aspects of building systems and noise control in our courses. As far as criteria and community noise, we cover those extensively in the undergraduate and graduate courses. There may be opportunities in the Atlanta area that will permit some social interaction where the city of Atlanta may some day do a city-wide noise map. If they do that, it is probably something that will come through our group.

Comment: I don’t think that there is much collaboration between civil engineering and mechanical engineering in the region of noise control. In the engineering acoustics class there is standard room

acoustics theory taught, but there is not a lot taught in the area of architectural acoustics. The mechanical engineering program is more directed towards automotive engineers and they get away from areas like noise control.

Core Curriculum in Noise ControlQuestion to the panel: The next question has to do with professionals in the field. When people hire in industry it’s usually electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, mining engineers, and not necessarily noise control engineers. That situation may not change in industry and the university. But if INCE/USA were to try to get the universities together to define what courses constitute a reasonable curriculum in noise control engineering that could be agreed upon within universities, do you think there would be any probability of success for some sort of agreement on what courses a student should have taken as part of a degree program? If a person has an MS or PhD and has specialized in noise control and an employer were to come to INCE/USA and ask what he should expect this person to know, could there be any agreement within the university community on a series of core courses in noise control that one could list that contain material that would be expected?

Comment: As long as the list of courses doesn’t get too long, I think people would be interested to hear what that list would be. If INCE/USA were to put out a list and say that they believe that these three or four courses probably represent the core of the noise control engineering curriculum, and then we would typically expect options to go along certain lines. I think there would be a willingness to look at such a document. But I do not believe such a curriculum would be taught in a department of its own. I believe the noise control engineering faculty would be teaching this curriculum to our students. We probably wouldn’t want to take this through a university’s approval process.

Comment: I think on basic concepts you might get some agreement, but various institutions have things that they’re emphasizing. Ohio State has automotive noise, for example. Depending on what your specialty is you’re going to focus on some areas much more heavily. So I think you have to stay with fairly basic concepts to get widespread agreement on what should be targeted for noise control engineering education. Taken to an institutional level, it would be very difficult because they’re not going to care what INCE/USA does or doesn’t think about this. They think about this from purely the institutional perspective.

Comment: My point of view is different because I’m a graduate student. I’m graduating next March, and I’m looking for a job in acoustics myself. My feeling is that some courses are of more interest to employers seeking to hire noise control engineers. Some courses at the university are necessary especially the more practical courses where we have projects.

Question to the panel: This has to do with whether we could design some sort of core curriculum of a few courses of noise control. If INCE/USA were to say that we would like to offer a certificate from INCE/USA to students who would take an examination, not like our fundamentals or professional exams, but some sort of an exam that might cover some of the core subjects and also maybe some of the things that different universities would be interested in, do you think that the universities would be receptive to INCE/USA offering some sort of certificate to students after they pass an examination prepared by INCE/USA?

Comment: I don’t think the universities would have a role there. I think it would be either the faculty or research groups who would be supportive of noise control education. That said, what is your market to induce students to take this when you already have it in INCE/USA in the


fundamentals and professional exams? I’m wondering about the value of this.

Comment: I agree completely with Ken; I don’t think the university would care. I think the students will take it if they perceive a benefit to it. I think the benefit is going to have to come from industry. If this idea were to fly, students would take it because they would have a perception that they have a better shot at getting hired if they have this certification through INCE. I’m somewhat neutral on the idea, but if we want to build it in INCE/USA, I think it has to be built at the industry level to have them say that they want somebody with INCE/USA certification in noise control engineering. Then the students I think will be interested in taking it.

ABET RequirementsQuestion to Bob Bernhard: You mentioned in your talk that the ABET requirements have changed and evidently become much more general now than they were some years ago, at least in mechanical engineering. Is there any way that we could influence the accreditation by including something more on noise control than we have now? How can we get a little more visibility for noise control engineering?

Answer: I believe currently the ABET committees are resistant to people talking about a disciplinary curriculum. At this point the accrediting agencies are talking about students being able to solve open-ended problems, being able to communicate, and being able to do design. I think noise control is actually a great disciplinary area to fit the current ABET requirements. So if you look at what they’re asking engineers to do now, in fact noise control is very good. It’s interdisciplinary, it’s team oriented, and it’s pragmatic. I think the strategy could be that we could look at the requirements and start to help the faculty to build a better case that noise control fits ABET requirements.

Industry Demand Question to the panel: I’d like to address the question that Bob Bernhard asked about anecdotal evidence and the hiring and demand for people. We talked a bit about the supply. Tell us about how difficult or easy it is for students in this field to get a job. What’s your perception of the demand?

Comment: All of our students who wanted a job in acoustics or noise control have been able to find one with reasonable ease. As a faculty member, we’re getting more inquiries per year than we can provide students to fill all the positions.

Comment: Georgia Institute of Technology students aren’t having any difficulty finding positions unless they impose unreasonable geographical constraints on where they wish to work. A common problem is when industry is looking for people with a narrow skill set which matches up with the population and the student interest. So the students are more successful in finding positions than industry is in finding students for the positions.

Course you would like to teachQuestion to the panel: If you had your choice of teaching a course related to acoustics and noise control and for some reason it’s not being taught now, is there any course that you would really like to be teaching that you’re not teaching now?

Comment: When I had to give up my favorite course in undergraduate noise control, I took over an internal combustion engines class.

Comment: If it’s not acoustics, my favorite would be to teach one of the introductory physics courses dealing with waves and optics and things like that.

Comment: When I was still active teaching, I had the perfect teaching

assignment. I was teaching a sophomore class in mechanical engineering design which was an introductory project-based course where we taught teaming, creativity, oral communication, and we exposed these students to stress analysis and fluid mechanics and material they didn’t know yet but they had to learn. Then I taught a graduate class for finite element analysis with a dozen highly motivated PhD graduate students. It was great fun to teach in these two environments.

Comment: As a retired professor from Penn State, I’d like to teach basic noise control technology to associate degree students. I’m actively pursuing such a position in one of the branch campuses of Penn State which is called the Pennsylvania College of Technology; they offer two-year (associate) technology degrees. That’s where I’m trying to direct my energy so that these individuals who come out as technologists know something about noise and noise control.

Comment: I’d like to comment on Bob Bernhard’s remark about the synergy created by combining the hard sciences that encompass noise control with certain social sciences. We’ve found at Virginia Tech that a significant number of noise-related research applications can benefit from combining acoustics with behavioral science techniques that involve operational performance effectiveness measures, speech intelligibility measures, metrics of noise-induced annoyance, and so forth. Faculty who have ergonomics and similar backgrounds can team on noise research proposals to strengthen them. My other comment relates to the speakers’ remarks about the lack of civil engineers taking classes in noise control. It’s been my experience at Virginia Tech that civil engineering students don’t typically take our classes. But when they enter practice, particularly in small firms in small cities, it’s often the civil engineers that are asked to do the traffic noise studies or noise impact studies and then interpret the data


for zoning decisions. Without a basic background in noise measurement and impact, their input can be lacking. If that occurs, additional consultants have to be retained. So, certainly civil engineering students could benefit from an overview-level background in noise, if we could get it into their class work. But the reality is that discipline-specific engineering curricula are already packed, and there may not be time for adding the noise content for civil engineers, even though it is probably needed.

Comment: A comment on this historic thing about NSF not doing acoustics and noise control. This is because in the funding agency division, acoustics was always handled by the Office of Naval Research. The end of the Cold War made an impact in that area because the NSF still has this historical division. When NSF was set up, the Office of Naval Research existed and NSF was modeled after ONR; so there was a close association from the beginning. When I was at ONR, I was on a committee that helped establish a joint program with NSF. I’m not sure if everybody is aware of this joint program, but it may be a way to generate some graduate student support for acoustics and noise control. Under the program if you’re an NSF Principal Investigator, you can set up collaboration with a Navy laboratory; the Chief of Naval Research will fully fund a PhD or Master’s student if that student works a summer in the Navy lab on a Navy project. There’s a commitment to go work in the Navy Lab for one year or more. This is because the U.S. Navy sees a big problem in the retiring work force from their Navy labs and they don’t have qualified people coming in. The only caveat is that one usually needs to be a U.S. citizen to be able to work in the Navy labs. It is still an active program.

Comment: To follow-up on the comment about civil engineers, and how we like to get acoustics into their curriculum. At IIT I’m in civil, architectural, and

environmental engineering. When I was at Colorado it was civil, environmental, and architectural engineering. As much as I tried as a young faculty member to develop a course, there was no way to get it into the civil engineering curriculum because of ABET, the accreditation board. With the number of free credits available and what has to be covered there is no room in the curriculum. As things change and maybe some programs go to five years (At IIT we’re looking at certificate programs that engineers may want to take.), there’s a chance to get acoustics added in. But in a four-year civil engineering curriculum, there is almost no chance to add acoustics, even as a part of another course. So as much as we want to add acoustics, it’s going to be a while before that is possible unless we can get the ABET board to recognize acoustics.

Highlights of the discussion1. The scope of noise control engineering

education varies greatly with each university. Much of the focus on the engineering programs in each university has to do with funding from industry to support the particular needs they have. Hiring of faculty is based on who is supporting what program.

2. There are not enough properly trained noise control engineers—those with graduate degrees—to supply the needs of industry. Students are more successful in finding positions than industry is in finding students for the positions.

3. Noise control is a great field to fit the current ABET requirements. It’s interdisciplinary, it’s team oriented, and it’s pragmatic.

4. Civil engineering students could benefit from an overview course in noise. But the reality is that discipline-specific engineering curricula are already packed, and there may not be time for adding a noise course for civil engineers.

Session 2 – University ProgramsPanelistsPatricia DaviesPurdue University

Anthony AtchleyPennsylvania State University

David HolgerIowa State University

PresentationsHow can we fulfill the demand of industry and academia for engineers with expertise in acoustics, vibration and noise control?Patricia Davies, Purdue University

The ideal acoustics and vibrations graduate would have a good grounding in the fundamentals in those areas. A graduate-level degree with emphasis in noise and vibration should include experimental and signal analysis skills, simulation and computational skills, and analytical and modeling skills. These graduates should have the ability to embrace new problems and to apply their fundamental understanding of acoustics and vibrations to real-world problems. To achieve this they must have had meaningful project experiences with actively participating sponsors. Such participation would include face-to-face discussions, other means of communication, technology transfer, and an understanding of industry needs.

The output of graduates from a university program is given by a simple equation. The output equals the number of faculty members multiplied by the number of graduate students per faculty member. This number varies between five and eight. Hence, to produce graduates in acoustics and vibrations funding is required for 5 to 8 graduate students per faculty member. The funded projects must have a publishable research component. Experience


demonstrates if funding is available for research, universities will hire faculty in that area. The number of courses offered in an acoustics and vibrations curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate level depends on the number of faculty in that technical area and the number of students interested in acoustics, noise, and vibration. At this time Purdue has over 50 faculty members involved in acoustics-related fields.

The following degrees are offered by Purdue with specializations in acoustics and vibrations. A bachelors of Engineering degree in acoustical engineering, which is a program under the Interdisciplinary Engineering program, includes courses in engineering, fine arts (music), speech language and hearing sciences, and physics. Technical electives are taken at the undergraduate level (400 level) and at the introductory graduate level (500 level).

Plans of study for graduate degrees with concentration in acoustics and vibrations tend to include mostly engineering classes in noise and vibration related subjects, as well as the two mathematics class requirement, but do occasionally also include classes offered in speech language and hearing sciences, physics, psychology, health sciences, and biological sciences. For a thesis-based Master of Science degree, seven courses and a research project with a thesis are required. For a PhD in acoustics and vibrations, the number of courses beyond the masters varies but typically is around seven courses, and, of course, a research project with a thesis are required.

What are the sources of financial support for students and for the research projects they carry out under Purdue faculty supervision? The graduate research projects are funded by industry, government (DOD and other agencies), fellowships or teaching assistantships. Support is provided through individual research projects, by two or more research

projects and by consortia. However, there are more interested students than there is funding to support them.

For those noise control practitioners without formal training in noise control engineering or with a need for additional training, Purdue offers professional development opportunities including short courses and distance learning. Engineering professional education for off-campus students is done by streaming video. Individual faculty members teach short courses on noise control at various levels on acoustical materials, nonlinear vibrations, sound quality, and prognostics and diagnostics.

In conclusion, a few observations are appropriate. If industry wants to hire graduates with acoustics and vibrations experience, they will need to sponsor research projects in those areas. Students need to eat so they will choose projects that are funded. If industry is sponsoring a project, its participation in the project by, for example, doing a component of the research and interacting strongly in regular technical discussions on the research as it progresses is a key element to its success. By tackling a problem as a team, splitting the components into industry components and university components facilitates deeper and more meaningful technology transfer.

To be an effective noise control technologist, there is no substitute for an in-depth knowledge of fundamentals. One needs to learn how to swim to survive in turbulent waters! Intuition is borne out of a deep understanding of what is right and what is wrong gained from immersion in a topic. A lack of or no education in acoustics and vibrations will not provide this intuition. Those graduates with a good grounding in the field will be able to learn new techniques and new areas quickly and will be able to understand what they are doing and the reason for doing so.

Is noise control engineering education a sustainable resource?Anthony Atchley, Pennsylvania State University

Framing the IssueIn the same way that raw materials go to the manufacturer who then processes them into products marketed for consumer use, prospective students attend a university where they are trained as noise control en-gineers to be hired into industry after grad-uation. The consumer/employer needs the “product” and expects a large supply; but is reluctant to support the production pro-cess. Is this a sustainable product? Using the source-path-receiver model so familiar in acoustics, the student is the source, the university the path, and the employer the receiver. The students are those interested in acoustics technology. The universities providing the link between source and receiver are challenged to sustain this link. The receiver is the demand of potential em-ployers in industry, government labs, and agencies. The demand for graduates within academe is comparatively weak.

The challenge to education in noise control engineering from the graduate education perspective is that it must be competitive to students, faculty, and institutions. Students want a curriculum that is intellectually stimulating and financially viable with competitive graduate assistantship/fel-lowship support and yielding good jobs at competitive salaries. Faculty also demands a curriculum that is intellectually stimulat-ing and financially viable. Financial vi-ability is provided by research support that is both sufficient and sustainable. Career development for faculty requires respect among peers both internal and external as well as research productivity with publica-tions authored with PhD students. From the institutional standpoint, whether a department, an interdepartmental program, a college, or a university, the curriculum must support the institutional mission and preserve or strengthen its reputation.


There are several aspects to be considered in sustaining the competitive resource. The role of graduate education is to educate students, advance the forefronts of knowledge, and support the mission of the institution. It is a major challenge to maintain programs in mature fields at research universities. To maintain a curriculum in noise control engineering requires a coordinated approach.

Graduate Program in Acoustics at Penn StateThe Graduate Program in Acoustics (GPA) is one of Penn State’s inter-college graduate degree programs administratively based in the College of Engineering and closely associated with the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). The program was established in 1965 as the result of a request by the US Navy for an academic program in acoustics and its applications. In 1983 a summer program was established to provide educational opportunities for those who cannot attend graduate school as full-time students at University Park. In 1987, a distance education program was established in partnership with ARL to further extend educational opportunities for those who cannot attend graduate school as full-time students at University Park.

Although Penn State does not have a noise control engineering curriculum as such, it does offer research opportunities in the field. Forty-three members of the graduate faculty contribute to instruction and research in acoustics. Four are in the Graduate Program in Acoustics and twenty-two in the Applied Research Laboratory. The remaining faculty members are in the following departments: aerospace engineering (5), bioengineering (1), communication disorders (1), geosciences (2), engineering science and mechanics (2), mechanical engineering (4), meteorology (1), and physics (1).

Educational opportunities in acoustics are offered with residence education, distance education, and short courses. At the main

campus (University Park) the following three degree opportunities are offered in the residence program: Master of Engineering in Acoustics, Master of Science in Acoustics, and Ph.D. in Acoustics.

The distance education program offers a Master of Engineering in Acoustics as well as individual courses that can be taken without degree credit and related engineering courses offered as electives. Short courses are offered at University Park and at other locations as requested by industrial firms and government agencies.

There were 95 students enrolled in the academic year 2006-2007. The distribution of candidates was as follows: Master of Science in Acoustics – 14, Master of Engineering (residence education) – 6, Master of Engineering (distance education) – 34, and PhD in Acoustics – 41.

To obtain a graduate degree in acoustics from Penn State, students are required to complete six courses in vibrations and acoustics of solids, acoustics of fluids, digital signal processing, transducers, advanced acoustics, and data measurement and analysis. In addition they must participate in a colloquium. Once graduated, these students have easily found employment with major corporations, government research laboratories and agencies, and universities.

Technology of the day dictates the methodology for course delivery in the distance education program. At present several delivery methods are used. Blended classes are offered where resident and distance education students get the same lectures and complete the same coursework. Students may view lectures live or archived (on demand) via high-speed internet. Students may use live chat rooms, telephones, computer microphones, and webcams to ask questions during lectures. Live office hours and recitation sections are held using internet webcams and microphones.

Noise control engineering education for specialists and generalistsDavid Holger, Iowa State University

Iowa State has never had as large a program in the area of acoustics and noise control as has Penn State and Purdue, but it’s a more typical environment for engineering colleges, and many of the large public universities where, instead of having fifty faculty involved in acoustics and noise control, we have about fifteen, and not many of them are focused on noise control engineering. At Iowa State we have about three faculty members now who are truly focused on noise control engineering. There are probably about a dozen others who teach things related to ultrasonics or other elements of acoustics.

It’s important that we exploit leverage in schools like Iowa State. For example, mechanical engineering is now the pri-mary home for noise control engineering acoustics at Iowa State, and it’s not a very big player. This fall there were 1003 un-dergraduate students in the mechanical en-gineering department, and 30 or 40 of them may be interested in noise control or acous-tics. Thus when the department chair and the dean are considering replacing faculty, they’ll not think to hire someone for this area. Recently there was a good candidate available who was of interest to the me-chanical engineering department because of his background in control systems. He also happened to do research in active noise con-trol. So the leverage is there for those inter-ested in noise control engineering. When such opportunities come along, we try to get candidates in the pipeline that could contrib-ute to the noise control engineering part of the program. When I came to Iowa State I was part of that leverage because my back-ground was in aerodynamic sound genera-tion and mechanics. They were looking for someone primarily in engineering mechan-ics and partly because they were interested in noise control engineering. So the idea of leverage is important.


The environment at Iowa State is typical of other public universities that don’t have a large program in acoustics and noise control engineering. Iowa State is a research university with 26,000 students and 5,000 graduate students of which 4,600 are engineering undergrads and another 1,000 are graduate students in engineering. Not only is it an issue to interest those engineering students in noise control engineering, but it’s an issue to interest young people in any type of engineering, science, technology, and math in general. Sometimes we have an advantage in noise control engineering because people come in with some sense that they enjoy I-pods, the musical aspects of acoustics, or things that don’t directly relate to noise control engineering but generate some interest on their part. Interest them in the course, and then it’s possible to interest them in noise control engineering.

The research agenda tends to drive the priorities of a research university. If there isn’t good funding, there won’t be enough people to offer critical mass courses in areas like noise control engineering. Thus most large technology engineering programs are now trying to build clusters of excellence. The thrust is that we want to have a large group that is doing things at the cutting edge. Usually that large group doesn’t end up being noise control as we all, unfortunately, know. So again there are some opportunities occasionally for leverage, and the leverage isn’t so much that you can make noise control engineering part of that major thrust; but we can sometimes hire faculty who are related to that thrust and thus get some funding for students who are part of that thrust and complement the primary cluster priority.

At Iowa State in the early 1970s, noise control engineering was a specific course at the undergrad level primarily aimed at mechanical engineers and people in engineering science and mechanics, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, and other areas of

engineering. It was housed at that time in engineering science and mechanics which meant that there was leverage with courses like vibrations and mechanical signal processing. Many of the students who took courses would take an introductory noise control acoustics course as mechanical engineers who did not intend to be specialists. That’s where the generalist versus specialist came in. Many engineers can benefit from having a solid disciplinary background in noise control engineering, noise control acoustics, vibrations, and signal processing. It fits with a general engineering background, and for someone seeking a Bachelor’s degree, that’s the best path for them to take. The best of them may decide that this is a good thing to study further at the graduate level. But at the undergraduate level there probably won’t be very many universities that can sustain an undergraduate program that’s primarily noise control engineering or acoustics or a combination.

In the 1980s there was a sub-specialty at Iowa State in engineering science that was not quite a major in acoustics and noise control but it was pretty strong in that area. This program involved some opportunities for undergrad experience in research in noise control engineering. That was a good way to stimulate interest. It gets more leverage.

The greatest demand for specialists now is at the Master’s level and is from industry and government agencies, but this doesn’t optimize publications and research productivity. It means building on industrial collaborative activity. The ideal experience at a Master’s level is to have a program that includes experimental analysis and numerical methods. Both the undergraduate and graduate noise control engineering courses at Iowa State have always had integral labs so the student gains experience in measurement techniques, signal processing, and experiencing what can go wrong that really shouldn’t go wrong. Part of our

research is influenced by the needs of those industries that fund us such as projects in HVAC systems, consumer product noise, agricultural equipment noise, and transportation noise.

Of the 20 to 30 students a year taking noise control engineering, most will also be taking vibration and signal processing courses. In the mid-1980s there were about twice that many. We’re not training huge numbers of students in these disciplines. Right now that means the supply of graduates with that background isn’t enough to meet the demand, certainly not industry demands. That’s true across the board for engineering graduates. This fall Iowa State had a large engineering career fair. Over 300 employers came to attract students, even those at the freshman level, because they want to recruit them early.

Regarding the distance educational elements of professional development, we’ve had a set-up for quite a while that allows the instruction of on-campus courses in a studio classroom to be transmitted to or recorded for off-campus audiences. We were first to do this with courses that had integral lab components. We thought it might be a problem, but people in industry had better lab facilities than we had on campus, so they just did the lab work wherever they were working. That demand is certainly stable and maybe even growing because of people who have seen the need for continual professional development. One of our strongest interest areas is a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering for people working in industry, and it’s natural for them to be interested in noise control engineering and acoustics.

Discussion – Session 2Supporting industrial and societal needsQuestion for Anthony Atchley: How does Penn State support industrial and societal needs?


Answer: Penn State is a land grant institution whose mission is to help the development of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And certainly industry is a big part of that. One aspect of this support is graduate education.

Comment: At Purdue—discovery, learning, and engagement. Engagement is the transfer of research knowledge to industry. Purdue is also a state university with a strong interest in research, and part of its mission is to help the state, the country, and the world. Students want to be involved in exciting research projects. They would love to see their research making a difference in the world. Many students in acoustics are concerned about the impacts of noise on communities. Others are interested in musical acoustics including the design of auditoria. They are very engaged in making life better for people. They want an exciting research project; they want to do well, and they want to publish. They also want to make a difference in people’s lives with what they do.

Comment: Let me discuss societal needs. All three of our universities are land-grant universities that at one point received funding from our respective states to benefit society directly. That funding has eroded to the point where we’re only moderately state-assisted universities. Less than a third of our revenue comes from state funds. Universities are forced to re-evaluate their priorities, and funding is no longer provided to address societal needs. At the same time today’s students are perhaps more interested than they’ve ever been in societal needs. There’s some evidence that one way we could recruit more engineering students into the pipeline is by showing them how engineers help people and solve society’s problems. The tough part isn’t if our programs address the needs of industry, it’s how to find ways to address the needs of society for which funding isn’t provided anymore. The expectation is that those with expertise will help solve those problems.

Comment: In principle it would be great to support society if students want to, but someone’s got to pay for it.

Comment: At Herrick Labs we’re doing research to specifically benefit industry, and that is part of our mission although we still have a lot funding from government bodies. The problems we’re solving directly benefit industry. Our best industrially-sponsored projects are the most valuable form of education for our students because they take available problems and they learn how to reapply what they know to solve them. As I said in my talk, when it’s a real dialog with the people in industry students see an implementation of that research on a real product and all the challenges that are faced. The student meets academic needs to be published and makes the products better. Comment: Apart from industry there are none who are going to fund the students’ experience. There has to be feedback. Industry projects are a great education, pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge because grappling with difficult problems is something that’s really useful. But our department head does not say that industry has these needs, so here is a few million dollars to support some research projects because clearly noise is an important societal issue and an issue of industrial competitiveness. There’s nobody setting aside money like that—the state isn’t—so we have to understand if we want to undertake research for the benefit to industry, industry has to feed money into this research. Nobody else is going to fund it. And do I think it’s valuable? I think it’s enormously valuable.

Supply of noise control engineersQuestion for the panel: Bob Bernhard gave anecdotal evidence that the demand for people in this field exceeds the supply. That was a question for the Session 1 panelists, and they all agreed with the statement. So do you think that the

demand for people in this field exceeds the supply?

Answer: Yes, based on the number of inquiries we get from employers looking for people with expertise in this area. There certainly is a demand for students studying noise control problems.

Comment: Absolutely. I think we could place two or three times the number of students based on inquiries we receive.

Comment: I think it’s true at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level, but maybe not as clear at the Doctorate level.

An INCE/USA curriculum?Question for the panel: If INCE/USA were to have a program to define, for the benefit of employers, what a noise control engineer should know and ask the universities if they would agree on that subject, what would the response be? Earlier the response was that one could define a core of noise control engineering topics that everyone should know, but there may be peripheral areas that not everybody needs to know. Would you agree with that statement?

Comment: I’d agree with it. But I feel that some topic definition has already occurred in an ad hoc way. If you look at the noise control engineering acoustics course at the senior or introductory graduate level, the topics covered are going to be similar among institutions.

Comment: I teach a graduate class in signal processing and numerical methods. At the university they benchmark every now and then to find out what other instructors are teaching and are there courses we could change. I just did it in the signal processing area. In introductory graduate-level signal processing classes we were teaching mostly the same things. In basic noise control and acoustics, there would be a commonality with differences on the edge depending on the


research interests of the faculty who teach those classes. That’s where you’d find diversification. The core stuff would be very similar.

Comment: What is the definition of a noise control engineer? I think it’s extremely involved. We don’t have a noise control engineering curriculum, per se, at Penn State. We have a broad curriculum that includes noise control engineering topics.

Question for the panel: If students thought that it would be beneficial to them to have some sort of certification from INCE/USA that they had knowledge of the key core of noise control engineering, what would be the response from the academic world?

Answer: You have Board certification for practicing engineers, and I think that’s a very good thing to have. I can’t answer whether this would be a good thing or not because it’s almost as if our programs were being rated. I’m not sure we should get into that.

Course you would like to teach Question to the panel: This is a question of teaching. If you were not constrained by money or approval from the boss and you had something related to acoustics that you would really like to teach, what would it be?

David: Early in my career I felt I had that opportunity. I was asked to develop a noise control engineering course for seniors in engineering. I felt if I was going to do that a lab would need to be an integral part of it. I developed such a course, taught it, and really enjoyed it. Later I wanted to do the same thing with a course we call signal processing and mechanics that is mostly acoustics and noise control. I’d like to do it again.

Patricia: For sound quality work, I’ve collaborated with people in speech,

language, and hearing sciences and also in psychological sciences. We often talk about doing joint projects in that area. There is some psycho-acoustics in our undergraduate noise control class, but it is very rushed. Doing an engineering version of psycho-acoustics—sound quality, sound perception—and also incorporating things like health factors of noise would be a great class to have in engineering.

Anthony: One of the things we didn’t say we had lots of is time. I see a great opportunity to teach more courses that are accessible to a wider range of undergraduates. Acoustics and music is a great draw. Almost every student who comes to the university has some experience in that area. We need to do a better job in this country, not necessarily bringing people into noise control engineering, but in technology in general. There is a need at the lower undergraduate level to try to show students the exciting things about acoustics and wave technologies.

Funding and the future of NCE educationComment: This particular part of the session seems to be sort of doom and gloom from the university point of view in terms of sustaining graduate programs in acoustics. It shows the need to fund research programs. How do we go forward with this? If we don’t get more money for research programs, what do you see as the future of noise control engineering education?

Comment: I’m going to be more pessimistic. If funding doesn’t come through, you’re looking at the death of the program within a generation.

Comment: Eighty percent of the graduate programs at Iowa State are in a similar situation as far as their sub-disciplines are concerned. Mature disciplines are at a disadvantage now because of the clustering of funding in really hot, cutting-edge areas.

I’m not as pessimistic as Ken because I think we are not going to do away with all of the graduate programs that aren’t in hot areas because that’s part of the overall graduate program. The graduate programs I see, especially the ones that are mature and somewhat interdisciplinary so they aren’t part of the core of a traditional department, are doing creative things to leverage their efforts and to attract faculty who can bridge more than one sub-discipline.

Comment: At the major research institutions when we hire into cutting-edge areas, faculty comes in that doesn’t have the ability to teach core engineering courses. The design of gears, cams, and linkages used to be a part of a mechanical engineering curriculum. How many schools still teach those subjects? How many faculty in our institutions could even try to teach those courses? At Georgia Tech we don’t because we can’t. We don’t have the faculty. We’re not challenged in our thermal sciences area because our hiring has been in leading-edge areas where these folks can’t teach thermal sciences. What will happen in noise control and acoustics? We will be forced by our reward structure, by our administrations, to pursue research areas outside the discipline of noise control; and sooner or later we will have professors who can’t teach it because they don’t have the background.

Highlights of the discussion1. More engineering students could be

recruited by showing them how noise control engineers help people and solve society’s problems.

2. Industrially-sponsored projects are a valuable form of education for our students because they are given available problems and learn how to apply what they know to solve them.

3. Funding for education in noise control engineering is becoming more and more difficult.

4. The demand for trained noise control


engineers exceeds the supply.5. An INCE/USA-defined curriculum

is not necessary as the differences in curricula at the universities are not significant.

6. Mature and interdisciplinary graduate programs not part of a traditional department are leveraging their efforts to attract faculty that can bridge more than one sub-discipline.

Session 3 – Industry/Consultants NeedsPanelistsMichael LucasIngersoll-Rand

Dan KatoCummins Engine

Paul DonovanConsultant

Eric WoodAcentech

Evan DavisBoeing Aircraft

Courtney BurroughsConsultant

PresentationsEngineering skills required to design low-noise productsMichael Lucas, Ingersoll-Rand Company

The Ingersoll-Rand Company (IR), founded in 1906, is a large organization with 43,000 employees and 38 domestic plants plus 55 plants overseas even before its recent acquisition of the Trane Company. Its current product line includes stationary air compressors, pneumatic tools, golf carts, and truck refrigeration units. Before the recent sale of three equipment lines, Ingersoll-Rand had five noise controls specialists, four of whom had received university training.

In developing the noise level specifications for a new product, IR typically follows

these steps. The marketing department conducts a voice of the customer survey and then develops the specifications for a new product. The engineering department designs a new product to meet these specifications. The marketing department makes a determination if the product noise level is acceptable for sale. It is the responsibility of the noise control engineer to meet the product noise specification.

Noise control specialists at IR are responsible for educating engineers on the principles of noise control. They support new product development teams by developing noise control features such as enclosures, mufflers, silencers, and baffles. They support the sales team and marketing department. And they are responsible for conducting non-routine noise and vibration measurements and developing and maintaining measurement systems for routine noise and vibration measurements.

Engineers are encouraged to receive annual training and most attend one-week seminars in an engineering specialty. Some engineers receive advanced degrees through distant learning, while others go back to school part-time. Engineers are also encouraged to attend technical conferences and to participate in the activities of technical societies. Other engineers choose to publish technical papers on their work at IR.

Historically IR has used technical consultants in many fields of engineering. Consultants are targeted to bring into our design environment the very best in engineering. IR has used in the past NVH specialists representing private consultants and universities. Proprietary information and product secrecy are always factors we consider when working with outside specialists.

There are specific skills needed by noise control specialists to design low-noise products at IR and other companies in the industry. They must know how to

use commercial engineering computer programs such as FEA, BEM, CFD, Modal Analysis, and Rotor Dynamics. They must also know how to program using C++, C#, Visual Basic, MatLab, or LabView, as well as how to use CAD software. When designing a new product, they must know how to use the instrumentation and be able to predict noise and vibration levels. Such skills as the design of an isolation system, muffler, silencer, and enclosure are essential as is the ability to size a cooling fan.

The noise specialists at IR have access to transducers such as microphones, intensity probes, accelerometers, dynamic pressure transducers, proximity probes, and strain gauges. They are also trained to use an oscilloscope, a sound level meter, the PULSE data acquisition system, and Bently Nevada—Adrea.

The textbooks used for additional training include “Acoustics of Ducts and Mufflers” by M. L. Munjal, “Noise and Vibration Control Engineering” by L. Beranek and I. Ver, and “Acoustics” by L. Beranek. Computer software available to the noise specialists are PROE, ANSYS, SYSNOISE, CF Design, CFX, and Fluent.

In summary it is the responsibility of the noise control specialist to support all issues as they relate to noise in a design and product support function. Noise control of our compressor products is an important topic at IR and as a result we take noise control very seriously at IR.

Industry needs for noise control engineersDaniel Kato, Cummins Engine

In the power generation industry, product sociability is a key company value. Pleasant-sounding, low-noise generators reflect positive product attributes to a public that is becoming increasingly environmentally aware. Driving this awareness has been the increase in population density as well as the increase


in generator set power density so that more people are affected than ever before. The public has been sensitized to environmental concerns by the media and they know that in many cases they have legal recourse if their neighborhood is not quiet. As the economy becomes more global, countries around the world are adopting noise regulations that never had them before. Consumer products are expected to be of high quality, and a pleasant sound is an expected indicator. Furthermore, some consumers expect to use their generators in extremely low-noise backgrounds, often encountered in wilderness areas, without having an impact on the background.

The demand for companies to provide low-noise products has been established and one would expect that companies need qualified experts to serve that demand. Industries can be somewhat lagging in obtaining the resources they need to fill this demand and often jump into new market opportunities before the supporting resources are in place. There is evidence in the marketplace that some vendors supplying acoustical products understand the principles and applications very well. However, others have minimal knowledge of sound and vibration and are offering only a “here-it-is-can-you-use-it” approach to their products. Recent high demand for acoustical enclosures has, for example, pushed some metal box fabricators into a market where they otherwise would not be. Finally, hiring managers are also resource constrained by their superiors and must first show that hiring highly trained specialists provides a return on investment higher than an individual with a more general background who can produce additional products. It is difficult to quantify the savings that a specialist will provide in increased market share or consumer satisfaction.

Nevertheless, specialists in noise and vibration are needed for companies that want to maintain a comparative advantage in their products otherwise they will not

survive in those markets during difficult times. What is required are individuals with advanced degrees, strong backgrounds in acoustics and engineering mechanics, and the ability to acquire and process data using many channels. Knowledge of how products relate to the human interface is particularly important, employing basic principles of psychophysics. In addition to technical skills, there is the requirement to work with, influence, and sometimes lead design teams in order to teach and sell new concepts otherwise products will continue to be made the same old way. Fundamental to this effort is superior communication skills, both verbal and written.

Education and the sustainability of noise control engineeringPaul Donovan, Consultant (formerly General Motors)

In the past, noise control engineering was not recognized as a discipline. Now, however, noise control engineering has become a mature discipline with need for noise control practitioners at all levels. Research opportunities in the field, however, remain limited at the present time.

Important issues to be considered are the maturing work force and the unsatisfied demand for engineers with training somewhat above the “entry” level with Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees plus some noise control experience in academe or industry. This demand is not large at present.

Noise control engineers are found in two different workplaces—in large corporations with noise and vibration groups and in consulting companies. In large corporations internal training opportunities may be available and management may recruit employees with little or no noise and vibration background. But additional training requires a longer-term commitment for both the employee and

the company. In consulting companies, internal training is often prohibitively expensive, and consultancies are almost always looking for experienced or trained candidates.

A noise control engineer should have one or more courses on noise control engineering or acoustics, good communications skills, a career interest in the field, and other assets such as laboratory or field experience and computer application skills. There should also be a willingness to relocate if necessary.

The ideal candidate for employment is an engineer with one or two senior-level or beginning graduate-level courses in noise control. These are usually elective courses and the students may be from different engineering and physical science departments spread throughout the university at its main campus and distant locations. Alternatively, the candidate should have been taught by a faculty member with an interest in noise control engineering, but may not necessarily have been involved in an academic research program.

Summer internships in consulting and industry provide good opportunities for evaluating a candidate to fill a noise control engineering assignment. Senior projects also provide good opportunities for recruiting. In-house seminars on noise control engineering by practicing engineers are another important avenue for training.

There are several possible roles that INCE/USA could play in the education field. Existing university programs could be catalogued with listings of noise control engineering courses offered and faculty members teaching them. A “support group” or “homeroom” could be established within INCE/USA that would provide a linkage between academe and industry. INCE/USA members could volunteer to “adopt a school” and serve


as advisors in noise control engineering education to the university they adopted. All of these roles would require considerable volunteer effort and an organizational structure to maintain them.

Education for noise and vibration control engineering and architectural acousticsEric W. Wood, Acentech

The parent company of Acentech, Bolt Beranek and Newman, was founded in 1948 as an architectural acoustics consulting practice. Today the Acentech staff consults in and teaches architectural acoustics, building noise and vibration control, industrial and environmental acoustics, product sound quality, and audiovisual/sound system design. They provide these services to architects, engineers, developers, building owners, facility managers, and agencies.

Acentech also helps guide the University of Nebraska Architectural Engineering Program to graduate engineering students that understand acoustics issues in building systems and architectural construction.

Most buildings have acoustical qualities. The architect, engineer, contractor, vendor, and owner all share the responsibility for the acoustics of a building. Therefore, it is important to teach acoustics to the building engineers and architects so that they are aware of the importance of acoustics, can recognize potential problems at an early stage of the design, and know when an expert is needed.

Engineers need a high degree of proficiency in the technical aspects of acoustics and noise control, whereas the architects should have at least a familiarity with the basic concepts. If architects and engineers are taught to avoid the following ten “most-common problems,” buildings with good acoustics will follow: • Not understanding the difference

between sound absorption and sound

transmission loss, and the need to consider both.

• Inadequate sound isolation between spaces due to leaks and light-weight construction.

• Low-directivity speakers in large spaces with too much sound radiated in unneeded directions exciting the reverberant sound field.

• Excessive background sound in spaces with live sound-reinforcement systems that leads to masking and/or system feedback

• “Noisy” open-plan offices which can be corrected with high-quality ceilings and partitions, proper layout, and sound masking

• Fan systems with excess capacity. Flow/pressure should be matched with requirements, fan speeds reduced, and dampers avoided as they do not reduce excessive noise.

• Fan noise travels upstream and downstream, therefore, attenuation is needed in the supply and return.

• Better space planning is needed in order to separate noise sources from sensitive receivers

• Not understanding the difference between airborne and structure-borne noise and that the means for attenuating each are not the same.

• Restaurants and cafeterias need great chefs and delightful food; they also need sound absorption.

In conclusion, if architects and engineers are taught to understand potential noise and vibration problems, the reward will be buildings designed with good acoustics.

Noise control education to support aerospace noise control needsEvan B. Davis, Boeing Aircraft

Boeing Aircraft employs approximately 150 engineers, of which 100 are BCA, for work in noise control engineering. Currently this number meets the company’s needs. Of these employees, very few

have formal education in noise control engineering; and those that do are more recent hires. The other noise control specialists have backgrounds in mechanical and aerospace engineering and physics.

For the specialists without formal training in noise control engineering, Boeing provides supplemental education in the form of SAE and vendor short courses, in-house classes taught by both internal and external experts, and user teams for ckey-software-based processes. The noise control specialists at Boeing are not adequately prepared by short courses or distance learning exclusively but are expected to read and teach themselves with guidance from our technical fellowship as well as peer-to-peer training.

Control of the noise is required inside and outside the aircraft, while the aircraft is in the air and on the ramp. The noises of concern are combinations of steady-state sounds, long transients, short transients, bangs, buzzes, and rattles. Elements of the noise control design for an aircraft are the following: • Blankets (fiberglass, bagging materials,

mass septum, foams, over blankets) • Acoustic absorption (seats and surfaces,

floor coverings, acoustic panels)• Structural damping (constrained layer,

flow resistance, particle)• Isolation mounts (ECS/equipment/tie

rods, flight control actuators, engines/APU, tuned vibration absorbers)

• Fluids in pipes (clean and dirty water, hydraulics)

• Active noise/vibration control (engines/EVRN, ANC zonal/headsets, smart phones, fluid wallpaper)

The following systems and units require noise control:• Trim system (trim panels, floors, stow-

bins, monuments)• ECS system (reactive/resistive mufflers,

flow rates/pipe sizes, diffusers/flow restrictors, fans and powered equipment, air-return grille, ramp noise)


• APU (ramp noise)• Doors, hatches, and latches

Engines require inlet linings (to control buzz-saw noise), nozzle/chevrons (for the shock-cells), and balance/vibration for the EVRN.

Boeing employs four different types of noise control engineers—interior noise engineers, test engineers, acoustic fatigue engineers, and community noise engineers.

The interior noise engineers are responsible for prediction and noise control for the interior of the aircraft. This entails assessment of the noise exposure/sound quality, consideration of the aircraft as a flying building from the architectural and engineering acoustics viewpoints, characterization of the exterior surface pressure field, and structural acoustic elements (cylinders and pressurization equipment).

Test engineers are responsible for data gathering, processing, and interpretation using in-flow microphones and accelerometers for gathering data as well as sound intensity probes and near-field acoustic holography techniques. Signal processing algorithms are used in the data processing.

Acoustic fatigue engineers are responsible for prediction of the integrity of the structural design involving characterization of the exterior surface pressure field, the structural response, and the sound transmission. Community noise engineers predict and determine the noise control requirements by assessing the impact of take-off and landing noise (EPNL), engine noise (turbo machinery and jet noise), and airframe noise (landing gear and wing-flow noise).

The source modeling process is common for measurements dealing with community noise, acoustic fatigue, and interior noise. Raw data sets that are the outputs of the

measurement systems used to evaluate the three different noise sources are normalized and compared to prediction curves. The comparisons provide the engineers responsible for the three different noise sources with quantitative data for determining whether design criteria are satisfied or whether additional engineering actions are necessary. The increase in the uncertainty over the measurement uncertainty is due to limitations of the scaling rules used to normalize the basic data. Scaling rules are required to apply the data to new situations.

The work of Boeing noise control engineers involves many aspects of architectural acoustics. State-of-the-art knowledge of sound fields in large rooms is used to distinguish between reverberant and diffuse fields, to identify direct fields and the directivity of correlated and uncorrelated sources. The physics related to sound absorption and reverberation time provides important tools. Exposure metrics are used for noise design purposes. For interior noise the common exposure metrics are dB(A), SIL, AI, Leq, and Lex. For community noise the metrics are PNL, PNLT, and EPNL. For sound quality the metrics are sones, phons, loudness, and sharpness.

The transmission losses of aircraft partitions are predicted using models involving single walls (flat and curved panels and ribbed panels), double walls, fibrous insulation, and wall-to-wall vibration isolation. The basic transducers used are microphones in moving media and loudspeakers of special design. For the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems plane waves in ducts with reactive mufflers are used as models. For high-frequency models resistive and labyrinth mufflers are used.

What does Boeing consider that a new hire who is “ready to train” should know? He or she should have a technical background, communication skills, and computer

skills. In the technical background of the new hire should be a knowledge of basic architectural and engineering acoustics (transmission loss, HVAC, and vibration isolation), structural acoustics (wave number and modal viewpoints), fluid dynamics (Navier-Stokes equations and the Lighthill analogy), mechanical design (stress-strain, fatigue, ‘standard parts’), and basic signal processing (DFT, FFT, filters, sampling).

The new hire should be able to write a good “to-the-point” technical paper, should be able to work with a team, and have presentation experience with both oral and written reporting skills. The new hire should have facility with Microsoft Office tools (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), and with MatLab, Labview, Tech plot. Familiarity with the computer languages C++ and Fortran is expected.

Boeing suggests the following texts for education in the fields of noise control engineering:Aeroacoustics• AeroacousticsofFlightVehiclesTheory

and Practice, Vol. 1 and 2, by Hubbard.

Engineering/Architectural Acoustics• ArchitecturalAcoustics(Applicationsof

Modern Acoustics) by Long • FundamentalsofNoiseandVibration

Analysis for Engineers by Norton and Karcuzb

• Engineering Noise Control: Theory and

Practice by Bies

Psycho-Acoustics• An Introduction to the Psychology of

Hearing, fourth edition, by Moore• Psycho-Acoustics Facts and Models,

third edition, by Fastl and Zwicker

Physical Acoustics• Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics by

Blackstock• The Foundations of Acoustics by

Skudrzyk


Structural Acoustics• SoundandStructuralVibration by Fahy

and Gardonio • Structure-Borne Sound by Cremer,

Heckl, and Petersson

Handbooks• Noise Control Engineering by Ver and

Beranek• Springer Handbook of Acoustics by

Rossing

Noise control engineering courses for the working stiffCourtney B. Burroughs, Consultant (formerly Penn State)

Most of the noise control engineering education currently available is offered either in-residence at universities or through short courses. Many who have started a career in noise control engineering without a formal education in noise control engineering cannot stop work for an extended period of time to attend a university full time, and short courses usually lack the depth many seek and need. To fill this gap, Penn State offered a series of three, 3-graduate-credit courses in noise control engineering through their World Campus. Course material was sent to students on a Compact Disk and interaction with the instructor was via email. All of the students taking these courses were employed full time in noise control engineering. As such, they wanted to improve their work-related skills. Also, there was little doubt that they wanted a career in noise control engineering. There was no need for these courses to attract them into the field of noise control engineering.

Students completing these courses liked the course material, grading system, access to the instructor and flexible schedule which minimized disruption of their work. They did not like the “collaborative learning activities” (basically group projects), embedded animations and accessibility to other students.

With the retirement of the instructor from Penn State, these courses are no longer offered. However, the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) has expressed interest in offering these courses through INCE, as has the retired Penn State instructor. Changes in response to student feedback, as well as corrections to the course material, are planned before offering these courses through INCE.

Penn State World Campus noise control engineering coursesIntroductionFrom 1997 to 2004, The Pennsylvania State University offered three courses in noise control engineering through their World Campus. Each of these courses was offered for three graduate-level credits, for a total of nine credits. The courses began with fundamentals and progressed from there to more advanced topics. The overall objective of these courses was to provide a comprehensive series of courses on noise control engineering for those embedded in noise control engineering careers who could not take the time from work to take courses at this level in residence at a university. The students received a CD which contained the text of the course material, and a notebook with instructions on the computer software and assignments used in the courses. The students communicated with the instructor and with each other via email. There were four key ingredients in the development and delivery of these courses; 1) content, 2) presentation, 3) student participation and 4) communications. Although all four ingredients were critical to the success of these courses, the last two ingredients were more significant, since all communication between students and the instructor was nonsynchronous and electronic.

Course ContentThese courses contained material at a

technical level similar to courses offered by Penn State in-residence by the Graduate Program in Acoustics. They were designed for practicing noise control engineers who needed answers to real problems that rarely have simple “cookbook” solutions. Thus, in developing course content, an attempt was made to strike a balance between the fundamental theory of acoustics and practical guidelines for solving complex noise control problems. The theory not only gave the students an appreciation for how and why design guidelines worked or did not work, it also provided some direction in situations where “cookbook” design practices did not fit. If the theory did not lead to something useful for the control of noise, it was not included in the course material. Each of the three courses contained five units and each unit contained five lessons, for a total of 75 lessons. A listing of the topics included in the courses is given in Table 1. As indicated by this listing, the courses started with the fundamentals of acoustics and vibration which were then employed in later lessons to address topics of increasing complexity and relevance. The lessons started with simple oscillators and acoustic sources, which were then applied to acoustic radiation from ideal and realistic sources, and noise propagation in acoustic spaces and structures. There was a unit in each course on measurement and analysis of noise and vibration, starting in Course I with transducers and sound level meter measurements, and continuing in Courses II and III with narrowband single and two-channel measurements. Course II also included information on how noise is generated by real sources and the effects of room and enclosures on noise. Since the goals of noise control are based on human responses to noise, a unit in Course II was devoted to the mechanisms of hearing and metrics for quantifying human response to noise. Advanced topics in Course III included noise control treatments such as damping, vibration mounting systems, enclosures and mufflers, active control,


the mechanisms and methods of control of flow-induced noise, and methods of both numerical and statistical modeling.

PresentationThe course material was contained in pdf files on the CD sent to the students. The student usually printed out the lesson material for reading, studied graphics,

listened to sound files and replayed animations. Animations were used to illustrate phenomena that were difficulty to illustrate with words and figures. In addition, interactive animations were included as exercises for the students where they changed input parameters (e.g. frequency or stiffness of a mount) to observe the resulting changes in behavior.

Also, a virtual sound level meter and narrowband analyzer were used in the simulation of measurements conducted on noise recordings made under realistic conditions, such as in a manufacturing plant and around individual sources of noise.

Student ParticipationStudent participation was essential to enhance the learning experience. Simply put, the students did not learn much without doing some work. In these courses, there were three methods for student participation; study questions, individual learning activities and collaborative learning activities.

Prior to reading a lesson, students emailed their best guess at answers to study questions. These questions were designed to focus the student on key concepts in the lesson and to give the instructor information on how much the student knew before reading the lesson. The student then posted answers to the study questions after reading the lesson. This provided an opportunity for the instructor to correct any misconceptions that the student may have still had after reading the lesson. Individual learning activities included written problems, development and/or use of MatLab computer code, and interactive animations. Written problems were similar to the homework problems employed in most courses taken in residence at a university. The students submitted solutions to the problems to the instructor who then provided help if needed. Students were required to complete the problems correctly to receive credit. In addition to conventional written problems, students were required to use MatLab to show dependence of system responses as a function of input parameters and in the design of noise treatments. Finally, interactive animations were used by students to explore phenomelogical behavior. Teams of five students were formed, with an appointed team leader, for a

Table 1. Topics included in the courses

Course Unit Topics

I

II

III

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Orientation – Installation and description of software, overview of noise control, background mathematics

Simple mechanical vibration control – single and coupled simple oscillators, four-pole parameters

Noise measures and mechanisms of sound propagation – waves, levels and spreading losses

Measurement & analysis I – transducers, measurements with a sound level meter

Reflection and absorption at boundaries – normal, oblique and random incidence, mechanisms of absorption, scattering and barriers

Mechanisms of noise generation – multipole localized sources, distributed simple sources, impact sources, nearfields, intensity

One- and two-dimensional systems – strings, ducts, beams and plates

Room acoustics – room modes, statistics of acoustic fields, large rooms, small spaces, coupled spaces, reverberation and absorption, loudspeaker systems

Measurement & analysis II – methods of measuring acoustic properties, vibration, narrowband analyses, Fast Fourier Transforms

Effects of noise – mechanisms of hearing, metrics of loudness, noisiness and speech interference, hearing damage and sound quality

Sources of noise – power transmission, electric equipment, non-turbomachinery, flow-induced and turbomachinery

Outdoor noise and structural acoustics – Outdoor noise propagation, transportation noise, response of, propagation in and radiation from structures,

coupled structures

Measurement & analysis III – Single and two-channel frequency analyses, coherence, and transfer functions

Noise treatments – vibration mounting systems, damping treatments, mufflers and silencers, active noise and vibration control

Modeling – Finite and Boundary Element methods, Statistical Energy Analysis


collaborative learning activity in each course. These activities were based on open-ended realistic problems. In the first collaborative learning activity in Course I, students selected from a list of noise control problems and developed an approach to that problem including a list of information needed to solve the problem. All team members then comment on the approaches before a final set of approaches to all of the problems was submitted by the team to the instructor. In Course II, the students were given recordings of noise and vibration made in a manufacturing facility, along with descriptions of the noise-producing equipment, and then asked to develop conceptual designs for noise treatments. In Course III, the students were given recordings of noise and vibration from a riding lawnmower and asked to develop noise treatments. Grading was based on the number of individual learning activities successfully completed, the collaborative learning activities, and final exams. The final exams were similar to ‘take-home’ exams where, for these courses, a time limit for completing the exam was given.

CommunicationBecause these courses were offered at a distance and the instructor and students never met each other during the courses, it was critical that the communication links were effective and easy to use, and that the instructor was readily available to the students. An email server was used where an assignment folder was provided for each student for submission of assignments and responses by the instructor. To make these courses work for the students the instructor responded daily to all postings by the students. The students wanted to know immediately how they did on their assignments, get feedback from instructors and/or answers to their questions. This was particularly important to keep the students involved and interested since they all were working daily, had other responsibilities and only saw a computer screen which was

not warm and friendly.

StudentsThere were several possible reasons that students may have wanted to take these courses; 1) credit toward an advanced degree in acoustics, 2) preparation for certification as a noise control engineer, and 3) improvement of skills in noise control engineering needed in their job. Although some of the credits earned could be applied toward an advanced degree in acoustics and the content of the course was designed to provide a solid background for passing the INCE Board Certification Examination, most of the students that took these course were taking them to become more proficient at work. These courses were taken by students who were all highly-motivated, but had a wide range of technical backgrounds. They did well in these courses in spite of the large amount of work involved. One of the students was on the engineering faculty of a large state university. Another had a degree in interior design but completed these courses starting with a weak mathematics background. There was another student in these courses that had over 20 years experience testing and designing automobile mufflers. Although he knew more about mufflers than the instructor of these courses, he was seeking a wider knowledge in noise control engineering.

Student EvaluationAn informal survey of the evaluation of these courses by students who had completed the courses was conducted. The students liked the course content, method of grading and accessibility to the course material and instructor. They had less favorable evaluations of the collaborative learning activities, accessibility to other students, usefulness of animations and helpfulness of the study questions. The collaborative learning activities were hard to administer with the wide variety of student schedules. The instructor found the

study questions useful as a measure of how much the students were learning and where to focus instruction for individual students. Measurements conducted by the virtual instruments were viewed by the students as inefficient learning tools. Additional information on student responses to these courses, see Noise Control Engineering

Journal, 50(4), 146-7 (July-August 2002).

Discussion – Session 3Noise control engineering at CumminsQuestion for Dan Kato: How many noise control engineers does Cummins have?

Answer: Two. I’m the acoustical strategist for power generation worldwide, and do things like manage university research projects in sound and vibration and decide the kind of facilities we need around the world for acoustic testing. I write the standard work procedures, but personally don’t do day-to-day sound control on the products. Cummins wants to increase their count in that area next year, so there may be some opportunities for graduates in our company. Within the Cummins company there are several noise control engineers. At Cummins, Walesboro, where they do engine testing, noise control engineers work on the drive-by truck noise. Nelson Filtration and Universal Silencer are part of Cummins, and employ noise control engineers. At each facility around the world there is at least one person designated as the acoustics contact. I am responsible for training these people.

Question for Dan Kato: What is the dollar value of your funded university research?

Answer: About a million dollars a year, but that’s not all for noise control. Last year it was about $300,000 in the budget for power generation. I don’t have a


budget for university, but those who do come to me for ideas about research projects. I give them ideas, and they have to go to the top of the list to get funded.

Question for Dan Kato: You mention in one of your slides that the first requirement for noise control engineers was an advanced degree. Why did you say advanced as opposed to just a degree?

Answer: A specialist in that area that would need an advanced degree. By the time you take all your other core courses in an undergraduate program, how much time do you have for noise control courses? I had one in my senior year, and I didn’t’ really get into the more advanced courses until I was in graduate school.

INCE/USA chapters within universitiesQuestion for panel: Should INCE/USA encourage the formation of chapters within schools? For example, ASA has local chapters in universities that provide and promote student activities and interaction with the local people who are members of that chapter.

Comment: A very interesting question. I just discussed this with a dean in charge of student activities. Probably at some schools that would be possible—the larger universities with the larger programs. An even better possibility might be to strengthen our ties on the student level with ASA so that we would have some cooperative chapters where we would draw on INCE members and ASA members. Such a relationship between the two organizations would require that we figure out how to have joint memberships rather than trying to start separate student chapters.

Comment: Another group could be the Audio Engineering Society. They also have chapters at many universities. A general pool of acousticians would probably make sense, and one chapter per university is probably enough.

INCE/USA and engineers in industryQuestion for panel: The way the noise control field has grown; there are many professional societies that have an interest in the field such as AIAA, SAE, ASME. Do you feel that INCE/USA provides an adequate home for engineers practicing noise control in industry?

Comment: There are a number of engineers in industry practicing noise control who are not aware of this society (INCE/USA). There are also engineers who would like to do noise control engineering but don’t have the educational or technical background. Industry needs an acoustical society for practicing noise control engineers. The only society that most effectively addresses this need is SAE. I think it’s a good opportunity for INCE/USA to create a home for engineers practicing noise control. A majority of the NOISE-CON attendees are consultants and instructors from universities. Just look through the registration. Who comes to these meetings? It would be ideal to have one third consultants, one third university, and one third industry. It would be a worthwhile goal for INCE/USA to try to recruit engineers from industry to join this society. I think it would solve a number of problems for INCE/USA and make the society as a whole better. It would solve membership problems. It could increase the interest in papers. Increased industry involvement would provide feedback and help universities and consultants.

Comment: One of the things the Society of Automotive Engineers does is to help focus their group with their sound and vibration counterattack to what’s better in Europe. The practicing engineers in the automobile industry have regular meetings with a goal and with enough time in between meetings so that they can actually produce quality papers, a cycle that one can plan on. If you consider societies in general—INCE/USA, ASA—their meetings occur once or twice a year. Joint

meetings would help, but they’re difficult to organize.

Comment: I don’t know how to get organizations together. The automotive industry very much likes us. I think it would be wonderful if the societies could all come together with more joint meetings. I personally would like to be able to spend more of my time not only with INCE/USA, but with SAE, ASHRAE, and ASME; but I don’t have the time. There are great things going on in engineering noise control in each of those organizations. We occasionally have joint meetings. That’s a good idea, but it would be nice if we could consider joint memberships. I don’t know how to make that happen.

Comment: I believe that INCE/USA has had three joint meetings with ASA. In 2004 we met with ADC40 which is a Transportation Research Board Group that was successful. For NOISE-CON 2008 next year we’re meeting jointly with the Noise Control and Acoustics Division of the ASME. Partnering with other organizations to run a meeting is not easy because there’s quite often a culture clash between the ways societies operate, but I do think it benefits both parties. It certainly benefits the attendees. Maybe we ought to plan more joint meetings in the future.

Comment: Regarding people from industry, a lot of them aren’t members of any noise control associated societies. Consider the Society of Automotive Engineers. There are as many SAE members in the GM noise laboratories as belong to INCE/USA which is about two. A lot of engineers just aren’t joiners of organizations. There is definitely an opportunity to interest those engineers in a society that has a noise focus.

Comment: INCE/USA provides a good home for noise control engineers if only in the sense that those working in industry sometimes are the only ones in noise control in their area. They have no one to


talk to. Being a member of a professional organization offers the opportunity to make face-to-face contacts—people you can be friends with, call up and discuss problems that you couldn’t otherwise discuss with people within your own company.

Comment: One thing I would personally like to see is more publications on the application of noise control technology to specific products. If we had that not only at congresses as well as in our journal, I think we would begin to break loose these industry people and they would want to come to our congresses.

Comment: One of the discussion items that came up was whether or not we’re getting good participation from members in the corporate world. Having worked in the corporate world for 20-25 years, there’s not a lot of support for employees to go to such events or become members of such organizations. I have to credit George Maling for encouraging me to join INCE/USA back in 1984 because at that time I was working for a corporation that had absolutely no interest in providing support for employees. I was able to attend INCE/USA conferences when they were convenient enough to where I live because I went on my own nickel. Corporations should be made aware of the benefit membership in such organizations is to their employees.

Continuing noise control educationComment: Continuing employee education benefits most corporations. A few years ago we ran a survey that asked how much money individuals spent on continuing education out of their own pockets. At the time someone had proposed that there be a book budget. Every engineer would be reimbursed for the purchase of a text book. Only two people bought books; nobody else participated. We find this also true of

professional societies. Many students graduate high school thinking they’ve got their diploma and are done with education. Those who move forward in our organization are usually the ones who say that they need to buy the latest textbook or find a way to take a short course. Right now within the Boeing environment it’s easy to attend conferences, yet we have few people who want to go to conferences. It goes back to continuing education for engineers and self motivation. I don’t understand it because I’m always curious about the latest advances in engineering science. Every year I spend about $500 on books I actually read. Then I can walk over to my bookshelf and know that everything is here. There’s no magic, engineers must be involved in their own education process.

Communication skillsComment: Several participants from industry commented about the need for good writing skills and good oral communication skills. Speaking as an academic, and I suspect some others have had a similar experience, we do exit surveys on our graduating seniors. We have oral and written communications skills laced throughout our program starting in the sophomore year. It is common for the students to complain about how many times they do presentations and how much emphasis we put on writing. We also survey the students five years after graduation. It is then common to receive comments like “You need to emphasize writing and communication more.”

Student attitudesComment: Students don’t appreciate much of what you’re trying to teach them when you’re trying to teach them. They say “I don’t need this; I don’t want to see another equation.” Five years later they say “That class I slept through, I probably should have paid attention.” I did it too. It’s human nature.

Comment: It’s very hard to get students to appreciate their education while they are in school. They tend to choose programs where they don’t have to do a thesis. This really hurts them because the main reason to get a Master’s degree is to gain the experience of writing a thesis. To write a thesis involves a literature search and a research project.

Highlights of the discussion1. Does INCE/USA provide an adequate

home for noise control engineers?2. The SAE holds regular meetings for

practicing engineers in the automotive industry. They have a goal and enough time in between meetings to produce quality papers.

3. Great things are going on in engineering noise control in SAE, ASHRAE, and ASME. INCE/USA occasionally has joint meetings and should plan more in the future.

4. Although many corporations offer opportunities for continuing education and participation in professional activities, few employees take advantage of them. Engineers must be involved in their own education process. NNI

8 www.inceusa.org • www.noisenewsinternational.net • www.i-ince.org 2009 March

In the fourth year of five, students can

specialise in acoustics and vibration, with

instruction during two months followed

by a three-month project directly related

to an industrial problem.

Acoustics training for a Master’s degree in France

Universities in France offering training •

in noise control engineering:

Université du Maine, Le Mans, •

vibrations, signal processing,

materials, transportation

Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, •

aerodynamics, aeroacoustics

Université de la Rochelle, La Rochelle, •

civil engineering

Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, •

acoustics CNAM, aeroacoustics, audio/

visual

Université d'Aix-Marseille, Marseille, •

vibrations, signal processing,

ultrasounds

Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Lyon, •

aeroacoustics, civil engineering

Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, •

ultrasounds, civil engineering

Université Technique de Compiègne, •

Compiegne, vibrations, fluid structure

interaction, ultrasounds

Master’s degree in acoustics at INSA and Centrale LyonFor a Master’s degree, a student must

complete a course in general acoustics

(25 hours) and one of two options. The

aeroacoustics option includes 25 hours

each of environmental noise, aerodynamic

noise, active control, aeroacoustics,

and waves in moving fluids. The

vibroacoustics option includes 25 hours

each of car acoustics, building acoustics,

IntroductionThe International Institute of Noise

Control Engineering and Noise Control

Foundation, in cooperation with the

European Acoustics Association's

Technical Committee on Noise (EAA

TC-NOISE) held a one-day workshop

during the 19th International Congress

on Acoustics—ICA2007 MADRID—on

September 4, 2007 in Madrid, Spain.

The theme of the workshop was

"European Education in Noise Control Engineering," and focused on academic

training—current and future—in the

technical aspects of noise control. The

panelists participating in the workshop

came from leading universities and

institutions of higher learning in the

following countries: Belgium, Czech

Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,

Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

The Netherlands, Turkey, the Ukraine,

and United Kingdom. These institutions

are producing graduate engineers with

formal training in the control of noise at

its source and in the community.

First Session

Panelists and PresentationsThe panelists for the first session of the

workshop were:

Etienne Parizet• , Lab. Vibrations

Acoustique, INSA-Lyon, France

Gerrit Vermeir• , Katholieke

Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium

Phil Nelson• , University of

Southampton, United Kingdom

Mehmet Çaliskan• , Middle East

Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Kurt Eggenschwiler• , EMPA,

Dübendorf, Switzerland

Ondrej Jiricek• , Czech Technical

University, Prague, Czech Republic

V. I. Tokarev• , National Aviation

University, Kyiv, Ukraine

The Situation in France and European Doctorate in Sound & Vibration Studies Etienne Parizet, Lab. Vibrations Acoustique, INCS-Lyon

The Situation in FranceMany industrial organizations in France

need highly-skilled acousticians. These

include the automotive industry (Psa,

Renault, suppliers, etc.), the aeronautics

industry (Airbus, Eurocopter, Dassault,

Snecma, etc.), other mechanical

industries, consulting firms, and hardware

and software industries (01dB-Metravib,

Vibratec, etc.). The dispersal of their

research and development departments

throughout Europe will present a

significant challenge.

INSA Lyon (Institut National des

Sciences Appliquées de Lyon)

There are 140 students undergoing

training in the mechanical engineering

department at INSA Lyon. Their course

work includes 14 hours each of industrial

acoustics and signal processing, 28 hours

on the vibration of discrete systems, and

35 hours on the vibration of continuous

media. Also included are 24 hours of

practice. These students enter the program

with a background in solid mechanics,

numerical analysis, and mathematics.

European Education in Noise ControlJanet Moss, Noise Control Foundation

92009 March www.inceusa.org • www.noisenewsinternational.net • www.i-ince.org

have the students master quantities and

power balances before starting the wave

approach. The room acoustics course

is covered in ten two-hour lectures that

include the historical and architectural

contexts, the rationale for the need for

design, quantities, measurement, and

prediction. Lighting is an important part

of the course.

A course on noise control at the

postgraduate level, optionally open to

Master’s degree students, provides basic

training for environmentalists. In ten

two-hour lectures the focus is on hearing,

quantities, source control, and noise

propagation indoors and outdoors, an

introduction to advanced measurements,

and legislative concepts. These courses

stimulate increased awareness and

feeling for the field of acoustics and noise

control by promoting understanding and

manipulating quantities, thus providing

an insight into the physics and perception

of sound/noise. The pursuit of a noise

control engineering education demands a

strong interest in the subject and a serious

personal study effort.

Several opportunities for continuing

education are also offered by or in

collaboration with K.U. Leuven

departments: the internationally renowned

ISMA-course and ISAAC-conference,

the Netherlands-Flemish NAG-ABAV-

KVIV course, and for more than 30 years:

Hogere Cursus Akoestiek, Antwerp.

The author discussed some of his opinions

and worries. He recalled the huge

advantage of the modern communication

tools for comfortable visual and auditory

illustration especially for the acoustics

field. Further it is up to the educator,

depending on his audience, to find a

good balance between fundamental

and pragmatic approaches. Especially

to encourage further PhD interest, the

message should sound challenging

propagation of vibrations, and noise

radiation. A Master’s project is required,

and many of them are supported by

industries such as Cetiat, Psa, Renault,

Dga, and Lafarge. On these projects,

students work half-time from January

to March and full-time from April to

September.

PhD studiesAt INSA Lyon PhD students are

supported by industry, by the regional

government, or by the Research Ministry

of the central government. The base level

grants offered by the Research Ministry

are not very attractive.

European Doctorate in Sound and Vibration StudiesUnder this program a PhD student visits

a “host institute” for six or twelve months

with an attractive grant. The host institutes

are:

ISVR (Southampton, UK)•

KTH (Stockholm, Sweden)•

INSA (Lyon, France)•

TUB (Berlin, Germany)•

Fac. di Ingegnieria (Ferrara, Italy)•

KUL (Leuven, Belgium)•

Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland)•

DTU (Lyngby, Denmark)•

This program is very useful for developing

cooperation among European institutions

of higher learning with concentrations

offered in sound and vibration studies.

Up to now 122 students are currently

participating or have participated in the

past. Eighty-five come from EU countries,

25 from associated EU countries, and 12

from the rest of the world.

ConclusionsAt this time in France there is a strong

demand for acousticians in industry.

Training is offered in engineering schools

at the Master’s and PhD degree levels.

The most effective training is at the

PhD level supported by industry. The

problems that are recognized include

those associated with the delocalisation

of research and development teams and

the lack of "physical common sense" of

today’s students.

Education for the Building Acoustics FieldGerrit Vermeir, Acoustics and Thermal Physics Section, Building Physics Section, Department of Civil Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium

Overview and ContextThis presentation discusses education in

the field of acoustics for students who will

have future responsibilities for the built

environment. The focus is primarily on

the education program at the Katholieke

Universiteit of Leuven (K.U.Leuven).

Discussion of the framing questions

relates to education in the field of noise

control engineering in the country. Urban

planners and building developers have

a broad influence on our soundscapes.

In this specific context, noise control

engineering must be referred to in its

broadest sense and the education becomes

a challenging task. The breadth of the

field of acoustics is well illustrated by

Lindsay’s wheel1.

Curricula in AcousticsAt the Bachelor’s degree level,

K.U.Leuven offers five courses in the

following: speech therapy, audiology,

and mechanical engineering. They offer

sixteen courses at the Master’s degree

level in mechanical engineering, physics,

building engineering, speech recognition,

and signal processing. Examples of these

courses are the Master’s degree level

course in building acoustics and room

acoustics. The former has fifteen two-hour

lectures and ten hours of exercise work.

The subjects covered include quantities,

wave approach, air-borne sound

transmission, and impact sound radiation

among others. The approach taken is to


enough. He expressed the opinion that

the educational efforts combined with

increased awareness of the noise control

topic resulted, over the last 20 years,

in state-of-the-art legislation and in

high-quality research and consultancy

activity in Belgium. But the task to

combine optimal education, provision

of services and scientific work together

with the well-known “publication and

citation stress,” risks causing the “multi

tasking syndrome” and threatens crucial

educational efforts.

Belgian Response to Framing QuestionsThere are 55 institutions of higher

learning in Belgium among which are 16

universities. A professional environment

is provided by the Belgium Acoustical

Society (ABAV) with 150 members plus

50 supporting environmental specialists.

Flanders has 30 recognized experts

for environmental acoustics. Wallonia

recognizes expertise for isolation

work around airports (13 advisers, 70

architects, 110 construction firms). The

largest private company is LMS with

400 employees in Belgium and 800

internationally. The firm specializes in

vibro-acoustics engineering and testing. In

addition, there is a large number of speech

therapists and audiologists (5000).

No Master’s degree is specifically offered

in noise control engineering. A PhD is

offered in the advanced aspects of noise

control engineering. This degree takes

approximately four years to complete.

Financial support for students and faculty

comes mainly from institutions and

research foundations, not from private

funding.

The capacity of the Belgian educational

system to provide trained noise control

engineers is generally sufficient, but the

training could be improved by orienting

it towards a more specific employment

market. At present there is a sufficient

number of courses for noise control

engineering practitioners inside and

outside the universities. At K.U.Leuven

we intend to meet the specialized

interest by a post graduate course under

the umbrella of a “Leuven Institute of

Vibration and Acoustics,” LIVA.

Acoustical Engineering: An Ideal First DegreeP. A. Nelson and T.P. Waters, Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

The premise upon which the educational

program at the Institute of Sound and

Vibration Research (ISVR), University of

Southampton, is based is that acoustical

engineering provides the context for a

broad multi-disciplinary engineering

training.

Degree ProgramsISVR offers three degree programs:

A three-year Bachelor of Engineering

(BEng), a four-year Master of

Engineering (MEng), and a PhD program.

This presentation describes the first two

of these programs. The MEng program

is an integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s

program that is accredited by both the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK)

and the Institute of Acoustics (UK). The

study of acoustics starts on the first day of

each program.

Year 1In Year 1 the subjects covered include:

Mathematics•

Engineering design and computing•

Analogue electronics & transducer •

physics

Dynamics•

Dynamics of fluids•

Physical acoustics•

Properties of materials•

Sound perception•

Linear systems and transducers•

Vibration•


Mathematics•

Design•

Dynamics of fluids•

Vibration and materials•

Vibration•

Acoustics•

Electronics and digital audio •

technology

Engineering Applications•

Control systems•

Human effects and regulations•

10 week industrial placement in •

summer


Individual project•

Short dissertation, not generally in •

collaboration with industry

Acoustical engineering design•

Team-based “real” design project, often •

conducted in collaboration with industry

Management•

4 elective technical modules•

10 week industrial placement in •

summer (experience with consulting

firms available)

Some Individual Projects for 2007/8Fluid-elastic waves in the inner ear•

Moving zones of quiet in a headrest•

Perception of low frequency motion •

and motion sickness

Bicycle saddle design and vibration •

transmission

Vibration of in-flight refuelling hoses•

Sound radiation from a turbofan intake •

duct

Simulation of a cochlear implant•

Bat echolocation•

Shock response of mountain bikes•

Auto transcription of music•

Aeroacoustics of a steam kettle•

Acoustics of tornadoes•

Audio systems and loudspeakers in cars•

Effect of steel sleepers on rolling noise •

from trains

The requirements for the BEng degree

are completed at the end of Year 3. Those

students continuing to the MEng degree

complete Year 4:

Acoustical Engineering Design•

Team-based “real” design project•


Management•

10 elective technical modules•

6 modules at Master’s level•

Synergy with MSc programs•

Student Selection and Financial SupportTo apply for admission to the program,

a prospective student must have taken

mathematics and physics at the higher

level according to the International

Baccalaureate or its UK equivalent.

Prospective students must submit a

profile of academic achievement, a

personal statement giving reasons for

their application, a reference from their

head teacher, and, most importantly, they

must participate in an interview day. The

purpose of the interview day is to dispel

misnomers regarding “acoustics,” to

ensure an informed decision on the part

of the prospective student, and to give

the staff a chance to woo the student. For

these courses, students from the EU pay

fees of £3000 per annum; UK residents

receive UK government grants and

loans. ISVR provides up to three entry

scholarships of £2000 per annum.

Twenty to twenty-five openings are

available annually of which five are

usually taken by first-year students,

transfers from other courses at the

University of Southampton, and students

returning to resume studies. About fifty

applications are received for the remaining

15-20 openings. Approximately thirty-five

offers are extended with an acceptance

rate of 40-50 percent. Each applicant

typically applies to six universities for

admission, so a high acceptance rate is

needed.

Demand for GraduatesISVR achieves a 100 percent employment

rate for its graduates every year.

Acoustical consultancies are by far

the most popular destination for ISVR

graduates. Other common destinations

include PhD programs at Southampton

and elsewhere; manufacturing firms

such as Nissan, Land Rover, and Rolls

Royce; and audio engineering companies

including loudspeaker manufacturers.

From the ISVR perspective new graduates

in acoustics are in short supply. Those

with a few years experience are like gold

dust. Manufacturing firms seem less well

prepared to take new graduates than are

the consultancies.

Noise Control Education in Developing Countries: Turkish ExperienceMehmet Çaliskan, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Turkish noise legislation dates back to

1932. When Turkey became a candidate

for membership in the European Union

(EU), the Ministry of Environment

and Forestry adapted EC Directive

2002/49/EC for environmental noise into

Turkish Legislation as a requirement for

compliance with EU legislation. This

has been in effect since July 1, 2005, but

is being revised to overcome problems

encountered during the two years of

enforcement. Meanwhile new legislation

for occupational noise was adopted under

the supervision of the Ministry of Labor

and Social Security on December 23,

2006, in accordance with EC Directive

2003/10/EC.

Because of these legislative developments

and recognizing the needs of Turkish

industry and Turkish society, a course

was designed to train students of

engineering in acoustics and noise control

at the Middle East Technical University

(METU) in Ankara. Students are required

to have elementary knowledge of

thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and

mechanical vibrations. The material is

presented in a 14-week semester with 3

lecture hours per week. Several courses

on room acoustics and building acoustics

have also been developed to teach students

of architecture at the same university.

Course DescriptionThe course, ME 432-Acoustics and

Noise Control Engineering, is offered

as a technical elective in the mechanical

engineering curriculum at METU. It is the

first course in noise control engineering

offered at a Turkish University. First

offered in 1984, it has been offered to

seniors in mechanical, aerospace, and

environmental engineering every year

during the spring semester. Between 20

and 80 students have enrolled in the course

with an average of 35 students per year.

The following objectives of the course

were developed in accordance with the

Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology (ABET) 2000 accreditation

process. As a result, the undergraduate

mechanical engineering program at

METU was found to be “substantially

equivalent” in 2004. Upon completion,

students are:

equipped with basic knowledge on •

sound radiation and sound propagation

in an elastic medium;

able to measure noise in proper terms •

and to make an assessment based

on international standards, common

practices and legislative measures;

able to understand and interpret noise •

transmission through multimedia of

differing properties;

able to estimate noise levels in an •

enclosed space as well as in open air

and to predict cavity resonances; and

able to devise proper noise control •

measure(s) to reduce noise below

limits set by legislation, standards and

common engineering practices.

The textbook adopted for the course is

Engineering Noise Control by D.A. Bies

and C.H. Hansen. Several other texts

are used as references: Fundamentals of Acoustics by L.E. Kinsler, A.R.Frey, A.B.

Coppens, and J.V.Sanders and Noise and Vibration Control by L.L.Beranek as well

as the Handbook of Noise Control by

C.M. Harris. Lecture notes are also made

available to the students in the form of

handouts.

Two midterm exams account for 35

percent of the grade and a final exam


for 40 percent. Project work constitutes

15 percent of the total grade and

the remaining10 percent for weekly

homework and laboratory assignments.

Every student taking the course is

assigned a project. Most of the topics

selected are traffic noise surveys to

be conducted on different streets of

Ankara. Students are asked to make

noise measurements while collecting

traffic data. Attempts are made to try to

fit the noise data with three traffic noise

models to find out which model best

represents Turkish traffic at a particular

location. Students interested in room

acoustics are provided with commercial

simulation software to design spaces

acoustically for a specified function.

Laboratory assignments consist of

conducting experiments accompanied by

report preparation. Measurement of the

sound absorption properties of materials

is the typical experiment carried out in

the laboratory using impedance tube and

reverberation methods.

Present State of Noise Control Education in TurkeySeveral other universities now offer

elective courses on noise control with

similar objectives and course content in

the mechanical engineering curricula.

Istanbul Technical University in Istanbul,

DEU (September the 9th University) in

Izmir, Gazi University in Ankara are a

few. In addition to mechanical engineering

programs, schools of architecture in these

universities as well as in Yıldız Technical

University and Bahçesehir University in

Istanbul, Bilkent University in Ankara,

and Black Sea Technical University

in Trabzon offer courses on room

acoustics and building acoustics in their

undergraduate curricula.

The Continuing Education Centers of

METU, Istanbul Technical University

and Bahçesehir University have been

authorized to train professionals from

the Ministry of Environment and

Forestry, municipalities and private

sector to enforce the newly-introduced

environmental noise legislation and

to carry out noise mapping, planning,

and noise control. Three certificate

programs were designed by the Ministry

of Environment and Forestry. About

600 people have been trained for the A

Certificate in the past 18-months with a

majority attending the program at METU.

Bahçesehir University has trained 25

people for the B Certificate during this

time. Yeditepe University in Istanbul

offers courses on hearing conservation

and audiometry for medical professionals.

IZOCAM, a subsidiary of ISOVER in

Turkey, offers comprehensive courses

on noise measurement, noise insulation,

industrial noise control, and architectural

acoustics. Since 1998, about 150,000

hours of cost-free training courses

have been provided to about 10,000

participants. More than 20 percent of

these participants attended 7 courses

related to noise out of 21 courses offered.

An intercollegiate competition sponsored

by IZOCAM was started in 2000 to build

awareness of all aspects of insulation

among seniors in mechanical and civil

engineering, architecture, interior design

and industrial design. The intent was

to familiarize them with the insulation

sector, to help the energy economy and

environmental protection, and to inspire

creativity. Teams of seniors from different

disciplines and different universities are

asked to design a project to comply with

the Regulation of Thermal Insulation in

Buildings, the Regulation of Fire Safety,

and Regulations of Environmental and

Industrial Noise in Turkey. To motivate

interdisciplinary studies and to increase

the awareness of Turkish Regulations

which are already in force are among

the other goals of this competition.

A different theme (e.g. insulation

in hospitals, insulation in industrial

buildings, insulation in educational

facilities) is assigned every year, and

the findings of these competitions are

distributed to interested parties around

the country.

ARTI Consulting, specializing in

occupational safety and health, offers

courses on industrial noise control.

Thirty professionals from industry were

trained in the past 6 months. The Turkish

Medical Association holds 2-day training

courses on hearing conservation for about

50 medical doctors. Three hours are

dedicated to basic acoustical concepts,

noise measurement, noise legislation, and

principles and popular practices related

to noise control engineering. About 250

medical doctors have been trained through

such courses as of 2007.

Turkey’s candidacy for EU membership

has had an immense impact on noise

control education. Universities, private

institutions, and non-governmental

organizations all take part in the education

process. Turkey, a developing country,

forms a model for noise control education.

The current capacity to produce noise

control engineers in Turkey is estimated

to be fewer than ten, which does not meet

the demand of Turkish industry. Research

assistantships and fellowships are offered

by universities and the Technical and

Scientific Research Council of Turkey.

A few grants are available from private

companies, but the most common means

of financial support in Turkey is for

industry to employ a graduate student

as an engineer and hire his advisor as a

consultant to the company.

Education in Noise Control Engineering with the Limited Support of UniversitiesKurt Eggenschwiler, Laboratory of Acoustics, EMPA, Dübendorf, Switzerland

One of the deficiencies revealed in the

latest strategy study by the Federal Office

for the Environment is the need to expand

information sources and education in

Switzerland. The topic of education and

continuing education was also addressed

by the Federal Noise Abatement

Commission (FNAC). The Swiss FNAC

is an interdisciplinary and independent

administrative body concerned with


all aspects of noise abatement. The

commission developed an education

concept and funded a study that was

carried out by Prof. Karl Weber and his

co-workers at the Centre for Continuing

Education (CCE) of the University of

Bern. The results of this study follow.

At the university level there are no

acoustics programs in Switzerland, and

it is not possible to obtain a Bachelor's

or Master's degree in acoustics or

noise control. Acoustics courses at the

technical institutions are always part of

a broader educational program such as

environmental or electrical engineering

at the ETH in Zurich or Lausanne. In

most cases these acoustic courses are not

mandatory.

A special case is the “Certificate of

Advanced Studies in Acoustics” offered

by the University of Applied Sciences,

northwestern Switzerland. This program

includes 104 lectures where the participants

learn the physical basis of acoustics and are

taught the latest methods of noise control

and architectural acoustics. This degree

requires approximately 100 additional

hours for a thesis.

Although there are limited possibilities

for formal training in acoustics, the

Swiss Acoustical Society offers the title

of “Certified Acoustician SGA.” The

candidates are required to have three years

of experience. They must present two

written projects and pass an examination.

Guidelines clearly describing the material

to be covered in the examination are

available to them.

Noise experts with a basic education

in acoustics and noise control are rare

in Switzerland. Typically, acousticians

have enhanced their knowledge with

courses of their choice. Although their

backgrounds are varied, the majority

have engineering degrees. In their

everyday activities, persons engaged in

the noise field are often concerned only

to a small extent with noise problems.

Hence, job opportunities in this field are

limited, although noise experts express

considerable interest in more courses in

noise control engineering.

The courses available conform to the

priorities of the Federal Office for

the Environment. However, there are

deficiencies in areas such as land-use

planning, leisure noise, and neighborhood

noise as well as courses for contractors,

policy makers, and politicians.

A strategic approach, developed by the

University of Bern, seeks to meet the goals

of the Federal Office for the Environment

and is based on an important premise:

The employment market for noise

experts in Switzerland is relatively

small, and younger persons

specializing in the noise field normally

cannot count on a career in “noise.”

Therefore, training as many highly

qualified noise experts as possible is

not an option. Other professions should

be given more opportunities to enter

the field of noise control. A completely

new course of study in noise control

engineering at a university would

exceed national needs. Such a program

would only make sense to satisfy

international needs.

The strategy for education and continuing

education in noise control engineering

suggested by the University of Bern is

based on three goals:

Goal 1: Use of current knowledge and available capabilities In order to reach this goal the Federal

Office for the Environment should

promote research efforts. The relevant

knowledge in Switzerland and in foreign

countries should be systematically and

continually gathered and, when necessary,

enhanced by self-initiated research.

The transfer of research results and the

research itself should be supported,

and noise experts should have access to

current knowledge and capabilities.

Goal 2: Systematic enhancement of education and continuing education opportunities

With a view toward future demands on

noise experts, existing opportunities in

education and further training should

be enhanced, and educational resources

within and outside of Switzerland should

be compiled and made available. Publicity

for these opportunities should be improved

(Internet). A financial incentive scheme

should be offered as part of the program.

The incentives for continuing education

could be given greater significance with

more publicity about the Swiss Acoustical

Society’s “Certified Acoustician SGA.”

Goal 3: Initiation of an interdisciplinary forum to encourage networking among noise experts and lecturers. This forum would help to develop an

exchange of “best practices” in noise

control.

The creation of a new governmental office

is needed to implement the strategy for

improving education and to serve as a

mediator between research and practice.

This office will control the educational

opportunities by means of an incentive

system so that learning institutes that

otherwise could not be self-supporting

would be financed.

Furthermore, this office would operate

a practice-oriented interdisciplinary

forum. It would determine the need for

continuing education by means of case

studies, would develop an information

exchange pertaining to noise abatement

questions, and would monitor questions

coming from the field.

The public has a right to “quiet.”

Therefore, the government is obliged to

become involved in the education of noise

control experts. Experts should be provided

with the latest knowledge of the field. This

approach does not conflict with the plan

of an internationally-oriented university

program, e.g. one leading to a Master's

degree in environmental acoustics.


Acoustics and Noise Control Education in the Czech RepublicOndrej Jirícek, Czech Technical University – Faculty of Electrical Engineering Department of Physics, Prague, Czech Republic

Czech Technical UniversitiesThere are five technical universities

in the Czech Republic which offer

courses in acoustics and noise control.

The largest course offering is by the

Czech Technical University (CTU) in

Prague where the Faculty of Electrical

Engineering offers eleven courses, the

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,

six courses, and the Faculty of Civil

Engineering, one course.

Two courses are offered at the Brno

University of Technology, one by the

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

and the other by the Faculty of Civil

Engineering. The University of West

Bohemia in Pilsen offers two courses, as

does the Technical University of Ostrava.

The Technical University of Liberec offers

a single course.

Specialization in AcousticsA major in acoustics is offered only

at the Czech Technical University in

Prague by the Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering as part of the aerospace

engineering, mechatronics, or

environmental techniques curricula and

in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering

as part of the radio-electronics or

acoustics curricula. Both departments

have a maximum capacity of 50–60

students per year.

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

curriculum includes the following courses:

Aircraft vibration and aeroelasticity•

Electrical measurements and •

diagnostics

Noise and vibration control•

Environmental engineering•

Ecology and acoustics in aeronautics•

Oscillation of mechanical systems•

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering

curriculum includes the following courses:

Measurement of acoustical quantities•

Signal recording•

Sound technology•

Electro-acoustics and applied acoustics•

Electro-acoustical and acoustical •

measurements

Introduction to acoustics•

Acoustical applications•

Architectural acoustics•

Theory of sound fields•

Noise surveys•

Active methods in acoustics•

CTU offers short courses, courses in

specialized subjects on contract, as well as

regular courses for non-students under a

“lifetime education” program.

Some doctoral candidates in both faculties

are supported by industry. Although

CTU may accept the recommendations

or requirements of industry regarding

courses and thesis topics, CTU is

responsible for both.

Studies in Environmental Noise MonitoringV. I. Tokarev and O. I. Zaporozhets, National Aviation University, Kyiv, Ukraine

Noise control is the process of obtaining an

acceptable noise environment for a particular

observation point or receiver, involving

control of the noise source, transmission

path, or receiver, or all three (McGraw Hill

Dictionary of Scientific Terms)

This presentation describes engineering

education in the National Aviation

University (Kyiv, Ukraine) in the

specialty, “Ecology and environment

protection,” and in particular in the

curriculum, “Acoustic Ecology.”

Engineering education in the Ukraine

includes conventional teaching, teaching

by correspondence, distance learning,

and continuing education. Conventional

teaching follows the traditional higher-

education model provided by universities

with undergraduate and/or graduate

degree programs.

A New ApproachPresent day higher-educational programs

should be modernized as ecologists are

being asked to perform new functions.

The purpose of the curriculum, “Acoustic

Ecology,” is to give future ecologists the

basic theory and methods of analysis as well

as guides for the processing of acoustical

information, the forecasting of acoustic

environmental changes, and the developing

of recommendations for noise control.

Within the framework of the “Acoustic

Ecology” curriculum, three basic

educational elements are presented: A

source of noise, the environment, and a

receiver of noise.

The structure of the curriculum is as

follows:

Physical factors that impact the •

environment (108-hour course for a

Bachelor’s degree in engineering)

Meteorology and climatology (108-•

hour course for a Bachelor’s degree in

engineering)

Methods of biosphere protection (243-•

hour course for a Master’s degree)

Environmental noise monitoring (108-•

hour course for a Master’s degree)

Course in Environmental Noise MonitoringThe lecture topics in the course include:

physics of sound, noise metrics, and

regulation, fundamentals of hearing,

human response to sound, sources of

noise and noise control, noise monitoring,

interior and exterior noise environments,

vibration and structural acoustics, and

methods of noise reduction.

The laboratory topics for the course

include: instruments for noise

measurement, frequency analysis, outdoor

noise measurement, reverberation time

measurement, sound power measurement,

muffler effectiveness, noise barriers, and

indoor noise impact assessment.


A modular system is used for teaching

the course—Module 1, Sources of noise pollution, and Module 2,

Environmental noise assessment. During

the modules the students must write

two Environmental Impact Assessment

reports. During the last four weeks of the

semester, students undertake a project on

indoor noise impact assessment in a real-

life situation.

Approximately 10 to 15 percent of the

ecology students select a project involving

methods of noise reduction. About 5

percent of the graduates of the curriculum

continue studying as post-graduate

students.

The university is equipped with several

laboratory facilities to support the

teaching of ecology students. These

include a 640 cubic meter anechoic

chamber with a cut-off frequency of

100 Hz, a 174 cubic meter reverberation

chamber for which the lowest frequency

band is 125 Hz, and two small

reverberation chambers with a volume of

about 4 cubic meters each.

Teaching methodsUp-to-date teaching methods are used

in this curriculum. Role playing is an

important part of the teaching process.

The instructor acts as an advisor and not

just as a lecturer. Specialized computer

programs are used by the student to process

the results of the experiments. Outdoor

and indoor noise impact assessments are

carried out in real-life situations.

Discussion – Morning Session

Bachelor of Engineering in AcousticsQuestion for Phil Nelson: When did

the Bachelor of Engineering in acoustics

start? Have you checked if the students

work in acoustics after receiving a

Bachelor of Engineering degree?

Answer: I think that over the years

at least 50 percent have worked

professionally in acoustics. Now it is

probably greater than that. Our graduates

are in big demand. In the U.K., the

supply is less than the demand for

acoustical engineers, and many of them

go to work in acoustic consultancies.

They are the most popular destination

for our graduates. However, a few of

our graduates go on to do something

completely different such as accounting.

The main point is that the broad training

doesn’t restrict the students’ choices.

Question for Phil Nelson: In year three

of your program the focus is on applying

what has been learned in the first two

years. If the students show an interest in

other fields of engineering after two years,

won’t they be too specialized in acoustics

to go into another discipline?

Answer: That’s a good question. One has

to be careful not to limit students’ options.

After the Year 2 modules, during Years 3

and 4, the students have options to study

other engineering topics. Those options

may be reduced for the acoustical engineers

who focus on acoustical topics. The training

that we give them—the basic mathematics

training and the basic engineering design

approaches—enable them to potentially

move into other areas of engineering

without much difficulty. They couldn’t

become specialists in electronics without

further training after the degree—by taking

a Master’s program for example. But the

Bachelor of Engineering enables them to

change engineering fields if they want to.

Architectural AcousticsQuestion for Gerrit Vermeir: Do you

think architecture and acoustics students

should be involved more in each other’s

studies by doing projects together?

Answer: A very good idea that we try to

realize at our university by including the

acoustical requirements as well as the

architectural requirements in our student

projects.

Question for panel: Do you think there’s

a lack of architectural courses in acoustics

departments according to the curriculua

presented today?

Answer: At ISVR we offer some work

in building acoustics. But we could

enhance the teaching in architectural

acoustics in the Bachelor of Engineering

program.

Comment: So far you have heard about

only one part of the UK education

in acoustics and noise control. The

Institute of Acoustics also offers a

diploma in acoustics and noise control

that consists of a compulsory module

in the general principles of acoustics

and includes some laboratory work.

In addition, there is a choice between

specialist modules which include

architectural and building acoustics,

noise control engineering, and

environmental noise.

Comment: Building acoustics is really an

important aspect of an architect’s practice.

What does the architect need and how can

the acoustician respond? A combination of

training in both acoustics and architecture

is the best solution.

Comment: Apart from the specialist

undergraduate degrees in acoustics and

noise control engineering there appears

to be little training in these subjects

in the more standard engineering or

architectural programs. There are many

engineering and architecture graduates

who don’t encounter anything to do

with acoustics or noise control. Is there

anything that can be done about this?

Prof. Parizet said there was no way

to influence the curricula in mainline

engineering degrees. But we’ve heard

examples of where there are engineering

degrees that include some acoustics

or noise control. Is there any way to

persuade those universities that offer

engineering and architecture studies to

include more courses in acoustics and

noise control?


Mobility and the European Research CouncilQuestion for the panel: Industry in

Europe tends to move to new EU member

or candidate countries. Please discuss the

effects of this movement on noise control

education at EU member universities.

Comment: Concerning this question of

studies in acoustics and noise control in

Europe, the focus, at least in the Czech

Republic, is on the universities in the

UK, Germany, and Austria. The latter

is very close to our country and for a

long time there has been an exchange of

students. Students will travel to Germany

and Austria because they like to see

the neighboring countries and to study

something new. Concerning Eastern

European countries, I have never had

students who would like to go there. But

we have received quite a few students

from countries like Sweden, France, and

Belgium.

Comment: In Turkey I have many

students wanting to learn acoustics and

noise control engineering. They would

like to continue their studies at ISVR or

one of the European universities. I have

about 15 students and have had to turn

down three in the past week. The students

are eager but the numbers are tight. When

industry moves out of the EU because

of economic reasons, the funding could

be affected. The effect might be less

funding on education at the university for

engineers.

Comment: The mobility of people

within the EU has improved as a result

of the initiatives for funding research

and things like the European Doctorate

Programme which has eight European

centers involved. They’ve been extremely

effective in moving people around

Europe, enhancing the European situation

regarding employment opportunities.

Culturally, people in Europe work

together a lot better than they did in the

past, and that’s a very positive move on

the part of the EU.

Comment: The European Research

Council is a new initiative in the EU that

will fund high-quality research in schools

across Europe. It will be interesting to see

how it functions.

Comment: In the Czech Republic we

had to change our education system to

permit our students to circulate. For the

past 3 or 4 years we have been producing

adventurous students interested in

engineering. It was a trying a situation

because we had quite a few students from

other countries and nobody knew what to

do with them because from a Czech point

of view they were not interested in serious

study, and to be a graduate in engineering

you must obtain a Master’s degree. On

the other hand, we have a similar system

like Germany or Europe so the exchanges

were even.

More Acoustics in the CurriculumComment: In the U.K., the curriculum in

engineering is dictated by the engineering

institutions. For example, if you are

going to become a chartered engineer

in electrical or civil engineering, the

curriculum is rigidly determined through

accreditation. The route to change in the

U.K.would be through the engineering

institutions. As a university administrator,

it’s remarkably difficult to get a university

to make what appears on the outside as

simple changes to the curricula and to

ensure course offerings. If ISVR offerings

were to be made available to our electrical

engineers, or our mechanical engineers or

our civil engineers, then that would be an

ideal way to address these issues. But the

logistics at a large university make this

a surprisingly difficult task. These two

factors in the U.K. make the introduction

of other courses difficult.

Comment: At INSA-Lyon some

lectures in acoustics are given during the

undergraduate program. The problem is

that we are in a mechanical engineering

department. We really cannot justify

increasing the number of specialized

acousticians because that would mean

decreasing the number of mechanical

engineers. That’s not possible. Of the 140

students who come into the department,

20-50 may have sufficient interest in

acoustics to do a three-month project in

acoustics. Those 20-50 people will start

a career in acoustics. Ten to fifteen years

ago industry didn’t want to hire PhD

graduates, but preferred graduates from

engineering schools without advanced

degrees. The situation has changed,

and most PhDs, instead of choosing a

university career, are going into industry.

Question for Prof. Tokarev: You

spoke about your institution, the Kiev

International University of Aviation. Are

you aware of any other universities in the

Ukraine that include material on acoustics

and noise control engineering?

Answer: No.

Question for Prof. Parizet: You

mentioned that because there is more

demand for mechanical engineers than

for acoustical engineers in France, the

universities give more support to the

mechanical engineering curriculum.

Many university administrations, because

they believe that there is no demand for

acoustical studies, choose to support

other departments or other engineering

courses. Should the administrations or the

government be pushed for more public

awareness campaigns to increase public

demand for acoustical engineering?

Answer: Yes, the problem is certainly

inside the universities. If we want to

increase the acoustics content, then we

have to decrease the content of other

topics. It’s a question of negotiations

inside the university. Are such

negotiations difficult? I don’t know

the situation outside, but in France the

university is like a ship. You need 20

kilometers to change the direction of

the boat. Changes are very slow in the

university because we have to negotiate

everything with our colleagues.


Question for panel: Don’t you think

if you demonstrate to the university

administration that there’s a public

demand, it will be easier to move those 20

kilometers?

Answer: The demand is so strong for

other mechanical engineering topics that it

is easy for our colleagues to demonstrate,

and we don’t have much leverage to

negotiate. Moreover, industrial companies

encourage professional mobility so that

people would not be acousticians for

their entire careers. It may be a good idea

to organize continuing education. We

have many opportunities for continuing

education for people who are moving into

acoustics for a little ride in industry. It’s a

way to solve that problem.

Comment: What you have in France

is something like what we have here

in Prague. But it’s more than the

administration at the university—it’s also

a matter of money because the Czech

Technical University has lost students

as some of them are in acoustics and

been given less support. When it comes

to agreements we have a policy in the

administration that students must have

a good background. Then to study a

specialization is important for a diploma.

IOA Diploma in Acoustics and Noise ControlComment: This diploma is earned after

one-year of full-time study or two years

of part-time study. There’s also a distance

learning option. Many of the graduates

of this program work as environmental

health officers or in consultancies

alongside graduates from ISVR.

Comment: There is a contrast between

a specialist first-degree and postgraduate

education. Typically it has been thought

that the best way to convert an engineer

or building scientist into a practicing

acoustician was to encourage them to get

a higher degree—a Master’s or PhD. One

or two panelists mentioned that there were

also certificates. In the U.K the Institute

of Acoustics runs three short certificate

courses in workplace noise assessment,

hand-arm vibration assessment, and

environmental noise assessment. Also the

Association of Noise Consultants offers

a certificate course in pre-completion

testing which is a hot topic in the U.K.

concerned with Building Regulations.

Does anyone have a comment on whether

that is a viable way to increase the number

of shorter, certificate-type courses for

people who are going into professional

practice in acoustics or noise control?

Comments: In my experience we have

600 people involved in activities like

noise planning, noise mapping, and noise

control engineering practice. Most of

them work among trained people. These

people have completed difficult high

school and vocational school projects,

but they aren’t very good at coping

with practical problems. Engineers or

those with noise control engineering

education certificates specialize in areas

such as environmental noise systems or

community noise assessment.

Comment: Instead of a big educational

commitment, I’m sure what the Institute

of Acoustics is doing is right for many

people. The answer to the question

is that for certain types of activity in

acoustics, certificates and very short

training schemes are more than adequate.

For professional engineers working in

acoustics, at least a Master’s degree is

needed for formal training along with

practical training. There are certain

activities that cannot be covered with

a very short course, so ISVR also

offers many continuing professional

development courses in specialist topics.

Acoustics is a changing discipline and

engineers need to stay up to date. We need

to keep refreshing professional engineers

with new topics, and there are some very

popular courses we run to help do that.

Comment: The last point made is

interesting because we’re running this

workshop not only on the assumption that

education in noise control engineering

is needed but also that there is a need to

enhance lifelong education in acoustics

and noise control that up to now has not

been considered. There’s a proposal by

the engineering institutions in the U.K.

that every engineer should undergo an

examination for up-to-datedness on a

regular basis. At the moment we can just

flourish our status as engineers. In the

future we will have to take an annual test

to make sure we are worthy still to be

called engineers.

Comment: As a chartered engineer,

this fills me with fear and dread. I can

understand the motivation behind this.

Whether it is the right mechanism or not

needs to be debated. The engineering

institutions have been pushing the

notion of keeping records of continuing

professional development so you actually

assess your own. It’s a self-assessment

approach which I think is the right way

to proceed. Chartered engineers are busy

people and to ask them to re-take the

basic tests is perhaps asking too much.

It’s a big issue because the rate of change

in the world is increasing. A university

education is a preparation for life, but

people have to continue to learn.

Continuing EducationComment: Several opportunities

for continuing education are offered

in collaboration with K.U. Leuven

departments. For example, The

Netherlands-Flemish Hogere Cursus

Akoestiek has been offered for 34 years in

Antwerp. This year we have 35 students

which is quite exceptional. These are

all people coming from government,

industry, and so on, who have interest in

knowing more about acoustics because

of their job. Participants can select topics

of particular interest. We have three

sets of examinations at the end of the

course, so it’s quite an effort to obtain

the diploma. In the Netherlands and in

France a diploma is accepted as a kind of

entrance to the acoustics profession. It’s

expensive from the point of view of time


because these people have to go fifteen

Mondays to Antwerp. I can say that Dutch

participants really like to go to Antwerp. It

was directed initially by Prof. Myncke.

Keith: I would like to thank the panelists

for contributing to this workshop. It has

been very interesting to hear about the

opportunities available in the different

countries. We need to consider whether or

not there’s a potential market for distance

learning materials in acoustics and noise

control in order to enable more people to

study those subjects.

Highlights of the discussion:

1.Universities should include more

courses in acoustics and noise control in

their engineering curricula.

2.Acoustics and noise control should be

covered in architecture studies and greater

cooperation between engineering and

architecture faculties should be fostered.

3.The mobility within the EU of students,

particularly doctoral candidates, has been

improved by the European Research

Council and the European Doctorate

Programme which has eight European

centers.

4.For many activities in acoustics and

noise control, certificates and short

training courses provide adequate

preparation. For professional engineers

working in acoustics, a Master’s or PhD

degree is needed for formal training along

with practical training.

5.While a university education is a

preparation for life, engineers must

continue to learn and some sort of re-

certification scheme is necessary, perhaps

through continuing education.

Second Session—Panelists and Presentations

Jordi Romeu, Technical University of

Catalonia, Spain

Luigi Maffei, Second University of

Naples, Italy

Tor Kihlman, Chalmers University,

Sweden

Kari Pesonen, Kari Pesonen Consulting

Engineers, Finland

Peter Svensson, Norwegian Technical

University, Norway

Diemer de Vries, Delft University of

Technology, The Netherlands

Gerhard Hübner, Stuttgart University,

Germany

How can the EU Directive Boost Noise Control Education in Spain? The Present SituationJordi Romeu, Laboratory of Acoustics and Mechanical Engineering (LEAM), Technical University of Catalonia, Spain

Can the EU directive on environmental

noise really help to improve the

development of noise control education

in Spain? Looking at the past, the first

institutional activities on noise control

were carried out during the 1980s when

some regional laws and city ordinances

about noise were approved and some

acoustic mapping was carried out.

However, the irregular enforcement of the

laws and the absence of action plans led

to a slowdown in noise control activity

during the 1990s. Directive 2002/49/

CE brought new laws to Spain and the

need for action plans. At the same time,

people have become more sensitive to

noise. Thus, professionals in acoustics are

now in demand by the public and private

sectors to carry out action plans and to

help meet the requirements of the acoustic

laws. Is the Spanish education system

ready for these new demands?

The Spanish higher-education system

produces both undergraduate engineers

and postgraduate engineers. In

undergraduate programs, three years of

university enrolment are required for a

student to be graduated as a Technical

Engineer, similar to the Bachelor of

Science. Five years are required for

graduation as a Superior Engineer; that is,

a degree similar to the Master of Science.

At the postgraduate level, in addition to

short courses there are programs leading

to Masters degrees (requiring more than

450 credit hours) as well as Masters

degrees requiring 60 to 120 ECTS. In

addition, the PhD degree is awarded

for completion of a longer program

culminating in the presentation of a thesis.

Among all the studies at the

undergraduate and postgraduate level,

there is only one degree in Spain related

to acoustics—the Diploma in Sound

and Image for Telecommunications. At

several universities throughout Spain,

this curriculum is offered, but there are

very few courses related to noise control

techniques. The opportunity to study

acoustics as part of the curriculum of

other engineering degrees or architecture

is very scarce. In postgraduate programs,

there are some more specific degrees

where noise control techniques are

taught; for example the PhD in Acoustics

Engineering of the Technical University

of Madrid and the Master in Acoustics

Engineering of the Universities of

Valladolid, Leon, and Cadiz.

Considering the subjects covered by the

courses, it is felt that matters related to

environmental noise (noise mapping,

sound propagation, noise models for

environmental acoustics, measurement

techniques, etc.) are well covered in the

degrees mentioned above. However,

subjects related to “acoustic designing”

such as sound radiation, numerical

methods of analysis (FEM, BEM, SEA,

etc.), and experimental methods (array

measurements, acoustic holography,

sound intensity, modal analysis, etc.)


are not covered as well as the first

group of subjects. The reason could be

Directive 2002/49/CE that first requires

the carrying out of noise mapping, and,

second, requests detailed reports and

appropriate action plans. The knowledge

for noise mapping is available, but will it

be available for the follow-through? The

best solution could be one Master’s degree

carried out by leading research groups in

acoustics from different universities with

an enhanced program of grants for the

support of students and professors.

The EU Directive and the Master’s

programs present a framework within

which to develop courses on noise control

because action plans and consumers

require quiet products. If students are not

trained in noise control, there will be a

lack of quiet products and environmental

laws will fail. In Spain one cannot find

at the moment a single institution that

covers all the topics needed for a good

program in noise control engineering.

Inter-university Master’s or PhD programs

would take advantage of the knowledge

and interests of local research groups on

specific subjects, but financial support

would be necessary to support the

mobility of students and professors.

Engineers should know the basics of

acoustics at the conclusion of their

undergraduate degree programs so that

postgraduate courses may concentrate

on subjects oriented to specific topics.

The demand for postgraduate courses

would be increased if graduates knew the

fundamentals of vibroacoustics.

Post Graduate University Education in Noise Control Engineering in ItalyLuigi Maffei, Built Environment Control Laboratory, Second University of Naples, Italy

Education in Engineering Prior to 2000In the former system, graduate engineers

completed a five-year course in one of the

traditional branches of engineering—civil,

mechanical, aeronautical, electrical/

electronics, informatics, or chemical.

Graduation required 30+ examinations and

a final thesis. Fundamentals of acoustics

were presented in applied physics courses

(15-20 hours), and in some mechanical

engineering departments there were

elective courses on applied acoustics and/

or vibration control (100 hours). A PhD

degree required three years of additional

study following completion of the five-year

course. None of the degrees were specific

to the field of acoustics.

Education in Engineering After 2000The Bologna Declaration of the EU

Ministers of Education reshaped

engineering education in Europe after

2000. In Italy, the educational programs

in the traditional branches of engineering

are 50 percent under the control of the

Ministry of Universities and 50 percent

under the control of the universities

themselves. The Bachelor’s degree

requires three years and 180 credits, the

Magistralis degree an additional two years

and 120 credits, and the PhD requires an

additional three years and 180 credits.

One- to two-year Master’s programs on

specific topics requiring 60 to 120 credits

are under 100 percent control of single-

university faculties.

Master’s programs dedicated to acoustics

are currently offered at three universities:

University of Venice, Architecture •

Faculty – “Acoustic Designer” (1 year,

60 credits, 10 students per year)

University of Perugia - “Environmental •

Acoustics” (1 year, 60 credits, 20

students per year)

Second University of Naples - •

“Acoustics and Noise Control” (1 year,

60 credits, 20-30 students per year)

In 2006, Second University of Naples

entered into a cooperative effort with

Yildiz Technical University, Turkey,

to present a Master’s course entitled

“Experts in Acoustics and Noise Control

in Mediterranean Countries.” The

course is open to students with at least

a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering,

Physics, Architecture, Mathematics, and

Environmental Sciences. The course

requires completion of 60 credits.

Specialized courses dedicated to noise

control are offered at the following

universities:

University of Ferrara - “School of •

Acoustics” (180 hours per year + short

courses, 500 graduate students have

participated since 1995)

University of Padua (180 hours per •

year, 35 students)

University of Bologna (160 hours per •

year, 20 students)

University of Ancona (180 hours per •

year, 60 students)

University of Firenze (120 hours, 30 •

students)

Italian PolicyItalian law No. 447/1995 on Policies to Control Environmental Noise requires that

all activities on environmental acoustics

be performed by a Noise Technician

whose name is recorded on a regional

list. These include noise planning, noise

mapping, noise measurements, and

the noise impact of new activities and

infrastructures. To be listed, a technician

must have at least two years of experience

in the field of environmental noise control.

For some Italian regions, technicians may

be listed when they complete specialized

courses on environmental acoustics

organized by recognized entities such as

the universities above.

Framing QuestionsCapacity

The number of Master’s programs

dedicated to acoustics and noise control

should be increased, but an agreement is

necessary among universities on curricula

and coordination by the professional

societies (Acoustical Society of Italy,

EAA, or I-INCE) is suggested.

CurriculaA one-year curriculum after a Bachelor’s


degree could be sufficient if students

have a good mathematics and physics

background. A work project and practice

period may require more time.

SupportStudents of Master’s programs can receive

grants from regional governments and

other economic support from firms in

acoustics.

Short courses Thanks to favorable legislation, more

technicians are needed; consequently, the

number of short courses for technicians

is increasing. These courses should

devote more hours dedicated to field

measurements, but this is difficult when

the number of students is large.

Schola ProjectThe European Acoustics Association

has a Schola Project that maps all of the

educational institutions in Europe that offer

courses in acoustics. Links to the individual

courses offered by these institutions are

available at www.eaa-fenestra.org.

MSc Programs in Sound and Vibration in SwedenWolfgang Kropp and Tor Kihlman, Applied Acoustics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

International MSc programs in Sweden

are offered at the Royal Institute of

Technology’s Marcus Wallenberg

Laboratory (MWL), Stockholm, and

Chalmers University of Technology’s

Applied Acoustics, Gothenburg. The

international MSc program at Chalmers

has been offered since 1998 and a one-

year specialization in sound and vibration

since 1992.

These successful programs are strongly

linked to research activities with a

somewhat different focus at MWL and

Chalmers. Chalmers has a traditional

program including subjects such as audio

technology, noise control engineering,

room acoustics, and psychoacoustics.

MWL has a focus on acoustics linked

to mechanical engineering (e.g.

aeroacoustics, numerical methods,

etc.). The programs often have an

interdisciplinary character, which attracts

students from very different areas. It is

important to adapt the programs to the

background of the students

Nordic Institute of Acoustics (NINA)NINA is a virtual institute for cooperation

in the education of MSc and PhD students

between the two Swedish universities

and the Norwegian Technical University

(NTNU), in Trondheim. This cooperative

effort gives students the possibility to

specialize. Chalmers offers building

acoustics and community noise, noise

and vibration quality, audio technology

and room acoustics, noise control

engineering, and vehicle acoustics.

KTH offers flow acoustics, numerical

methods, and vehicle acoustics. NTNU

offers telecommunication techniques and

underwater acoustics.

The objectives of NINA are the following:

To supply the Nordic as well as the •

European market with generalists and

specialists in the field of sound and

vibration. The program is adapted

to the northern European needs in

the vehicle, building, and marine

industries.

To offer students from different •

education programs (e.g. from

mechanical engineering, electrical

engineering, civil engineering, and

engineering physics) the opportunity

to work towards a professional

career in acoustics by combining

their fundamental knowledge with

competence in the field of sound and

vibration.

To foster the student’s interdisciplinary •

skills, which are vital to address

problems in the field of sound and

vibration. The program reflects the

strong interdisciplinary character of

acoustics as a research area.

The NINA program offers both a broad

education in acoustics and the possibility

of specializing in certain areas in acoustics

as well as the possibility of concentrating

in one of the different specializations that

are unique to northern Europe. NINA

supports the “survival” of the individual

programs at the different universities,

expands the available resources (personnel,

equipment, and intellectual) and ensures

the continuation of research areas which

may not have a critical mass at one

university alone. NINA enhances the

quality and content of acoustics programs

in Sweden and Norway.

Structure of the Chalmers programThe program consists of a compulsory

component, Introduction to Sound

and Vibration (Quarters 1 and 2—four

courses), which offers a comprehensive

overview of the field as well as an

introduction to advanced areas of

acoustics. This overview enables students

to continue in different specializations

at Chalmers and in the other programs

offered by NINA partners. The Chalmers

options are:

Audio Technology and Acoustics• gives

an introduction to the field of acoustics

with special focus on air-borne sound,

electroacoustics and audio technology.

Technical Acoustics I• focuses on

structure-borne sound, sound radiation

from structures as well as on advanced

noise control engineering methods.

Sound and Vibration Measurements•

offers hands-on experimental work

illustrating phenomena and theoretical

concepts taught in the courses.

Individual Preparation Course:• The

content of the course is adapted to

the students’ individual needs for

completing the prerequisites for

studies in acoustics. Diagnostic tests

are given at the beginning of Quarters

1 and 2. Self-study modules cover

relevant skills in mathematics, signal

processing, and programming in

MATLAB as well as basic acoustics.

Each module is classified as “basic,”


“intermediate,” or “advanced,”

and contains questions, exercises,

programming tasks (and also solutions)

at the level of that module, with

“basic” as the minimum requirement.

A faculty member is assigned as an

advisor for each module.

In Quarters 3 to 6 the program allows

for specializing in specific areas of

acoustics and gaining a broad knowledge

in the field. Possible specializations

are building acoustics and community

noise, audio technology, electroacoustics

and room acoustics, vehicle acoustics

(in cooperation with KTH), and marine

acoustics (in cooperation with NTNU). At

least 15 ECTS from the acoustics program

at Chalmers are required to complete the

studies in sound and vibration with a Civ.

Ing. degree.

Optional courses which may be selected

at NTNU are numerical methods (7.5

ECTS, distance learning course), music

technology (7.5ECTS, distance learning

course), marine acoustics (7.5 ECTS,

distance learning course), and room

acoustics. Courses which may be selected

at KTH are energy methods (6 ECTS) and

flow acoustics (6 ECTS). At Chalmers a

course from the automotive program, a

course from the structural engineering and

building performance and design program,

active control of vibrations (7.5 ECTS),

and experimental dynamics (7.5 ECTS)

may be selected.

Quarters 7 and 8 offer an MSc degree in

acoustics with the completion of 30 ETCS.

This thesis work may be carried out in

cooperation with industrial partners inside

or outside Sweden, typically in the vehicle

and audio industries or with consultancies.

Thesis projects carried out at Chalmers

relate to ongoing research to allow for

a strong coupling between research and

education. This is recommended for

students interested in continuing as PhD

candidates. It is also possible to carry out a

60 ECTS MSc thesis that replaces courses

in Quarters 5 and 6.

Background of the StudentsMany students at MWL come from

mechanical engineering. Most of the non-

Swedish students come from Asia. The

students at Chalmers have a more varied

background—mechanical engineering,

electrical engineering, civil engineering,

and engineering physics.

The MSc program at Chalmers typically

has 20-25 students per year; 40 percent

of them are Swedish, 40 percent are

from other European countries, and 20

percent are non-European. For example,

in 2006/2007 there were 7 students

from France, 5 from Sweden, 4 from

Germany, 3 from the US, 2 from Spain,

and 1 each from Italy, Malaysia, Iran, and

Macedonia.

Employment OpportunitiesThe size of the educational program in

Sweden is well-adapted to the present

market forces, except in building acoustics

where there is a lack of student interest.

Chalmers graduates about 50 engineers

per year, but some of these students return

to their home countries. Many Swedish

graduates go into the vehicle industry

(Volvo, Scania, Saab) or start with

consulting firms such as Ingemansson,

SEMCON, or WSP.

Noise Control Engineering Education in FinlandKari Pesonen, Kari Pesonen Consulting Engineers Ltd., Finland

Professionals in Acoustics and Noise ControlIn Finland, there are fewer than 300

full-time professionals in acoustics and

fewer than 50 noise control engineers.

The principal employers of noise

control engineers are research institutes,

consultancies, government, and industry.

New posts for noise control engineers are

opening up at the rate of approximately

three to five per year.

Educational InfrastructureThere are 19 universities and 29

polytechnics in Finland. None of the

polytechnics produce graduate engineers

in acoustics or noise control engineering.

Of the universities, five offer courses in

noise and noise-control:

The Technical University of Helsinki•

The Technical University of Tampere•

The Technical University of •

Lappeenranta

The University of Oulu•

Åbo Academy•

Only the Helsinki University of

Technology produces graduate engineers

in acoustics at the university level. The

university has four professors offering 24

courses during the 2007 academic year of

which one was in noise control. None of

the university faculties/colleges produced

graduate engineers in noise control

engineering at the university level.

Education in noise control engineering at

the university level is given as part of the

study in another engineering discipline,

e.g. electrical engineering. The courses

in noise control engineering are electives,

and are not required for graduate degrees.

Continuing education courses in noise and

noise-control-related subjects are offered

according to the demand.

Since the 1970s, a significant fraction of

noise and noise-control-related education

has been given in continuing education. In

the 1970s, this education was focused on

the working environment. Since the 1980s

and 1990s, the continuing education has

been focused on environmental noise

control. During the 1990s, there was

a diminished demand for continuing

education courses. There has been some

increase in the demand in recent years,

and there has been a significant increase

in attendance in the meetings on “noise

days.” The educational contents of

lectures and presentations have been

informative and are improving.

National CapacityBecause the demand for new noise

control engineers in Finland has been


small, few have been graduated. Those

few employed in noise-control-related

jobs as well as those engineers who need

noise control training in their jobs should

have more thorough training in noise

control engineering. Today their training

consists of one to three short courses and

an MSc or BSc thesis. Support for the

thesis is usually provided by the employer

who hires the junior engineer or from

support funds from a research consortium,

the employer being a member of the

consortium.

SupportDuring the last ten years, 50-100 million

Euros have been invested in noise- and

vibration-related technology, product

development, and production programs.

This represents 1-2 percent of total

investment in the technical branch. The

principal part of the funding has been

given to industries, research institutes,

and universities. The quality of the results

achieved is often poor because too many

researchers are inadequately trained in

noise control engineering. The shortage

of trained engineers is particularly acute

in theoretical work. Some of the shortage

can be compensated for with advanced

commercially-available computer

programs.

The principal supporters of noise- and

vibration-control-related technology

are The Finnish Funding Agency for

Technology and Innovation (Tekes),

The Finnish Work Environment Fund

(Työsuojelurahasto), the Ministry of

Environment, governmental and regional

agencies, the European Union, and

industries.

Near FutureUniversities and polytechnics are

experiencing financial problems due

to governmental and regional saving

policies. It is expected that the number of

elective courses will continue to decrease,

which may mean the number of courses

in noise control engineering will drop.

Nonetheless, governmental support for

technology development programs and

projects is expected to increase.

SummaryThe demand and supply of trained noise

control engineers is low with some signs

of increasing demands. There are at

present no career paths for trained noise

control engineers. There is a shortage of

adequate course material tailored for 1-

to 3-credit short courses for the various

principal professions (e.g. those in process

industries, shipbuilding, machine design,

plant design, environmental protection,

road/railway engineering, building

branch, and administration). An important

decision must be made on how to tailor

the production of noise control engineers

to the low demand and divide it between

universities, faculties, and laboratories.

Noise Control Engineering with a Norwegian FlavorPeter Svensson, Acoustics Research

Centre, Department of Electronics and

Tellecommunications, NTNU, Trondheim,

Norway

What is the Norwegian Flavor?The Norwegian economy has a strong

component of energy production and off-

shore industry (oil, gas and other marine

resources). Practically all acousticians

are educated at the Norwegian Technical

University (NTNU) in Trondheim. A

majority of these acousticians have a

background in electrical engineering and

electronics.

Capacity in NorwayNTNU is the only university in Norway

with a specialization in acoustics in a

five-year Master’s program in electronics.

This program has produced an average

of 18 MSc graduates per year (over the

last 5 years) and an average of 1.5 PhD

graduates in acoustics per year (over the

last 10 years). Even though more students

could be accommodated, current demand

in Norway seems to be satisfied with this

supply.

At other Norwegian universities and

colleges at the BSc and MSc levels,

acoustics is also taught in single courses

in the physics, building engineering,

architecture, and music technology

departments.

Demand for Acousticians in NorwayOf the 4.7 million inhabitants in the

country, 200 are members of the

Acoustical Society of Norway. Members

in industry and consulting comprise 60

percent; those in universities, colleges,

and research institutes, 12 percent;

and in other public organizations, 15

percent. Members of other societies (e.g.,

Scandinavian Vibration Society) are not

included in these numbers.

Curriculum in Norway, 1This five-year program offers an

MSc in electrical engineering with a

specialization in acoustics. During the first

two years the requirements on physics and

signal processing courses are fulfilled,

and an introductory course in acoustics

given in the third year. Specialized

courses in acoustics are presented in

Years 4 and 5. Of the approximately 90

students completing the MSc in electrical

engineering each year, there are 10 who

specialize in acoustics.

Curriculum in Norway, 2This five-year program leading to

a Master’s degree also requires an

introductory course in acoustics in the

third year. Courses in technical acoustics

including music technology, room

acoustics, and NINA courses are taken in

the fourth year as well as audio/marine

acoustics. The fifth year requires the

completion of a Master’s project. Students

receive 75 to 105 ETCS course credits in

acoustics.

Curriculum in Norway, 3The program is offered by the acoustics

group in the Departments of Electronics

and Telecommunications. The scope of

the program includes marine acoustics,


engineering acoustics, noise control,

building and room acoustics, and audio

and music technology.

Curriculum in Norway, 4The acoustics groups at NTNU and The

SINTEF Group (the largest independent

research organization in Scandinavia)

have a formalized collaboration, “The Acoustics Research Centre,” that is

responsible for Curriculum 4. NTNU

participates in the Nordic Institute of Acoustics, NINA, together with Chalmers

University, Gothenburg, and KTH,

Stockholm, offering a wide range of

acoustics courses via distance learning

and student exchange. The subjects

covered in Curriculum 4 are:

Mechanical oscillations and waves in •

gases, liquids, and solids

Underwater communications•

Mapping of the seafloor and bio-•

resources

Untrasonics•

Noise control•

Music technology •

Perception•

Audio technology •

SupportMost students are Norwegian; therefore,

the instruction is primarily in the

Norwegian language. The students finance

their studies with student loans from the

Norwegian student loan organization.

There are no tuition fees for their studies.

Short CoursesNTNU has offered short courses on

occupational hygiene, which includes

noise, and environmental acoustics. The

latter has been offered for the past six

years and has attracted approximately

twenty participants each year.

ChallengesThe acoustics programs at NTNU face

a number of challenges. The first is

to attract students from a wider range

of study programs such as building

engineering, physics, and mechanical

engineering. The second is to establish

stronger acoustics courses in these other

programs. The third is to increase the

number of students in the electronics

program that has decreased over the last

8 years.

Noise Control Education in the Netherlands: A SurveyDiemer de Vries, Laboratory of Acoustical Imaging and Sound Control, Department of Imaging Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

The following universities (and

Departments) in The Netherlands offer

courses in acoustical engineering:

Technical University of Delft (Applied •

Physics),

Technical University of Eindhoven •

(Architecture, Applied Physics,

Mechanical Engineering), and

Technical University of Twente •

(Mechanical Engineering, Engineering

Technology).

CurriculumAll of the above universities have a

five-year curriculum. After three years

it is possible to earn a Bachelor of

Science degree, and after five years, a

Master of Science degree with the title

“Ir.” It should be noted, however, that

the average duration is usually greater

than six years. Most of the acoustical

engineering material is presented during

the last three years of the curriculum

in the form of courses and lectures.

Those working toward a BSc or MSc

will undertake research projects which

include other relevant courses. During

the second semester of the third year,

students working toward a BSc degree

will attend 270 hours of courses and

produce a thesis. Those working toward a

MSc degree will have a full fifth year of

acoustical engineering courses and must

also produce a thesis.

Financial supportStudents following the curriculum

according to the regular time schedule get

financial support from the government.

The universities also receive some basic

research and education funding from

the government. Research projects

can be submitted for funding by semi-

governmental organizations such as the

Dutch Technology Foundation (STW).

Research projects can also be sponsored

directly by industry, sometimes by a

consortium of companies.

Main fields of acoustical engineering The Technical University of Delft (TUD)

offers courses in the following subjects.

The courses below which are in italic type

relate to noise control engineering.

room and • building acoustics

outdoor sound propagation•

structural acoustics•

signal processing in audio and •

acoustics

medical acoustics •

seismic exploration •

physics of waves (non-acoustics but •

obligatory for all applied physics

students in the second year of

curriculum)

advanced wave propagation•

acoustical imaging•

sound control•

The Technical University of Eindhoven

(TUE) offers courses in the following

subjects:

room and • building acousticsaeroacoustics•

structure-borne noise in buildings•


acoustics

fundamentals of systematic low noise •

design

The Technical University of Twente

(TUT) offers courses in the following

subjects:

aeroacoustics•

structural acoustics•


acoustics

medical acoustics•


thermo-acoustics (also offered at the •

University of Rotterdam)

engineering acoustics•

Most of the courses are given two hours

a week for 14 weeks. The number of

students attending each course varies

widely by course and year.

Capacity and DemandYearly, the three Dutch TUs together

grant about 25 Master of Science degrees

to graduates specialized in acoustical

engineering (some of them specialized

in noise control engineering). These

graduates are educated so broadly that

even those specialists without a noise

control engineering major successfully

find their way into jobs in the noise

control engineering field. However, for all

graduates entering this field, much of their

knowledge and experience is learned “on

the job.”

Dedicated post-BSc and -MSc coursesPost graduate courses fully dedicated to

noise control engineering are available.

There is a four-day course, Noise Control Engineering, organized by the

Post Academic Technical Education

Foundation. There are many courses of

ten days or more which offer general

acoustical engineering education

with ample attention to noise control

engineering. An advanced course in

acoustics is held in Antwerpen and

organized by The Netherlands Aerospace

Group and the Belgium Acoustical

Association. Also a course, Environment and Sound, is offered by a foundation

established by acoustical consultancy

offices.

The Goal of Education in Machinery Acoustics—Quiet Products without Price IncreasesGerhard Hübner, Stuttgart University, Germany

We consider first the requirements for the

successful marketing of quiet products.

Industry is forced by current legislation

either to guarantee the noise emission

limit on a product directly or the noise

immission of a product indirectly. In

developing a low-noise product, industry

must keep in mind the need for a low

price relative to the competition. For those

users who are motivated to purchase quiet

products, industry is willing to invest

in research to keep up with the state

of the technology and the education of

consumers.

The public should be encouraged to buy

quiet products by stressing that low-

noise products are available without an

increased price. Those interested in quiet

products should be encouraged by the

industries producing those products. One

requirement for sales is a simple and

easily-understood labeling and verification

system. An example is the energy

consumption of refrigerators in Classes A,

B, and C. It can be expected that the free

market will work to increase the number

of quiet products available.

Industry needs the latest information

on product noise control techniques. In

particular, it needs the principles of noise

generation relevant to the sound sources

of the industrial machines or equipment it

produces, as well as the relevant laws that

give the parameters of physically relevant

noise generation. Of lesser importance

is the design of features for secondary

noise control such as mufflers, covers, and

linings that generally increase the cost of

the product. Teaching machinery acoustics

as a field of concentration at the university

level is an effective tool in developing

quiet products.

To determine the sound power output of a

product, software is available to perform

major tasks. The airborne sound in the

vicinity of the product is generated by

sources that radiate directly to the air and

by sources that transmit their energy over

structural paths before being radiated

as airborne sound. To determine the

amount of sound that will be radiated,

one needs to know the flow pattern for

the sources that radiate directly to the air

and the operating conditions, forces, and

computer-aided design tools that yield the

structure-borne sound.

The core courses that should be covered

in teaching machinery acoustics are

supplemented with information relating

to the usage of the product. The

requirements of the purchasing public

expressed as noise limits in relevant

laws and regulations as well as the latest

research results presented at national

and international conferences and in the

deliberations of standardization bodies

including ISO, EN, and DIN.

Machinery acoustics includes four

aspects—acoustical measurement

techniques, structure and fluid-borne

sound, aerodynamically-generated sound,

and sound radiation.

There are several topics to be considered

insofar as acoustical measurement

techniques are concerned. The

measurement procedures for determining

sound emission and immission should

be based on the relevant international

standards. Methods are described for

locating the principal sources of sound

of a machine or piece of equipment.

These sources must be rank-ordered

for an optimal noise control design.

Procedures need to be described for

checking the performance of acoustical

noise control elements by measurements

of reverberation time and the absorptive

and sound-isolating qualities of linings,

walls, and windows. The characteristics

of electro-acoustic transducers must be

defined. These include probes for airborne

and structure-borne sound measurement,

intensity instrumentation, non-contacting

vibration measuring devices, and robot-

assisted devices. The uncertainty of

the acoustical measurements must be

carefully studied by statistical analysis,

use of the guide to the expression of

uncertainty in measurement (GUM),


labeling and verification of guaranteed

and prescribed noise limits.

Key items to be covered in aerodynamic

machinery acoustics are the basic

relations and equations for aerodynamic

sound generation (Lighthill’s equation,

similarity principles and quantities)

and the equations for specific sound

generation. The sound power W generated

by machinery rotors and radial fans is

dependent on the length and diameter of

the element. A fan with irregular blade

spacing will avoid the generation of pure-

tone components.

For structure-borne machinery acoustics

there are several key aspects. When the

construction elements are differently

shaped bars and plates (curved, twisted,

varying cross-sections), this leads to

a design restricting the vibrations of

outer surfaces and distinguishing such

vibrations from airborne sound radiation.

The principal emission quantity for

airborne sound radiation as described by

ISO TC43 Acoustics is the sound power

W. The determination of other sound field

quantities is of secondary interest. Several

methods are available for sound power

determinations. The one that is most

valuable in machinery acoustics is the

direct finite element method (DFEM) that

facilitates sound-field calculations.

In machinery acoustics the principal

descriptors are the sound power radiated

and the source location that together

describe the sound emission. This

contrasts with architectural acoustics

where the principal descriptor is the sound

pressure and this leads to the concept of

sound immission. For machinery acoustics

there is one useful second-order wave

equation with frequency range extending

up to 10 kHz.

Fundamental work in machinery acoustics

leads to the development of low-cost quiet

machines by applying the physical laws

controlling sound generation at the source.

This approach contrasts to the alternative

of adding elements such as mufflers to

existing designs. Such an approach almost

always increases the manufacturing

cost of the product. By using the design

principles of machinery acoustics, the

quietest product can be developed and a

low-cost profile maintained.

(A version of this presentation appeared on pages 145-146 of the 2006 December issue of this magazine. —Ed.)

Discussion – Afternoon Session

Interest in Engineering StudiesKeith: We now will ask the panel to

answer some questions which arose from

the afternoon presentations. One that’s a

great concern in the U.K. just now has to

do with the current interest in engineering

and subjects allied to engineering.

Question for Panel: Does interest in

noise control engineering follow a similar

pattern with respect to interest in other

engineering fields among students? Can

you summarize the situation in each of

your countries?

Answer: It is difficult to generalize across

all engineering programs because we have

had a decreasing interest in related studies

in Norway. A new study program was

started two years ago in nanotechnology

that has created enormous interest.

Another program started several years ago

in communication technology generated

great interest at first, but then it decreased.

It is the goal of the high schools to

supply students with interest and a good

background in mathematics and physics.

Noise control engineering is affected in

the same way as other engineering studies

because we all have to get our students

from the same source. Within engineering,

noise control does not have an easy

task competing with new programs like

nanotechnology. Nonetheless, we have

a relatively steady supply of students in

Norway, so somehow the market seems to

work. Students find acoustics to be a very

stimulating field to study.

Comment: In Finland students are

interested in acoustics because Nokia

is considered a good employer. Noise

control engineering is not popular because

students do not believe they will have a

lifelong career in the field.

Comment: In Sweden we have the

same problem as in other countries.

The interest in industrial sciences and

engineering among our younger persons is

decreasing. The number of applicants for

our engineering programs is decreasing.

We are discussing what to do about it.

However, when it comes to how it is in

our acoustics department, we have more

or less the same number of applicants

each year. So it is still quite all right.

Comment: In The Netherlands about

ten years ago, noise control was a

political topic. It was of great interest

to the political parties, so legislation

was sharpened. For instance, there was

a need for effective noise screens along

high-traffic roads. Students read in the

newspaper about current social problems,

and that attracts them to do something

relevant. But now noise is not a political

topic any longer, partly because things

have improved, but also because we

now have clean air as a current issue. So

my Norwegian colleague has a project

designing traffic noise screens that also

integrate filters for clean air. So you can

reduce the sound and simultaneously

clean the air. It was immediately

popular and the students liked it very

much because of its social impact. In

conclusion, most students like to do things

that are currently relevant.

Comment: In general, students are

interested in the more trendy parts of

acoustics — electroacoustics, multimedia,

and sound processing. In Spain we have

few acousticians, although a diploma in


sound and image is in demand. There

are many universities which offer these

studies. But the study of noise control

is not an attractive part of acoustics. For

example, I teach mechanical engineers;

and for mechanical engineers it is difficult

to understand sound propagation laws

because sound is invisible and without

a mechanical system or mechanism. So

acoustics is not attractive to students of

mechanical engineering who think about

building cars and motorcycles.

Comment: There are two reasons why

we have many students in Stuttgart

studying technical acoustics and

machinery acoustics. The first is that

this program differs from that of other

Germany universities by its inclusion

in the machine design faculty rather

than the electrotechnical faculty. The

second reason is that there is a lot of

important industry in Stuttgart interested

in graduates of high-quality courses in

technical and machinery acoustics.

Question: Does that mean much of the

research is sponsored by those industries?

Answer: Yes.

Demand for Engineering Courses WorldwideChair: May I summarize what seems

to be the situation? First, with a few

exceptions—Stuttgart, the courses in

sound imaging in Italy, the demand

for short courses—the demand for

engineering and engineering-related

courses in developed countries is

decreasing. There are various reasons—

I’m not a sociologist—I’m sure that

sociologists are looking at this. But one

can’t help contrast this situation with

the situation in developing countries

where the demand for engineering

and engineering-related courses is

burgeoning, it’s exploding. Nearly ten

years ago I was a visiting professor at

a middle-ranking Chinese university,

Yangshan University. The only claim

to fame of that particular university

was that it was at one end of the Great

Wall. Their engineering school had 8000

students. Now admittedly there are lots

of students in China, but if you scoured

the whole of the U.K., you’ll not find

8000 engineering students. I believe that

Prof. Caliskan who asked this question

told me a short time ago that they had

no problem getting engineering students

in Turkey. So globally there seems to be

a divide between the developing world

and the developed world in terms of

interest in engineering. Suppose that we

wanted to have a series of targets for

increasing the interest in noise control

engineering or applied acoustics. One

suggestion has been to exploit the interest

in audio technology and media studies.

Another is to have some distinctive

aspects of the courses such as those

available at Stuttgart. Or choose a hot

topic into which one can introduce

acoustics. I’m not sure you can do that

in nanotechnology although I’m just

starting research in sonic crystals. But

one thing mentioned with regard to

Norway was the energy issue. If there

were a hot topic, energy is it because of

the burgeoning demand throughout the

world. Thermoacoustics and the noise

implications of alternative technology

should be good areas to pursue. Could we

compile a list of things which could be a

way to increase interest in acoustics and

in noise control engineering?

Comment: It would be difficult to

compile such a list, but such a list would

be very valuable.

Comment: Although there is a huge

demand for engineering in China, India,

and other developing countries, one

thing I’ve learned from the Chinese

academics who visit the U.K. is that they

like the western style of engineering

courses as a model because typically

these introduce project work and design

work. The courses available in China tend

to be much more academic and much

less oriented towards practical problem

solving.

Current Engineering Hot TopicsChair: One other area that may inspire

some comments from the panel is medical

acoustics, a growing area of interest,

and medical acoustics has noise control

implications. Witness the current interest

in noise in hospital wards, although I

remember that there was interest in that

area twenty years ago. But it’s back in the

headlines again, such as the noise made by

magnetic resonance imaging equipment.

This could be another way to interest

people in acoustics and noise control.

Comment: What worked in our university

is that we centralized all that we do in

applying array technology, arrays like

microphones, loudspeakers, and sound

sources. I’ve been a guest professor at a

German university where, after the fall

of the Wall, the university expanded to

80,000 students. An institute for multimedia

technology was established at the university

with the only educational offering in

Germany in that field. Students came from

all over the country to become specialists in

multimedia technology. This may not be the

general approach, but the university offered

something novel, something new, and

something that can provide a career. This

attracts a lot of students.

Mobility and European Scholar ProjectsComment: I agree that a program in

acoustics and noise control can be an

integral part of an engineering education.

But it’s difficult for each university to

have experts in all the different topics

in acoustics. So a scholar project in

universities that work on specific

problems in acoustics can help students

as well as build joint ventures between

universities.

Question: Does a scholar project offer

any sort of learning packages?

Answer: Yes.

Question: So a student based in Italy

could obtain learning packages from one


of the other universities and could stay in

Italy and study these?

Answer: Yes. They can receive this

education as well as information on the

courses available throughout Europe.

Instruction on Product DesignComment: Consider what our duty is in

European universities. Our duty is to give

lectures to students which should remain

meaningful for the next ten to twenty

years. What is necessary to ensure this?

We must provide instruction on designing

a high level of quality into our products to

remain competitive on the world market.

Comment: Low-noise emission is an

indicator of the high quality of a product.

Training in acoustics then becomes

important to increase the quality of

various products. But it does not produce

new products; it concerns improvement

of existing products. This should be

important but is not in line with today’s

demand for an ever-increasing number

of mass-produced new products. In the

Swedish universities we have a trend

toward mass production of engineers.

The effect is often that the administration

favors courses that attract 75 students

rather than courses that only attract 25

students.

Highlights of the discussion:

1.While the interest in industrial sciences

and engineering among the younger

persons in EU countries is decreasing,

the number of applicants for engineering

programs specializing in acoustics appears

to holding steady.

2.There is a divide between the developed

world where interest in engineering is

decreasing and the developing world

where the demand for engineering-related

courses is burgeoning.

3.Engineering courses available in many

Asian countries tend to be more academic

and less oriented towards practical

problem solving than the Western-style

courses.

4.Courses in the design of low-noise

products to prepare graduates to meet

industry needs must be further developed.

5.How can interest among students in

acoustics and noise control engineering be

increased?

a.Exploit the interest in audio

technology and multimedia studies.

b.Choose a hot topic such as energy

into which one can introduce

acoustics. Other such topics as

thermoacoustics and the noise control

implications in medical acoustics have

current interest.

c.Use applications in array technology

involving microphones, loudspeakers,

and sound sources.

d.Combine noise control technology

with other currently relevant issues

such as clean air, as such subjects are

popular because of their social impact.

1. Lindsay, R.B., Report to the National Science Foundation on conference on education in acoustics,

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 36, 2241-2243, 1964

NNI

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Prof. Akira Omoto, Kyushu University, •

Japan

Prof. Jeong-Guon Ih, KAIST, Korea•

Presentations

The Noise Control Engineering Course in Nanjing UniversityProfessor Xiaojun Qiu, China

Nanjing University was founded in 1908

and is one of the top eight universities

in China. The University has about

62 departments, 127 institutes, 700

professors, 11,000 postgraduate students

and more than 32,000 undergraduate

students. The Institute of Acoustics of

Nanjing University is one of the top

two Acoustics Institutes in China, and

has more than 14 professors and about

100 postgraduate students. The research

area covers Physical Acoustics, Photo

Acoustics, Ultrasonics, Audio Acoustics,

and Audio Signal Processing. The noise

control group consists of staff from

the Audio Acoustics and Audio Signal

Processing research areas, and there is one

professor, one associate professor, three

lecturers, and more than 20 postgraduate

students in the group. The group owns two

full anechoic chambers, one reverberation

room, a set of sound insulation rooms,

and a listening room. The hardware in

the institute includes various equipment

and instruments such as a 16 channel

Pulse Multi Analyser and Head Acoustics

Analyser, and the software includes

Odeon, Ease, Ansys, and Virtual DSP.

Nanjing University is the only university

in China which offers a Bachelor degree

IntroductionEducation in noise control engineering

in Europe and the United States was

surveyed in workshops held during 2007

in Spain and the USA respectively. The

article on noise control engineering

education in Europe was published in

the March, 2009 issue of this magazine;

the article on noise control engineering

education in the USA was published in

the September, 2008 issue. This article is

based on a forum held in Shanghai, China

on October 27, 2009 as part of INTER-

NOISE 08.

The objectives of the Shanghai forum on

“Asia-Pacific Education in Noise Control

Engineering were to:

Determine if the demand for noise •

control engineers in Asia-Pacific

countries is greater than the supply

provided by the universities in these

countries;

Identify the components of a typical •

curriculum in noise control engineering

relating to several sub-specialties such

as the design of low-noise products,

building acoustics, and measurement/

instrumentation technology including

model curricula;

Assess the ability of higher education •

to supply noise control engineers and

identify the universities that offer

curricula on noise control engineering;

and

Describe the mathematical preparation •

that students need and the background

in the social, psychological, and

physiological sciences required for a

career in noise control engineering.

The goals of the workshop were to:

Identify the institutions in each country •

(universities and other) that influence

the engineering curricula in that

country.

Prepare a typical curriculum in noise •

control engineering including required

courses to cover the following sub-

specialties:

Design of low-noise products (control •

at the source)

NCE applications (control by path •

interference)

Noise control in buildings•

Measurement and instrumentation •

technology

Modeling techniques including FEA, •

SEA, etc.

Identify all institutions in the Asia-•

Pacific region offering education

in noise control engineering and its

related specialties.

William W. Lang chaired the sessions

which consisted of panelists from China,

Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia,

and India gave presentations on NCE

education at their university:

Following the morning session and each

afternoon session there was a discussion

period during which forum participants

asked questions of the panelists or

contributed additional information on

NCE education in the Asia-Pacific region.

Session 1 Panelists

Prof. Xiaojun Qiu, Nanjing University, •

China

Asia-Pacific Education in Noise ControlJanet Moss, Noise Control Foundation; e-mail:[email protected]


national or local institutes of metrology

and environmental monitoring stations

need both undergraduate and postgraduate

students. The companies that hire the

acoustics students include communication

companies (noise in communications),

electronic device companies

(loudspeakers, microphones); and both

undergraduate and postgraduate students

are required. However, few students find a

job in companies with noise and vibration

control engineering (perhaps because of

salary). The current situations are that

every undergraduate who majored in

acoustics can find a job after graduation,

and industry demands more high-degree

students with specialized knowledge in

acoustics.

In summary, for the students who majored

in acoustics at Nanjing University, the

demand for noise control engineers is

greater than the supply provided by the

University. The contents of the current

undergraduate curriculum in the noise

control engineering course at Nanjing

University only cover the basic knowledge

and technologies. More components

relating to specific subjects such as

numerical methods of SEA, FEM, and

BEM, structure-borne sound, modal

analyses, and measurement methods are

needed in the noise control practice and

scientific research. These can be provided

as advanced courses or postgraduate

courses, and Nanjing University has the

ability to supply the advanced courses and

training for noise control engineers.

Curriculum of Acoustical Engineering in Kyushu UniversityProfessor Akira Omoto, Japan

Introduction Kyushu University, one of 87

national universities in Japan, has 11

undergraduate schools, 17 graduate

schools, 16 faculties, and a hospital.

in Acoustics. The students who major

in Acoustics are with the Department

of Electronic Science and Engineering,

which also has Electronic Engineering

and Communication Engineering majors.

The general courses for the students of

all majors include Mathematics, Physics,

Electronics, Computer, and Signal

Processing. The special courses for

students majoring in Acoustics include

Fundamentals of Acoustics (2x2 hours per

week for 16-18 weeks), Electroacoustics

(3x1 hours per week for 16-18 weeks),

Ultrasonics (3x1 hours per week for 16-18

weeks), Principles of Noise and Vibration Control (3x1 hours per week for 16-18

weeks), Architectural Acoustics (3x1

hours per week for 16-18 weeks, elective),

Audio Engineering (2x1 hours per week

for 16-18 weeks, elective), Principles of

Acoustical Measurements (2x1 hours per

week for 16-18 weeks), and Acoustical

Measurement Experiments (3x1 hours

per week for 4 weeks).

The contents of the Noise Control

Engineering (NCE) Course in Nanjing

University are Fundamentals and Basic

Terminology, Noise Level Criteria,

Sound Sources, Outdoor Sound

Propagation, Sound Barriers, Sound

Power Measurement, Room Acoustics,

Sound Absorption, Sound Transmission

through Partitions, Insulation Structures,

Dissipative Mufflers, Reactive Mufflers,

Vibration Absorbers, Vibration Isolation,

Active Noise Control, and Structure Borne

Sound. The general objective of the course

is to understand the physics of noise

generation, propagation, and perception;

to understand the principles of noise and

vibration control measures; and to practice

the methods and techniques of noise and

vibration control. The references include a

number of noise control books in Chinese

and English. The goals of the NCE Course

in Nanjing University are to interest

the students by citation of the latest

international scientific publications, to let

the students know the fundamentals by

using intensive math and derivations, and

to let the students to learn the practical

design methods by having intensive

exercises and practical projects.

There are about 30 undergraduate

students majoring in acoustics every

year, and 60-90 percent of them enter

postgraduate programs such as acoustics,

physics, biology, architecture, mechanical

engineering, electronic engineering,

and ocean engineering. Of those, 10-20

percent go overseas, 20-30 percent stay at

Nanjing University, and 30-40 percent go

to other universities or Institutes in China.

Only 10-40 percent of the undergraduates

go directly for jobs after graduation.

When the students enter postgraduate

programs, the acoustics courses they study

include Principles of Sound Radiation,

Nonlinear Acoustics, Sound Propagation

in Solids, Modern Acoustics Experiments,

Acoustics Progresses, Photo Acoustics,

Thermo Acoustics, Fundamentals of

Medical Ultrasonic, Acoustic Electronics,

and Modern Digital Signal Processing.

There usually are seminars every week

in each research group. The students

also need to write a degree thesis; the

thesis for a master’s degree usually takes

1-2 years and the thesis for a doctoral

degree usually takes 3-5 years. The

topics of the thesis usually target on new

knowledge, techniques and methods in

the area of sound generation, propagation,

perception, and control.

The demand for students who majored

in acoustics comes from education

and research institutes, government

departments, industry, companies, and

manufacturers. For the universities and

research institutes, their postgraduate

program enrolls undergraduates while

teaching and/or research positions need

master and doctoral degree students.

The government institutes such as the


In this university, there is one unique

department, Department of Acoustic

Design, which makes a specialty of a

wide range of acoustical subjects. This

department belongs to the faculty of

design which was originally established

as independent university, Kyushu

Institute of Design (KID), in 1968

toward the principle of “Humanization

of Technology.” Due to the restructuring

concept of the national universities in

Japan, KID was integrated with Kyushu

University in 2003. In the Department of

Acoustic Design, the number of regular

students for the undergraduate course is

38 per year, and 20 to 30 for the graduate

course. The program is conducted by 19

academic staff members.

Educational Aims of the Department of Acoustic DesignThe department trains its students

as specialists in acoustical design by

providing them not only with a technical

understanding of acoustics and the

art of its application but with a broad

perspective on man and his society. To this

end, the department’s research focuses on

planning and design which deepens our

understanding of the culture of sound,

creates acoustic environments appropriate

for human beings, and promotes advances

in the content and quality of acoustic

information.

CurriculumStudents have two-years for general

education. However in the Department

of Acoustic Design, there are some

specialized subjects during these years.

Based on the educational aim shown

above, the subjects cover very wide range

of acoustics, e.g., musical acoustics,

physiology and psychology of hearing,

noise control engineering, and signal

processing. All of the specialized subjects

are listed below.

Year 1

1st Term 2nd Term

Seminar in Sound Culture I, II History of Western Music

Tech. Listening Training I Theoretical Acoustics I

Year 2

1st Term 2nd Term

Sound Design

Physiology of Hearing

Acoustical Information Processing

Electrical Engineering

Theoretical Acoustics II

Instruments Practice

Linguistics

Tech. Listening Training II

Programming Languages

Perceptual Psychology

Psychology of Hearing

Digital Signal Processing

Construction of Music

Electronics

Phonetics

Sound Performance

Comparative Musical Theory

Practical Application of Theoretical Acoustics

Year 3

1st Term 2nd Term

Experiments on Electronics

Acoustics Laboratory I

Psychometrics

Musicology

Room Acoustics

Rating and Control of Noise

Theoretical Analysis of Sound Field

Auditory Perception and Cognition

Audio Devices

Digital Signal Processing Seminar

Acoustic Information Processing

Audiology

Acoustics Laboratory II

Nonlinear Dynamics

Applied Musicology

Acoustics of Musical Instruments

Acoustic Information Processing Seminar

Oral Examination concerning important keywords of acoustics (around 100 keywords)

Year 4

1st Term 2nd Term

Seminar

Sound Recording and Creation

Senior Project I

Senior Project II

For graduation, in addition to 136 credits which include 80 credits for specialized subjects, students are required to complete a graduation thesis

Awarded degree: Bachelor of Design

Student SelectionTo enter the Department of Acoustic Design, a student must take common and individual

examinations which include physics and mathematics covering highest contents for high

school as usual scientific universities in Japan.


Careers of GraduatesAbout half of the undergraduate students

go to the graduate course (master

course) and the remaining are employed

by companies. The career of both

undergraduate and graduate students can

be summarized as below (roughly in the

descending order).

Manufacturing industry:• including

SONY, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi,

Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Bose,

DENON …

Information and Communication •

Technology: NTT, Trendmicro,

Software division of Fujitsu, NEC,

IBM, …

Noise Control Engineering:• Private

Consultant, General Contractor, Car

industry such as Kajima, Shimizu,

Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi,

Daihatsu, Suzuki…

Broadcasting:• NHK, TBS, YTV, …

Sound Engineer:• Recording Studios,…

University Staff:• mostly in Japan

Around 10 percent of the students go

to the field of noise control engineering

every year (an average of 3.6 students per

year over 30 years).

SummaryThe staffs of the department are still

trying to improve the curriculum to

adapt the drastic changes of the society.

However, needless to say, these changes

are not only chasing the trend, but holding

the physical and mathematical basics of

the acoustics.

Noise Control and Acoustics Education at the NOVIC Center in KAISTProf. Jeong-Guon Ih, Korea

Background Information about KAIST and NOVIC:The Korea Advanced Institute of

Science and Technology (KAIST) is

a government-built, higher-education

institution offering B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.

degrees in science and technology. It

is a research-oriented university, so the

total number of postgraduate students far

outnumbers the number of undergraduate

students. The undergraduate students are

mostly from special “Science Highs”

and “High Schools for Gifted Students,”

into which only a small fraction of all

high school students in Korea can enter.

The Center for Noise and Vibration

Control (NOVIC) was founded in 1989;

it encompasses six regular academic

staffs and five adjunct staffs from the

Mechanical Engineering and Architectural

Acoustics departments, and about 130

postgraduate students and post docs. By

August, 2008, NOVIC had produced

about 320 M.S. and 220 Ph.D. graduates;

most of the Ph.D. graduates are now

working at research institutes and industry

in Korea.

Key Question: Is specialized training leading to an

academic degree needed for the practice of

noise control engineering in your country?

Answer: Absolutely yes. But, there is

another way to be a certified noise and

vibration engineer and that is by taking a

qualifying exam.

Capacity: What is the current capacity of your •

institution for producing trained

noise control engineers? How

many students can the noise control

engineering program at your university

accommodate and how many graduate

annually?

Answer: On average, we produce

about 33 engineers per year.

Does this number satisfy the current •

demand for noise control engineers?

Answer: We enjoy a surplus of

industrial demand. Industry fields in

Korea that request high-level noise

and vibration control engineers are:

car manufacturers and their part

makers, electronics companies, heavy

industries, ship-building companies,

train manufacturers, defense industries,

construction companies, steel and

metals manufacturers, etc. Also, many

graduates are employed by the research

institutions and educational institutions.

Curriculum: At your university what are the •

essential courses of a curriculum

to educate students in noise control

engineering?

Answer: (B.S. level) Mechanical

vibrations, Dynamics; (M.S. and Ph.D.

level) Introduction to acoustics, Linear

vibrations, Noise control, Random

data, Linear system control, Rotor

dynamics, Computational vibration

analysis, Mechanical signature,

Wave propagation, Structure-borne

sound, Aeroacoustics, Vehicle NVH

(excluding mathematical courses and

core courses).

When does a student at your institution •

begin this curriculum (e.g. fourth year

of university)?

Answer: Third year of university,

usually in postgraduate school.

What department in your institution •

offers this curriculum, and what degree

is awarded at its completion?

Answer: M.E. and A.E. M.S. or Ph.D.

is awarded.

How many years does it take on •

average to complete this curriculum?

Answer: For M.S. it takes one year

and for Ph.D., two years for the course

work only.

Is a thesis required for this degree? •

Answer: Yes, for all students.

Identify the components of a •

particular curriculum in noise

control engineering as related to its

subspecialties, including the design of

low-noise products, building acoustics,

and measurement and instrumentation

technology (Include a model

curriculum.).

Answer: Noise control, Rotor

dynamics, Structure-borne sound,

Aeroacoustics, Vehicle NVH, etc.

Preparation: What is the mathematical level required •

of students entering this curriculum

(describe in detail)?

Answer: At the undergraduate level,

differentiation and integration theory I

and II, applied differential equations,


engineering mathematics I and II, linear

algebra, applied analytical methods,

and numerical techniques. At the

postgraduate level, mathematics for

mechanical engineers, introduction to

FEM, introduction to BEM, variational

and energy methods, optimal design, etc.

What background courses do •

engineers need in the psychological,

physiological, and social sciences?

Answer: Several courses among

the usual human science courses are

required for the undergraduate students.

Special topics in psychology are studied

only for the students who specialize in

sound quality or spatial sound.

Support: What are the sources of financial •

support for your students and for the

research projects they carry out under

your supervision?

Answer: Basically, all students

receive full scholarships from either

government or industry. Tuition and

fees are provided with some amount

of living cost as well. Additionally,

if a student is involved in a research

project, he or she will be provided

further financial support from the

supervisor. Funded research projects

from government and industry have

a ratio of about 2.5:1 in terms of the

amount of research money.

Short Courses and Distance Learning:

For those noise control practitioners •

without formal training in noise

control engineering, what professional

development opportunities exist in

your institution to provide knowledge

of the fundamentals of the field?

Answer: At the moment, we provide

two short courses every year. (1)

Modal Analysis: Theory, test, and

applications (since 1983, annually;

trained about 1,300 engineers) and

(2) Noise Control: Fundamentals of

Acoustics and its applications (since

1991, annually; trained about 820

engineers). Participants were mostly

from industry in Korea.

What fraction of the noise control •

practitioners in your country are

prepared for practice using primarily

these opportunities?

Answer: We do not have any statistical

data on the number of noise control

engineers in Korea, but the number

of trained engineers in the two

aforementioned courses indicates that

about 95 noise control practitioners

per year are taking these educational

opportunities from our center. Most

of Korea’s major industries send their

engineers here for these short courses.

Discussion – Session 1

Chair: Few students find jobs in noise

control engineering. Is this because

the students are not interested in noise

control or the companies and government

ministries are not interested?

Prof. Qiu: For the students in Nanjing

University, when they graduate if they are

not going into the post-graduate program,

almost everyone can get a job. However,

few find a job doing noise control.

The reason might be that normally the

company doing noise control engineering

pays less than the banking and financial

industry and the electronics companies.

Chair: Panel, are there engineers in

industry who have not taken a course in

acoustics? Engineers doing noise control

without training?

Prof. Qiu: From projects we have

carried out and from my experience,

many engineers in industry are doing

noise and vibration control. Many of

them lack the knowledge we are teaching.

For example, in car manufacturing

companies and commercial production

companies, there are many problems with

noise and vibration control; but these

come from different departments such as

quality control. The engineers in these

departments sometimes have not taken

courses in acoustics and vibration control.

Prof. Omoto: It is almost the same in

Japan. There are some engineers without

acoustics or noise control training. They

are mechanical engineers or electronics

engineers or sometimes other engineering

specialties. Our department offers special

courses in acoustics.

Prof. Ih: In Korea, there are many experts

in industry who are educated in noise

and vibration control. The demand for

experts is high because industry has only

engineers with the basics of noise control

or acoustic technology. Nowadays, what is

requested is a higher and specialized level

of technology training. Fulfilling industry

demand is very difficult as the products

become high-end and the requested

training becomes specific to an industrial

field. But still we have some requests for

graduates with this training from small and

medium-sized companies. They have a

limited knowledge of acoustics and noise

control, so the training we provide seems to

be quite helpful to them.

Prof. Qiu: Nanjing University is the

only university in China which provides

a bachelor’s degree in acoustics. All

graduates can get a job or go on to a

postgraduate program. Both industry

and government ask us to enroll more

students, but we don’t have the ability to

do that. We need to apply to the Ministry

of Education for more funding so we have

the capability for more students.

Chair: This question is for KAIST.

Are graduates in research ministries and

industry doing noise control engineering

or general acoustics such as room

acoustics or building acoustics?

Prof. Ih: The graduates have a variety

of specialties. Some students study

architectural acoustics, for example; but the

number is very small. Usually they study

only general acoustics or noise control.


If they join industry, they are usually

assigned to job positions that are strongly

related to their former study or training.

But, after they are promoted to a higher

position, they usually go into other areas.

When he or she becomes a manager, the

job function becomes different from his/her

specialization—usually a systems engineer

with only a small part involved with noise

and vibration control.

Prof. Eun: When you say the noise

control industry, do you mean specifically

major industry or small companies such

as consulting companies? When Prof. Qiu

says industries, he means big companies

which deal with noise control engineering

as part of their business. So it should be

distinguished which one is meant—a

small-scale consulting firm or a major

industry?

Prof. Qiu: There are two kinds of

companies in China. We have small

consulting companies involved with

noise and vibration control. Large

companies such as a car manufacturer

have departments doing design related

to acoustic noise and vibration control.

What I talked about in my presentation

was pertinent to the small companies.

Actually few graduates want to go to

small companies. Most graduates would

like a job in a large company in China

that normally doesn’t have a division

or department especially for noise and

vibration control. The company may have

a department, for example, on quality

control, which does projects related to

noise and vibration control.

Chair: Are jobs in larger companies more

attractive than those in smaller companies

as far as engineers are concerned?

Prof. Qiu: Yes, I think so. When they’re

working in small companies, sometimes

they get a high salary, sometimes very

low. The average salary in a small

company is usually lower than that in a

large company.

Chair: In China, Japan, and Korea,

what is the extent to which government

bureaus employ your graduates? In

China, are government bureaus attractive

for your graduates as far as noise control

engineering is concerned?

Prof. Qiu: Yes. The government bureaus

want to employ our students and most

of our graduates also like to go into a

government department because the job is

very stable and the salary is not low.

Prof. Omoto: Quite a few Kyushu

University graduates go to government

jobs, and many go to commercial

companies or private practice.

Prof. Ih: After graduation, some students

become government officials, but not

many. To become a government official,

they must take a special examination

which has nothing to do with their

specialties. If a graduate wanted to

practice his/her own specialty, he/

she should try to get a special contract

with the government. But nowadays

something like bio- or nano-technologies

is preferred, so noise control engineering

is probably not as attractive as before.

Chair: I’d like to talk about research

funding in Japan. What percent of the

funding in acoustics influences the choice

of a university? What percent of your

research comes from the public and what

percent from the private sector?

Prof. Omoto: For instruction, it’s

completely from school tuitions. For

the individual research projects, it’s

half—half from the universities and half

from the private companies. That may not

be accurate, but my impression is half or

maybe a bit more from the private sector.

Prof. Qiu: For the research funding

we get, one third to one half is from

the government and the rest is from

industry. Very little funding comes from

noise and vibration control companies.

We do, however, get funding from

telecommunication companies.

Prof. Bernhard: A question for Prof.

Qiu from Nanjing. The programming you

describe in your university is primarily

an electro-acoustics program that offers

the possibility for a student to emphasize

noise control engineering. But most

of your grads are really doing electro-

acoustics. Nanjing is a very prestigious

university with a very prestigious

program. I know we’ll hear more about

other education programs in China for

noise control engineering, but would

you make some comments on what you

know about noise control engineering

at other universities around the country.

Particularly address some of the questions

we’ve been asking here about supply

and demand and education programs.

Please give us a bit of perspective on

the differences there might be between

Nanjing and other Chinese universities.

Prof. Qiu: This afternoon Prof. Mao

from Tongji University will talk about the

engineering universities which are teaching

noise and vibration courses in China.

Nanjing University students normally go

to post-graduate programs. Some of our

graduates go to engineering universities

where they will get their training from

an engineering department so they have

broader knowledge. For noise and vibration

control programs, various departments

in many universities in China offer this

kind of training. These may be in the

environmental engineering department,

the mechanical engineering department, or

in other departments. The main difference

between the noise control engineering

program in Nanjing University and the

other Chinese universities is that the course

in Nanjing University requires intensive

math derivations and more physics

understanding and we require our students

to know the physical basis for the noise

control equations and measures in addition

to knowing how to use them.

Prof. Tachibana: In this morning’s

session we have three very special cases.


Prof. Omoto’s department is, perhaps, the

only department of acoustics in Japan.

Nanjing University and KAIST are in the

same situation. In this afternoon’s session

we will have general introductions to the

universities in each country. I’m deeply

impressed that the universities we’ve

heard from have very enriched contents in

their classes on acoustics.

Session 2

PanelistsProf. Dongxing Mao,• Institute of

Acoustics, Tongji University, China

Prof. C. M. Mak,• Hong Kong

Polytechnic, Hong Kong

Prof. Kentaro Nakamura,• Tokyo

Institute of Technology, Japan

Presentations

Noise Control Education in a Typical Chinese Polytechnic UniversityProfessor Dongxing Mao, China

Tongji University offers NCE programs

in the following schools and departments;

the number of students graduating and

their degrees are indicated:

School of Transportation (B.Eng., •

20-30 students; M.Eng., 2-3 students;

Ph.D, 1 student)

School of Architecture and City •

Planning (B.Eng., 30-40 students)

Department of Physics (Bsc., 15-20 •

students)

School of Environmental Science and •

Engineering (B.Eng., 50-60 students;

M.Eng., 30-40 students)

School of Automotive Engineering •

(B.Eng., 30-40 students; M.Eng., 2-3

students; Ph.D, 1 student)

These schools and department support

within the university the Institute of

Acoustics which also offers M.Eng.

degrees with 10-15 students and Ph.D

degrees with 3-5 students. At Tongji

University the average student requires 4

years for a B.Eng./Bsc., and an additional

2.5 years for a M.Eng./Msc., or 3 years

for a Ph.D.

NCE Education Research Facilities at

Tongji include a reverberation chamber

(286m3), an anechoic chamber (1200m3),

an automotive NVH chamber, three wind

tunnels (two for structural engineering and

one for automotive NVH), a high-speed

flow test stand, a noise response listening

room, and a full-sized, rail-noise test track.

Curriculum of NCE programDepartment of Physics

Essential courses: Advanced •

mathematics (2 semesters), Physics—

general and mechanics (4 semesters),

Analog/digital circuit (1 semester),

Electronics (1 semester), Mathematical

physics (1 semester),

NCE Professional courses: (starting •

from 3rd year)

Fundamentals of acoustics •

(1 semester),

Noise control engineering •

(1 semester),

Acoustical measurements •

(1 semester),

Graduate thesis: (1 semester) •

Institute of Acoustics NCE Professional courses:

Advanced noise and vibration (1 •

semester),

Theoretical acoustics I & II (2 •

semesters),

Progress in acoustics (1 semester) , •

Acoustical measurements (1 semester), •

Digital signal processing (1 semester), •

Environmental noise assessment and •

prediction

Noise and vibration control •

Research practice •

Graduate thesis: (3 semesters) •

School of Environmental/Automotive/Transportation

Essential courses: Advanced •

mathematics (2 semesters), General

physics (2 semesters), Theoretical

mechanics (1 semester), Material

mechanics (1 semester)

Model Curriculum – Environmental Acoustics (R: Required; E: Elective)

Professional Courses Hours Credits R or E

Advanced Acoustics 54 3 R

Advanced Acoustical Experiments 54 3 R

Signal Processing 54 3 R

Professional Foreign Language 36 2 R

Theoretical Acoustics 36 2 R

Acoustic Transducers 36 2 R

Noise and Vibration Control 54 3 E

Room Acoustics 54 3 E

C/C++ Programming Language 54 3 E

Lectures on Acoustical Progress 1 R

Literature reading and surveying 1 R

Background Courses

Courses for all Master Candidates Hours Credits R or E

Introduction to Dialectics of Nature 54 3 R

Theory and Practice of Scientific Socialism 36 1 R

Foreign Language (e.g. English) 108 3 R

2nd Foreign language (e.g. Japanese, German) 54 3 R

Teaching Practice or Specialty Practice 36 2 R


NCE Professional courses: (from 3rd •

year)

Noise control engineering •

Noise and vibration measurement •

Field practice (in summer short •

semester, 1 full week)

Thesis required but not necessarily in •

NCE

Mathematics Level SystemThe requirements on mathematical

preparation for the NCE courses are in

four levels: mathematics (1), physics (2),

engineering (3), and others (4) according

to difficulty. Level 1 is for mathematics

department students, which is the most

difficult level, and level 4 is the easiest

level. Levels 2 and 3 include calculus

and ordinary differential equations, series

solutions and special functions, vector

and tensor analysis, partial differential

equations, complex variables, and linear

algebra.

Supplementary TrainingContinuing education through distance •

learning. Annually approximately 15

students are enrolled. The courses are

the same as the regular courses, but

the exams are easier. The normal four-

year program is extended to five years.

Requirement for admission: graduation

from a professional college (two years

study after high school). In addition

to the distance learning opportunity,

three-week intensified courses with

examinations are available.

Financial support.• For students,

support may come from research

assistant/teaching assistant

appointments, consulting firms, and/or

parents. For research projects, support

may come from research foundations,

industry, and governmental support.

National Certification System for Noise Control EngineersGraduates may become registered

engineers in Environmental (Noise)

Assessment or Environmental (Noise)

Protection. To be certified as a noise

control engineer, a student must take

the examination given each year which

includes the following subjects:

Fundamentals:• Advanced

mathematics, general physics, general

chemistry, theoretical mechanics,

material mechanics, fluid mechanics,

computer-related technologies,

electrical engineering;

Professional (NCE):• Noise control

engineering, environmental surveys

and measurements, environmental

assessment and planning, laws and

regulations, noise control engineering

case study.

Noise Control Engineering Education in Hong KongProf. C. M. Mak, Hong Kong

BackgroundThere is an increasing concern about the

living environment and the quality of life

in Hong Kong. The process of continuing

urbanization has caused various kinds of

environmental pollution to our community.

Of these kinds of environmental pollution,

noise is a key one which has many negative

impacts on health, behavior, sleep periods,

tasking performance, social attitudes,

and many other aspects in our daily life.

Therefore there is a demand for noise

control in Hong Kong, and specialized

training leading to an academic degree is

required for the practice of noise control

engineering in Hong Kong. However, there

are not enough jobs solely for acoustic

engineers in Hong Kong. There are two

reasons:

First, the demand for trained professionals

in noise control engineering or acoustic

engineering is not very strong in Hong

Kong (supply and demand issue). In

building services or environmental

engineering, noise control or acoustics

is usually a small part compared to other

areas in the whole project. For example,

compared to the electrical installations,

fire and safety engineering, heating,

ventilation, air conditioning, indoor air

quality or lighting engineering in building

services engineering, noise control has not

been paid a great attention.

Secondly, acoustics or noise control is

usually related to health, acoustic comfort

or acoustic quality and is not about “safety”

or “life and death” issues. The public does

not pay enough attention to it. It is unlike

other subjects closely related to human life

and safety, such as electrical installations

or fire prevention systems. Although noise

in the city has negative impacts on people’s

health, behavior, sleep periods and other

living qualities, it usually does not cause a

serious injury or death to people.

Noise Control Engineering Education in Hong Kong: According to the current situation of

supply and demand, no bachelor degrees

in noise control engineering or acoustics

are offered by institutions in Hong Kong.

However, there are subjects within a

degree course or short courses offered by

tertiary education institutions or societies.

Different kinds of higher education

opportunities and corresponding curricula

are offered on noise control engineering

and closely-related subjects in various

universities and institutions in Hong Kong.

These subjects can cover a wide range

of acoustics fields and meet the needs of

students at various levels, which include

fundamentals of noise, noise assessment,

building acoustics, environmental

acoustics, sound and vibration control, and

so on. Detailed information regarding noise

control education in Hong Kong is shown

in Table 1 (page 84).

Education in Acoustical Engineering at Japanese UniversitiesProfessor Kentaro Nakamura, Japan

BackgroundWe have nearly 750 universities in Japan,

composed of 87 national universities, 89

public universities and approximately

570 private universities. Approximately

600,000 freshmen entered the universities

this year.


However, the number of freshmen has

decreased year by year for the past five

years because of the falling birthrate.

At the same time, the number of young

people who want an education in the

field of science or engineering is also

decreasing rapidly. This situation is

casting a shadow over education at

Japanese universities.

Restructuring of the national universities

has been undertaken during the past

several years. All the national universities

in Japan have changed their organization

to a “national university corporation”

from a “pure” national university. Some of

the national universities were combined,

and the total number of the national

universities was reduced from 101 to 87.

From the Surveys of The Acoustical Society of JapanThe Acoustical Society of Japan (ASJ)

made surveys on education in acoustical

engineering at Japanese universities in

1987 and 1999. In addition, a third survey

is being carried out this year (2008).

According to these surveys, this report

summarizes today’s status of education

in acoustical engineering at Japanese

universities.

Half of the participants in the annual •

meeting of ASJ are engaged in noise

control engineering.

75 percent of the universities have •

lectures on acoustics or acoustics-

related subjects.

Education in acoustics is given in •

departments of mechanics, electronics/

information engineering, and

architecture/civil engineering as well

as in music colleges in Japan.

In the departments of mechanics, •

discrete vibration systems is the

main topic. Vibration of solid body

and numerical methods such as finite

element analysis are taught in some of

the advanced courses.

In the department of electronics/•

information, electroacoustics is

the main subject. The principles of

transducers are taught here. Signal

processing is also an important subject.

Room acoustics and psychological •

methods are dealt with in the

departments of architecture/civil

engineering.

In music colleges, some of the basic •

concepts in acoustics are taught.

The acousticians in ASJ consider •

that the most important mathematical

knowledge needed to learn noise

control engineering is statistics. Basic

analysis and Fourier theory are also

significant subjects.

Knowledge of basic physics, •

electronics, and computer

programming are the first three

subjects to be studied for noise control

engineering.

Web learningThe Japan Science and Technology

Agency (JST) is providing an ‘e-learning’

program for free-access. This program

contains noise control engineering. Some

universities have Open Course Ware

(OCW) on their web-site.

Financial support for students and for researchMonbu-kagaku-sho (Ministry for education

and science) has several financial support

programs for students and research.

Approximately 191.3 billion yen was

supplied under the program of “Promotion

of research by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific

Research” in 2007. Approximately 25

percent of the applications from researchers

pass this selection process every year.

On the other hand, the COE (center of

excellence) program provides special

support for building a new education

system in universities. We have several

private foundations for young scientists,

such as the “Ono Grant for Sound

Science” and “The Sound Technology

Promotion Foundation.”

Short coursesINCE/J (Institute of Noise Control

Table 1, Noise Control Engineering Education in Hong Kong

Institution Name of Program Subject TitleHong Kong Polytechnic University

B.Eng. in B.S.E. Acoustics Control EngineeringM.Sc. in B.S.E Building AcousticsB.Eng. in M.E. Environment Noise

Noise Abatement & ControlPrinciples of Sound & VibrationSound and Vibration in Products

BEng in CE Air & Noise Pollution StudiesCity University of Hong Kong

B.Sc. in E.S.M. Principles of Noise Pollution

The University of Hong Kong

B.Eng. in ME AcousticsVibration

B.Eng. in M.E./B.S.E. AcousticsVibration

Hong Kong Institute of Acoustics

Short Course Certificate Course on Road Traffic Noise AssessmentCertificate Course on Road Traffic Noise MeasurementAdvanced Level Course on Road Traffic Noise Measurement

The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Higher Diploma in M.E.

Engineering Solutions To PollutionIndustrial Environmental Technology

Note: BSE-Building Services Engineering, ME-Mechanical Engineering, CE-Civil Engineering, ESM-Environmental Science & Management.


Engineering of Japan) has basic courses

for noise control three or four times a

year. ASJ (Acoustical Society of Japan)

is offering some short courses for various

fields in acoustics such as digital signal

processing, ASJ-model, ultrasonics,

sound source localization, and speech

recognition. A summer seminar for young

researchers and students has been held

every year this past decade. The ASJ has

started a beginner’s seminar since its last

annual meeting.

SummaryNoise control engineering / acoustics •

is taught in the departments of

mechanics, architecture, and

electronics / information.

The number of lectures related •

to acoustics is decreasing in

undergraduate courses at Japanese

universities.

Several special universities provide a •

full set of acoustic courses.

Not many universities have complete •

courses for acoustics.

In general, it is difficult to cover all the •

required subjects at one university.

The role of academic societies is •

becoming important to complement the

curriculum at universities.

Most of the data presented in this talk

were provided by the members of the

Research Committee for Education in

Acoustics, ASJ.


Chair: How many students are

concentrating on noise control engineering

in the Environmental Engineering

Department at Tongji University?

Prof. Mao: In the Environmental

Engineering Department about one

fourth of the students concentrate on

noise control engineering. We have four

subspecialties, which are water, air, solid

waste, and noise pollution control; and

the students are almost evenly distributed

in each specialty. Therefore, one quarter

of them are studying noise control

engineering.

Chair: In Tongji University, you

have many undergraduate students

studying noise control engineering in

the automotive department. Can you

get many of these students to continue

for a Master’s degree in noise control

engineering?

Prof. Mao: No. It depends on the

interests of the students. Some years we

have few automotive students who enter

the Master’s degree program. Very few

students in the automotive department

choose noise control engineering as their

focus for a Master’s degree program

as compared to other directions in

automotive engineering.

Chair: Will the panelists please comment

on the supply and demand for noise

control engineers in your countries.

Prof. Mao: In the morning session

Prof. Qiu was talking about the demand

and supply at Nanjing University. At

Tongji University the noise control

engineering education was combined

with other engineering disciplines such as

environmental noise control or automotive

noise control. Today in China there is a

big demand in the automotive industry,

in environmental studies, and also in civil

engineering. The demand in these areas is

very strong. But the problem is that we can

have only a few students who specialize in

acoustics, that is, take full courses in noise

control. For example, in some automotive

companies, when they have an NVH group,

they may plan to employ ten members who

specialize in noise control engineering.

But of all the people they finally get, only

one fifth of them will come from institutes

where they have had full courses in noise

control engineering. Others come from

the automotive department and have taken

only a part of the noise control engineering

courses. They have to work together

because students from the Institute of

Acoustics, for example, do not have much

knowledge of special engineering fields

such as the automotive engineering.

Prof. Mak: Recently we have had a

meeting on this subject at the Hong Kong

Institute of Acoustics. We discussed the

possibility of having a post-graduate

diploma or MSC curriculum in acoustical

or noise control engineering. However,

after our discussion we realized that the

demand for such courses is not very high.

It would be difficult for us to recruit

or admit students, so we dropped that

consideration. Basically in Hong Kong

the two branches of acoustics that have

most people are building acoustics and

environmental acoustics, but the numbers

are not large. Again it’s a matter of

supply and demand. We cannot have post-

graduate courses because we don’t have a

sufficient demand for such courses.

Prof. Nakamura: It is rather difficult

to answer the question of the balance

between the demand and the supply.

But most Japanese companies need

noise control engineers, but there are

not so many people available. If the

students study very narrowly, they have

little choice of jobs when they go into

industry; so they study many subjects.

The interesting thing is that when my

students graduate from my laboratory,

they go to electronics or car companies,

saying goodbye to acoustics and sound

technology. However, after five years,

some of the students contacted me

asking about the acoustics. Very few

companies hire people who know only

about acoustics. In general, acoustics are

not considered at the beginning of the

design of machines. But once a problem

arises, the company starts to look for

acousticians. But the supply cannot satisfy

the demand.

Prof. Tachibana: I’d like to supplement

Prof. Nakamura’s comment. In Japan, for

example, Nissan automobile company


has its own acoustic course for younger

engineers for one week—5 days—with

rich technical content. So the industry

doesn’t expect us to provide this additional

instruction.

Chair: In the Acoustical Society of Japan

summer education program, how do you

“tune” the level of the participants?

Prof. Nakamura: This is also very

difficult. Every time we consider the

level, we tune to the very beginners, the

individuals who have just joined this field.

So if they attend our seminar, they receive

an overview of acoustics, not every detail.

Our seminar is tuned to the very beginners.

Prof. Eun: My question is also related to

supply and demand but from a different

perspective, not with employment but

with the content of education. Prof. Mak,

I understand that the main concern with

noise control engineering in Hong Kong

may be related to transportation problems,

either with street noise or aircraft noise.

You may not have as many problems with

industrial noise. I assume that this may

require some special consideration when

you formulate the educational curricula

for noise control engineering. Am I right?

Prof. Mak: Yes, of course, we need to

consider transportation noise. In Hong

Kong we have a traffic noise prediction

model. We have traffic noise assessment.

We have many prediction and measurement

methods. The students are, of course, in

university with wide choices of courses

and subjects, but we don’t have a degree

curriculum in transportation noise. But

we do have courses that enable students to

study environmental noise or transportation

noise or prediction of low traffic noise.

There are also courses in the mechanical

and civil engineering departments.

Prof. Mao: In the mechanical engineering

department courses are given in vibration

control. In our department vibration

isolation is taught—when a machine is

vibrating, how we can isolate the vibration?

Chair: To what extent does the

government employ trained noise control

engineers in government service?

Prof. Mao: In environmental engineering

the students find service in governmental

departments to be desirable. They are

interested in working in environmental

protection departments in the government,

(and the government has had a large

demand in recent years because the

environmental protection issue has

become critical during the rapid

development in the past few decades in

China). But for other departments, such

as the transportation and automotive

departments, the governmental service

post is not as desirable as industrial

jobs, such as working in an automotive

company because it pays much more than

a government job.

Prof. Mak: In Hong Kong we have the

Environmental Protection Department

that monitors all transportation noise and

environmental noise. So they have people

trained to do this.

Chair: Are they expecting to use

trained engineers in noise control or are

consultants available?

Prof. Mak: Hong Kong is an

international city. We can engage people

from all over the world, including from

China.

Chair: In Japan how attractive is

government service?

Prof. Nakamura: Most of the students

go into industry. Few enter a national

research laboratory or similar groups.

Prof. Tachibana: In Japan we have the

Research Institute of the Ministry of the

Environment. It is a very large research

institute, but has no acousticians.

Session 3

Panelists

Prof. Joseph Lai,• Australian Defence

Force Academy, Australia

Prof. Sang Kyu Park,• Yonsei

University, Korea

Prof. S. Narayanan,• Indian Institute

of Technology, India

Presentations

Noise Control Engineering Education in AustraliaProfessor Joseph Lai, Australia

The Australian Acoustical Society was •

formed in 1964 and has approximately

500 members with specializations in

noise and vibration, architectural and

building acoustics, and underwater

acoustics.

The Association of Australian •

Acoustical Consultants was formed

in 1976 and includes more than 24

companies and approximately 300

consultants.

There are 600 to 700 noise control •

engineers in Australia and more than

90 percent of them are estimated to be

engineering or physics graduates.

National Engineering SceneThirty-two Australian Universities provide

accredited or provisionally accredited

engineering degree programs. These are:

4-year Bachelor of Engineering degree •

3-year Bachelor of Technology degree •

1-year Masters coursework •

1.5-year Masters by research •

3-year Ph.D. •

Less than 25 percent of the funding

for these programs comes from the

government. Most funding is through the

Higher Education Contribution Scheme

(fees/tax) for domestic students and fees

for international students.


Enrolment in engineering programs over

the ten year period (1996 – 2006) has

grown by 25 percent for undergraduates,

128 percent for postgraduates, and 49

percent for students doing research work.

Enrolment by international students in

the same period has doubled and made

up 25 percent of the undergraduates in

2006. Women constitute 14 percent of

the engineering students and 4 percent

of practicing engineers. Because of these

increases, the staff/student ratio has fallen

from 1:14 in 1996 to 1:21 in 2006.

Although there are 8,000 graduates at

the bachelor level, 3,400 postgraduates,

and 845 engineers who have completed

research work, this is not adequate to

meet the demand. The current shortfall

in engineers is reported to be 30,000.

The number of domestic commencing

engineering students has fallen from 6.1%

in 1996 to 5.6% of the total domestic

commencing students in 2006. Although

the current demand exceeds the supply,

this is not a capacity issue.

CapacityThere are approximately 200,000

practicing engineers of whom only

600-700 are noise control engineers/

consultants. Although approximately

8,000 engineers graduate each year, they

cover a diverse range of disciplines from

aeronautical engineering to chemical

engineering, civil engineering, electrical,

mechanical engineering, materials

engineering, software engineering, etc.

There is no noise control engineering

undergraduate degree program. There

are 32 university engineering schools,

but only one third offer acoustics/noise

control engineering subjects.

CurriculumA General Mechanical Engineering •

Degree requires the following:

4- years •

Thesis project (approx 1/3 of final •

year)

Vibration (1 subject, approx 3% of the •

degree curriculum) taken at Year 2 or

3 as core

Acoustics/noise control (on average, •

1 subject, approx 3% of the degree

curriculum) taken at Year 3 or 4 either

as core or elective

Curriculum

Year 1: Mathematics, •

Computational Methods, Physics,

Chemistry, Mechanics

Year 2: Mathematics, •

Design, Mechanics of Solids,

Fluid Mechanics, Materials,

Thermodynamics, Dynamics,

Vibration, General Education

Year 3: Mathematics, Design, •

Structures, Thermofluids, Control,

Management, General Education,

Electives

Year 4: Design, Thermofluids, •

Control, Electives, Thesis Project

PreparationTo enter an engineering program, students

must have completed courses in higher

level mathematics (Calculus & Linear

Algebra) and physics. There is minimal

necessity for background courses in the

psychological, physiological and social

sciences.

Support for research projects is generally

provided by the Australian Research

Council and by industry.

Short Courses and Distance Learning

Noise Control Engineers/Consultants •

are usually recruited from Engineering/

Physics graduates and research student

graduates in noise control engineering.

The University of New South Wales

(UNSW) used to offer Master of

Engineering Science in Noise and

Vibration but this was discontinued

due to low enrolment

Their professional development is •

normally supported by:

on the job training and mentoring; •

and

a number of short courses ranging •

from 1 day to 1 week;

Australian Acoustical Society (AAS)/•

Association of Australaian Acoustical

Consultatnts (AAAC) Diploma started

in 2007:

Based on UK Institute of Acoustics •

Diploma program

Flexible professional education in •

acoustics program

Modules: General Principles •

of Acoustics, Architecture and

Building Acoustics, Environmental

Acoustics, Noise & Vibration

Control, Vibration and Shock,

Project

Noise Control Engineering Education in KoreaProfessor Sang Kyu Park, Korea

HistoryThe subjects of acoustics and noise

control engineering were not taught in

most Korean universities until 1970. As

the economy expanded in the mid 1970s,

people began to take an interest in the

noise problem and this resulted in a need

for technology to address the problem.


The increase in interest in the field is

shown by the rapid growth of the Korean

Society of Noise and Vibration Engineers

(KSNVE) which, over the past two

decades, has increased by 136 members

per year—a 30 percent growth rate. The

membership increased from 288 in 1990

to 2,505 in 2006.

Membership in KSNVE is classified by

occupation as follows:

Education – 43 percent•

Industrial – 34 percent•

Research – 17 percent•

Machine Design – 2 percent•

Other – 4 percent•

Classified by highest degree:

Bachelor’s – 33 percent•

Master’s – 32 percent•

Doctorate – 33 percent•

Other – 2 percent•

Classified by age the membership is:

20s – 12 percent•





Today the number of Korean high school

graduates per year is about 400,000; and

of those, about 300,000 continue their

schooling. The number of freshmen in pure

science and engineering is approximately

100,000. There are 160 four-year

universities and 200 two-year colleges in

Korea. In addition to the universities which

offer degrees in mechanical, architectural,

electrical, and environmental engineering,

there are other educational opportunities

available. These are provided by KSNVE,

professional engineering societies, and

government organizations.

Traditional StudiesIn the Mechanical Engineering and closely

related departments, dynamics, vibration

and control engineering courses are mainly

taught at the undergraduate level, while

acoustics and noise control engineering

courses are taught at the graduate level.

Mechanical engineering majors are given

the opportunity to target their studies

towards a number of different specialties

including automotive, electronic home

appliances, power plant design, petro-

chemical plant design, environmental plant

design (e.g. water treatment, incinerator),

and information technology.

In the Aerospace Engineering

departments, aircraft vibration control

and an understanding of noise generation

are taught at the undergraduate level.

Aeroacoustics is taught at the graduate

level. In the Naval Architecture and Ocean

Engineering departments, ship vibration

and an understanding of noise generation

are taught at the undergraduate level.

Noise control engineering, ship structural

vibroacoustics, and underwater acoustics

are taught at the graduate level.

Students interested in construction-

related majors may study architectural

engineering where the focus is

on auditorium and theater design,

construction noise, and interior building

noise. Emphasis is placed on exterior

design and structural engineering. In

the Civil Engineering departments the

undergraduates study vibration and blast

noise, and the graduate students go on to

study wave theory and wave mechanics.

In the Electrical Engineering departments

the undergraduates study fundamentals of

acoustics, and the graduate students go on

to study acoustical engineering and signal

processing.

Newly-offered SpecialtiesThe curriculum in Environmental

Engineering departments has targeted

traffic, airport, and railway noise;

construction noise; noise policy; and

environmental impact assessment.

The curriculum in the departments

of Industrial Safety and Health has

targeted workplace noise control and

related industrial hygiene topics at the

undergraduate level.

For education majors, there are courses

at both the undergraduate and graduate

level. The undergraduates in the

departments of Physics Education study

the teaching of acoustics, and graduate

students in the departments of Science

Education continue to study the teaching

of acoustics and wave theory. In the

colleges of music undergraduates have

the opportunity to study an introduction

to the acoustics of music.

Continuing EducationKSNVE offers short lectures four times

a year on subjects such as mechanical

engineering related topics, construction

related topics, environmental related

topics, information technology related

topics, and others.

The Professional Engineers Association

offers short lectures twice a year on noise

barriers, design of anechoic chambers,

absorptive materials, and airport noise.

Government bureaus offer courses in

noise labeling for construction machinery,

noise mapping, “green” growth policy,

and Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability

(LOHAS).

Noise Control Engineering Education in IndiaProf. S. Narayanan, India

Acoustics has been taught in a number of

universities in India, usually in the physics

departments, for several decades. The

main focus is on physical acoustics, wave

propagation through layered media, and

ultrasonics. Architectural acoustics offers

courses in the design of auditoriums,

lecture halls, and theaters; room acoustics;

acoustic materials; sound absorption,

reflection, and reverberation; and Sabine’s

formulation.

Courses in engineering acoustics and

noise control were introduced in the

early 1970s mainly in engineering

institutions such as the Indian Institute

of Technology (in Bangalore, Madras,

Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharaghpur,


Gauhati, and Roorkee). These courses are

offered to graduate students in mechanical

engineering, but the number of students

taking the courses is small.

The following courses in acoustics and

noise control are taught in three lecture

hours per week for 14 to 15 weeks:

Acoustics and noise control •

Building acoustics & noise control •

engineering

Engineering acoustics and its control •

Principles and fundamentals of •

acoustics

Noise engineering •

Vibration of marine structures and •

acoustics

Aero acoustics •

Engine noise and vibration •

Industrial noise control •

Acoustics of ducts and mufflers •

Structural acoustics •

These courses are also taken by Ph.D.

scholars doing research in specialized

areas of acoustics and noise control.

Course contents - Acoustics and noise control

Acoustical terminologies and definitions. •

Plane and spherical wave propagation. •

Theories of monopole, dipole and •

quadrupole sound sources.

Sound transmission and absorption. •

Mass law transmission, sound •

transmission through ducts, sound

absorption materials.

Structure borne sound –sound radiation •

and structural response

Machinery noise control •

Empirical methods of sound power •

calculations of bearings, gears, motors,

fans, propellers, generators, pump sets,

IC engines, gas turbines, etc.

Noise ratings and standards, human •

tolerance levels.

Equivalent sound levels and loudness •

contours.

Engine noise and muffler design •

Course contents- Industrial noise control

Principles of sound generation and •

propagation

Sound attenuation, sound absorption •

Sources of industrial noise •

Effects of noise •

Noise measurement units and •

instruments

Identification of sources of noise •

Noise evaluation procedures •

Design of acoustical enclosures •

Design of reactive and absorptive •

mufflers

Active noise control •

Designing for quieter machines and •

processes, case studies.

Other topics covered in industrial noise control

Physiology of human ear •

Subjective response to sound pressure •

levels

Hearing damage risk •

Environmental noise criteria •

Mechanisms of noise radiation •

Outdoor sound propagation •

Sound power and sound pressure level •

estimation procedures

Course contents- Structural acoustics

Types of wave propagation through •

solids

Sound radiation from rectangular •

plates and cylindrical shells

Coincidence and wave number spectra •

Wave impedance •

Transform and Rayleigh integral •

methods

Effect of fluid loading •

Transmission through partitions •

Fluid structure couplings in •

waveguides

Course contents- Acoustics of ducts and mufflers (offered at IISc Bangalore)

Acoustics of moving media •

Analysis and synthesis of one •

dimensional acoustic filters.

Exhaust process of reciprocating IC •

engines

Analysis and design of exhaust mufflers •

Finite wave analysis of exhaust systems. •

Aeroacoustic characterization of •

engine sources.

Course contents-Building acoustics and noise control engineering

Noise and vibration control in buildings •

Sound reinforcement system design •

Acoustical materials •

Reverberation control •

Construction equipment noise •

Criteria for noise and vibration in •

communities, buildings

Case studies relating to building •

acoustics

Cost effective noise control •

Noise and the law •

Course contents – Aeroacoustics

Governing equations •

Lighthill’s analogy •

Aerodynamic sound in unbounded flows •

FWH equation •

Sound generation in a fluid with rigid •

and flexible boundaries

Aeroacoustics of internal flows •

Waves in pipes •

Resonant and unstable systems •

Cavity resonances •

Combustion instabilities •

Reference books Kinsler and Frey and Coppens and •

Sanders “Fundamentals of Acoustics”

Munjal “Acoustics of Ducts and •

Mufflers”

Bies and Hanson “Engineering Noise •

Control”

Irwin and Graf “Industrial Noise and •

Vibration Control”

Beranek, “Noise and Vibration Control” •

Harris, “Handbook of Noise Control” •

Baxa, “Noise Control in Internal •

Combustion Engines”

Lord, Gatley, and Eversen, “Noise •

Control for Engineers”

Lyon, “Machinery Noise and •

Diagnostics”

Magrab “Environmental Noise Control” •

Cremer, Heckl, and Ungar “Structure •

Borne Sound”


Junger and Feit “Sound Structures and •

their Interaction”

Fahy “Sound and Structural Vibration” •

Goldstein “Aeroacoustics” •

Elliot and Nelson “Active Noise •

Control”

Continuing education programs in

industrial noise control and engineering

acoustics are offered to industrial

participants and teachers from engineering

institutions by faculty from IITs and

IISc furthering the cause of noise control

education in India. Faculty from IITs

and IISc offers consultancies in noise

control to the automotive and aerospace

industries, and to manufacturers of

air-conditioning systems, electrical

machinery, transformers, etc. Consultancy

is also provided in the design of acoustics

and noise laboratories and reverberation

and anechoic chambers in these industries.

Ph.D. scholars work on research problems

in the development and use of finite

element and boundary element techniques

for sound transmission and radiation.

They also work on sound-structure

interaction problems, active methods for

noise control, statistical energy analysis,

combustion acoustics, and building design

using ray acoustics.

Research projects on aircraft noise

control; active noise control; underwater

acoustics; and sound transmission,

radiation, and scattering are sponsored

by the Department of Science and

Technology, the Department of Space, the

Aeronautical Research and Development

Board, and the Naval Research Board.

OrganizationsThe Facility for Research in Technical •

Acoustics, established at IISc to carry

out research in noise control is a center

of excellence in technical acoustics.

The Acoustical Society of India •

supports the cause of noise control by

organizing an annual symposium on

acoustics. Papers on different topics of

noise control are presented during the

symposium. Papers are also published

in the quarterly, The Journal of Acoustical Society of India.

The Committee on Noise Pollution •

of Central Pollution Control Board

sets noise limits and legislation for

industrial products.


Question 1: Are the curricula in the Asia/

Pacific region similar?

Chair: My personal view is there’s a

lot of similarity in the curricula that are

presented. Can we conclude, then, for

Question 1 that the curricula in the Asia/

Pacific region have strong similarities?

Question 2: Are these courses taught

primarily through lectures, or is

experiential learning an important aspect

of the curricula?

Chair: Experiential asks if you require

the students to have hands-on, laboratory

work; or is the learning done primarily

by lectures. From the discussion here it’s

not clear how much hands-on experience

is used in the various countries. Is there a

difference?

Prof. Lai: Our students do many projects.

They are required to make environmental

measurements or room acoustic

measurements. They are tenacious and

ask to do assignments, so we assign them

some measurement work.

Chair: Do you think experiments are

a vital part of noise control engineering

education?

Prof. Ih: I teach noise control

engineering and acoustics-related

subjects like vehicle NVH. I usually

ask my TA to prepare demonstration

sessions during the course. There are

several demonstrations for the students,

and students can participate in these

experimental demonstrations if they want

to. Early in the course, I assign a project

for each student or a group of 2 or 3

students. At the end of the course, they

must give a presentation. Some students

do an experiment for the project. To

write a report or thesis, they must consult

with active engineers in one or more

companies about practical measurement.

The industry-supported projects are, of

course, directly linked to measurement

and calculation.

Prof. Lai: Even in Australia, it depends

on the university and whether they have

the resources for experiential learning. If a

university has the resources, generally we

prefer the learning to be hands on. In other

words it’s not just lectures. The students

have to know how to make measurements

and how to observe the precautions for

experiments. But very often universities

do not have those resources, and therefore

they can’t perform experiments. At my

university we do have experiments and we

do have classroom demonstrations.

Prof. Park: I’m in the Department of

Environmental Engineering so the course

content is a little different from that of

the Mechanical Engineering Department.

From the environmental aspects I ask the

students to be involved in experiments

such as modeling with ray noise software

or noise mapping software. The course is

about 70 percent lecture and 30 percent

experiment. In the experiments, noise

modeling is included.

Prof. Mao: I agree with Prof. Lai. In

China it depends on the university’s

resources. We have experiments for

students in our textbooks. But in some

of our universities we do not have the

facilities so we cannot ask the students

to do the experiments. They can only

observe the demonstrations. That’s the

situation. At our university we have

very good resources. We have different

measurement facilities including an

anechoic-chamber and a reverberation


chamber. For us is easy to assign

experiments to the students.

Prof. Mak: In lectures sometimes I

ask my research assistant or research

student to do a demonstration like bring

in the FFT analyzer and impact hammer

to demonstrate to the students how to

measure formability so that students will

understand how we measure formability,

transfer mobility, functions like that.

Chair: The answer to Question 2 then

is that if the resources are available, it is

important for the student to receive some

experimental exercises. It really depends

on the university resources.

Question 3: What is the proper balance

of theory (e.g. acoustics, linear vibrations)

and practical matters (e.g. noise

measurement, noise control approaches,

and legal issues)? Sometimes when

those without engineering backgrounds

come into the field, the first thing they

pay attention to are the practical matters

without necessarily having the background

in the field to understand what they are

doing. So what is the proper balance?

Prof. Omoto: Equal—fifty-fifty.

Chair: The question is not well worded.

The question should be oriented to where

the student is career wise. If the student is

about to graduate and has already received

a lot of theoretical background in the field,

then it is important he or she receive some

practical education on the outside world,

including the legal issues.

Dr. Eun: I think Question 3 is all right.

I understand the spirit of the question.

Given the nature of the noise and

vibration problems we encounter in the

real world, it is rather difficult to educate

and train the real professionals mainly

through classroom education. It’s a

more desirable process to do what I call

“starting by working.” In a sense it may

be better to expect a man to make himself

a professional engineer. Self-made. So

in a sense you say half-half, but I say

more in the practical matters. I consider

my own case. I’m actually a physicist,

more specifically I was a physics major,

specifically studying wave theory in

plasma physics, and that’s what made

me turn to acoustics. The theory is very

similar theory and I practically learned it

myself. I started myself by working. I may

not say that I’m such a knowledgeable

professional, but still I can function

reasonably well. I received a lot from

school education, but learned the real

profession of noise control engineering

while working in the practical world.

Chair: What you’re saying is that we

really need more practical experience.

Dr. Eun: You need theory, basic theory,

a certain amount. But we need more

practical experience.

Prof. Eagan: My viewpoint is slightly

different because at our university we are

going to produce an engineer who will

work on the development of a product.

For the development of the product, if it

is a complicated one, the graduate needs

knowledge in many areas. We emphasize

basic education in the undergraduate

school, for example, through mechanics

and electronics and things like that. For

developing a vacuum cleaner, we need

knowledge of many things. So I would say

theory should be 67 percent and practical

matters 33 percent.

Prof. Mao: Regarding practical matters,

our students can set an example for

the answer to this question. In my

presentation I talked about the MVH

groups in the automotive companies. Each

group has four students from engineering

and one student from pure acoustics. That

means that for the engineering students,

they are weak in acoustics but more

trained in practical matters. After the first

year, the companies like the engineering

students because they can perform the

noise measurement very quickly and are

very familiar with the products. But after

one year when asked to dig deeper, they

are weak in theory and need from the

second year on the support of the students

with strong theoretic backgrounds.

Prof. Mak: It’s hard to say whether

you need more theory or more attention

to practical matters. Our Department

of Building Services Engineering is

a combination of various engineering

disciplines—electrical, mechanical, and

other fields like management. Because our

acoustics course is an elective subject in

the final year, we can’t teach much theory.

So we only teach fundamentals and more

important practical cases. That’s why

it’s hard to give a percentage. It really

depends on the program we are teaching.

Dr. Eun: When I say the practical matters,

I don’t mean that you should ignore

theory. When starting work, it is up to the

individual to study the practical matters.

Chair: How can student interest in the

field of noise control engineering be

stimulated? The interest today in many

universities and institutions is on nano-

technology, bio-engineering, molecular

biology, all the hot topics. Noise control

engineering is one of the fields that’s

been around for a while; but as was just

pointed, the design of a new product is

a complicated matter and the engineer

needs a broad background to get involved

in product design, if the amount of noise

power emitted by the new product is to be

minimized.

Prof. Ih: I have a comment. Noise

control engineers should study

interdisciplinary subjects. If a student

studies acoustics and noise control and

then goes to a company involved in

product development, then he becomes

involved with various aspects of design

and development. Many students

specialize in a particular design aspect,

but a noise control engineer should be

involved with broader studies. Many of

my former students have become product

managers; it’s very easy to get promoted


because they have been involved in the

system, not the component. They may

even become patent attorneys after that.

There are different opportunities. After

they are promoted to product manager, the

company may assign them to study abroad

or for an MBA, which is very important if

they are to be a top manager afterwards.

Prof. Bernhard: Could I change the

question slightly? How can faculty interest

in noise control engineering be stimulated?

I’d like to hear from the faculty members

here whether they think that their young

colleagues starting in the field will enter

noise control engineering or not and how

we can actually help to stimulate new

faculty into the field. It’s important for

I-INCE to study this question.

Chair: It’s pretty obvious where the

demand is for in the field. The difficulty

is that noise control engineering doesn’t

have much appeal to the young academic.

It’s a more mature field than many of

those that are attractive to the young.

Prof. Bernhard: A simpler way to

ask the question is: Is noise control

engineering valued at your university?

Prof. Lai: The original question is

very difficult question to answer. The

second question is easier to answer. Is

noise control engineering valued in a

university? I would rephrase the question.

Is noise control engineering valued by the

government because in most countries

it is driven by government funding? At

least in my country, it is not compared

with other fields. As the Chair said, noise

control engineering is a very mature field

compared with all the sexy, hot areas.

You can understand why they attract

a lot of attention. We are competing

in a world where the position of noise

control engineering is basically at the

industrial level. If we want to stimulate

interest of young academics, there must

be a source of funding. Whether the

funding is coming from industry or from

government, if we want to stimulate

interest, we have to lobby. Like Bob

said. Lobby our university and lobby the

government in terms of funding. But there

is a lot of competition.

Chair: But doesn’t that come back to

public demand? Government is intended to

reflect public demand. If there’s no demand

from the public, government doesn’t want

to put resources into the field. But if there

is strong demand from the public, they will

put resources into the field.

Prof. Lai: Yes, I agree. But at the

moment the public only demands when

they have an environmental issue.

Chair: The expansion of the third runway

at Heathrow is a good example. It’s a hot

environmental issue where 10,000 came

out to protest. That is productive because

it pushes up to the government level the

fact that there is public demand. There

will be no significant growth of the field

of noise control engineering without

public demand.

Prof. Mak: I agree with Prof. Lai. It

is really a matter of whether the public

is interested. Recently I wrote proposal

about sustainable development and part

of this involves acoustics. In order to get

funding, I need to tie it to sustainable

development including energy and other

environmental issues. Those interested

in environment and energy claim that

I’m mostly interested in acoustics, but

together it is easier to get funding.

Chair: We’ve touched on a very important

point. We can agree on Question 5 that

the answer is yes. The next question

relates to the previous discussion. There

is a percentage of the population of any

country here in the Asia/Pacific or in North

America or in Europe disturbed by noise.

Those people are not all disturbed by the

same noise, and only a small number of

them disturbed by noise enough to be

willing to take action. What percentage of

the population would you say is disturbed

either physically in the workplace

by having their hearing impaired

or psychologically in their home or

recreational environment being disturbed

by noise? Would it be accurate to say that

the majority of people in the world don’t

care? That’s more than 50 percent. Tell a

person in the majority that you’re a noise

control engineer, they say who cares. That

is until they personally have their ox gored,

until the kid upstairs turns the audio up

at 3 a.m. with inadequate sound isolation

between the upstairs living space and

downstairs. Then they become convinced

that noise is a problem. Some of them

become vocal and ask why something isn’t

done about it. Should we admit that the

majority of people—50 percent or more—

don’t care about noise? What percentage

are irritated, disturbed, or injured by noise?

Ten percent or forty percent? I know it’s

a minority, but it’s a substantial minority

of people who have had interactions

where noise was too much in one sense

or another. Either human-made noise or

noise made by machinery or equipment.

Does anyone care to give a percentage of

the population that would consider noise

control engineering an important endeavor?

Dr. Eun: I believe that it depends on

the locals and the country. For example,

in Korea there is a government agency

that moderates the conflicts caused by

environmental problems and they decide

the compensation—how much money you

should pay. This is not a legal system, but

an administrative procedure. According to

the statistics, more than 70 percent of the

conflicts are related to noise and vibration.

The farmers complain that their cattle

are harmed due to the construction noise

nearby. The apartment dwellers complain

about local impact noise, so they sue the

contractors. There may not be much of a

problem in Australia, which is a big country

with only 21 million people, so you may not

have a noise problem. But in Korea, a small

country with almost 50 million people so

concentrated, there is a problem.

Prof. Omoto: It strongly depends on the

locality, the local aircraft or road traffic


noise. Don’t expect me to guess. I’d say

it’s around 20 percent. It’s a starting point.

Prof. Lai: It’s very difficult to answer

because when you ask for the percentage—

whether people care or not—a lot of people

do care, but they put up with it. I grew up in

Hong Kong where the Hong Kong airport

was right next to a residential area; and

of course, people care. But they also care

about their livelihood; that is much more

important. Nothing was done at the time,

but the problem increased to the extent that

those people who cared put themselves into

action. If you ask what percentage of people

care, I agree with you that it is a substantial

minority. The percentage of people who

care and will do something about it is a very

small percentage.

Prof. Tachibana: My feeling is that

100 percent of the people are influenced

by noise, but very few are aware of the

importance of noise control engineering.

They don’t know of its existence. Even

the politicians and the people in the

bureaucracy are not aware of the existence

of noise control. It’s a problem.

Prof. Bernhard: I’ll give two anecdotes

that support this. When I talk to people

about tire/pavement road noise and

reductions, almost uniformly I get the

question: You mean something can be done

about that? Then I tell them all about how

pavements can be made quieter. Almost

all of them will say that they wished they

would do that in their neighborhood. The

second experience was when we did some

research on dishwashers. Again, most

people thought they had to put up with

the dishwasher noise. When I explained

what we did and how much quieter we

could make it, they would say: I really am

annoyed by the dishwasher; I just thought I

had to put up with it.

Dr. Maling: We bought a dishwasher

recently and you can’t tell whether it’s on

or off when it’s washing dishes.

Chair: Because the EU took the

leadership role by forcing the publication

or availability of data and the market

became competitive. You can’t go into

a white goods store in Europe without

being able to find out which of the

products is the quietest. It’s a cultural

problem because the Europeans will not

tolerate loud noise from a dishwasher. It’s

unnecessary, and they know it.

Prof. Tachibana: I teach an acoustics

class at the Chiba Institute of Technology,

and my feeling is that in the initial stage

almost all students are not interested

in noise. So I always start by talking

about sound and its three aspects. One

is information. A second is culture—

music. A third is social, social aspects,

including noise. We have various aspects

of sound, and they become aware of and

interested in noise. But after the learning

about sound, they become aware of the

interest in and necessity for noise control

engineering. NNI

Noise Control Engineering Education in the USA

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