Andy Piacsek

Professional Overview

My academic background is in physics and computational acoustics, with research publications on a variety of topics related to sound and vibration, including sonic boom propagation, pre-stressed shell vibration, violin acoustics, and sound absorption with metamaterials. I have been a member of the Physics faculty at CWU since 1997, where I have taught a wide spectrum of physics courses.

Academic Achievements

B.A. in Physics, 1986, from Johns Hopkins University

M.S. in Acoustics, 1991, from Penn State University, Thesis title: “A Study of Transient Vibrations in Condensing Two-Phase Flow”

Ph.D. in Acoustics, 1995, from Penn State University, Thesis title: “A Numerical Study of Weak Step Shocks that Focus in Two Dimensions”

Research Highlights

In a nutshell, my scholarly interests are:

• Acoustics
• Physics pedagogy
• Public understanding of science

My primary area of expertise is acoustics, which is the study of sound waves and the vibrations that cause them. Although acoustics is essentially a branch of applied physics, it has applications in many other fields, including music, speech, hearing, medicine, architecture, civil engineering, noise control, and (one of its earliest applications) the military.

Students who do research with me can choose an experimental project (in the laboratory or in the field) or a theoretical-computational project. Some recent (and ongoing) projects that I have supervised include:

Specialized equipment and capabilities of the CWU Acoustics Research Lab include:

• Anechoic chamber (approximately 125 m3 in volume) with an automated microphone positioning system and National Instruments data acquisition system
• Scanning laser doppler vibrometer (Polytec LSV-500) with macro lens
• National Instruments SeeSV-S205 Sound Camera
• National Instruments PXI portable data acquisition systems
• Custom built 20cm x 20cm impedance tube
• A variety of GRAS measurement microphones (46AE, 46DD, 46AZ, 46AQ, 46BL)
• A variety of PCB accelerometers, force sensors, and modal impact hammers
• A variety of Labworks and Modal Shop shakers
• Svantek 971 and 979 type 1 sound level meters
• Mac Pro and Dell computers that run a variety of industry-standard softward, including COMSOL, Matlab, and SoundPlan.

Professional Experience

• 2023 - present Professor, Central Washington University
• 2013 – 2023 Associate Professor, CWU
• 2013 – 2018 Chair, Department of Physics, CWU
• 2007 – 2013 Assistant Professor, CWU
• 2004 – 2008 Director, Science Honors Research Program, CWU
• 2003 – 2005 Interim Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, CWU
• 2003 – 2005 Director, STEP Summer Science Institute, CWU
• 1997 – 2007 Lecturer, Department of Physics, CWU
• 1995 – 1996 Postdoctoral Researcher, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals (* denotes undergraduate co-author) 

• Rajendran, V., Piacsek, A., and Mendez, T., “Design of broadband Helmholtz resonator arrays using the radiation impedance method,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 151, 457-466 (2022).  
• Piacsek, A., *Taylor, R., and *Abdul-Wahid, S., "Resonance frequencies of a spherical aluminum shell subject to static internal pressure," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 131 (6), pp. EL506-511 (2012). 
• McDonald, B.E. and Piacsek, A., “Nonlinear Progressive wave Equation for Stratified Atmospheres,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 130, 2648-2653 (2011). 
• Piacsek, A., “Atmospheric turbulence conditions leading to focused and folded sonic boom wavefronts,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 111, 520-529 (2002). 
• Piacsek, A., “A 2D numerical solution for the evolution of shock profiles subject to wavefront focusing and diffraction.” Environmental Acoustics: International Conference on Theoretical and Computational Acoustics, vol. 2, D. Lee and M. Schultz, eds., World Scientific (1994). 

Conference Proceedings 

• Lowery, S. and Piacsek, A., “A quantitative assessment of uncertainty in the measurement of violin impact response,” Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 46, 035003 (2022).
• Piacsek, A., “Name that timbre!  An interactive demonstration for teaching concepts of harmonic content in musical sounds.” Proceedings of the 26th International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Montreal, Canada (2019).
• Piacsek, A. and Plotkin, K., “SCAMP: Application of Nonlinear Progressive-wave Equation to Sonic Boom Transition Focus,” Proceedings of 51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, TX, paper 1064 (2013).
• Piacsek, A., Locey, L., and Sparrow, V., “Time-domain modeling of atmospheric turbulence effects on sonic boom propagation,” Proceedings of the 29th AIAA Aeroacoustics Conference, Vancouver, BC, paper 3032 (2008).
• Locey, L., Sparrow, V., and Piacsek, A., “Sonic boom post processing to include atmospheric turbulent effects,” 29th AIAA Aeroacoustics Conference, Vancouver, BC, paper 3035 (2008).

Technical Reports 

• J. Page, K. Plotkin, J. Salamone, A. Piacsek, V. Sparrow, K. Elmer, R. Cowart, D. Maglieri, “Superboom Caustic Analysis and Measurement Program final report," NASA/CR-2015-218871, August 2015.

Other publications 

• A. Piacsek, “Communicating your research to journalists (and your relatives)," Acoustics Today, 16 (3), pp. 80-83 (2020). 
• A. Piacsek, “Sound,” Tutorial article for Access Science, McGraw-Hill (2020).  Accessible online. 
• A. Piacsek, “Public Relations Committee overview," Acoustics Today, 14 (1), pp. 60-63 (2018). 

Conference presentations 

• Piacsek, A.,  “Students are sitting in a room...,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 152, A168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0015911 
• Piacsek, A.,  “Collaborative online assignments for an introductory course in musical acoustics,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 151, A81 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0010723
• Cameron, N. and Piacsek, A.,  “Investigation of a noninvasive method for monitoring intracranial pressure using sheep skulls,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 151, A213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0011082 
• Piacsek, A. and Kloepper, L.,  “Overview of efforts within ASA to promote effective communication of science to the public,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 146, 2945 (2019). 
• Piacsek, A. and Harris, N., “Resonance frequencies of a spherical aluminum shell subject to prestress from internal fluid pressure,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 145, 1881 (2019).
• Piacsek, A., “A new pre/post test to assess student mastery of introductory level acoustics and wave mechanics,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 144, 1785 (2018).
• Piacsek, A., “Using interactive simulations to build understanding and promote scientific inquiry,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 143, 1839 (2018).

Courses Taught

• PHYS 103 Physics of Musical Sound
• PHYS 111, 112, 113 Introductory Physics
• PHYS 181, 182, 183 General Physics
• PHYS 317 Modern Physics
• PHYS 342 Thermodynamics
• PHYS 351 Analytical Mechanics
• PHYS 361 Computational Physics
• PHYS 454 Acoustics
• PHYS 461/561 Advanced Computational Physics
• PHYS 489 Senior Assessment
• DHC 280 Wide World of Sound (taught in the Douglas Honors College)
• COTS 184 Scientific Thinking
• MUS 611 Graduate Seminar in Music Pedagogy (as co-instructor)

Professional Memberships

• Acoustical Society of America (ASA), since 1990
• American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), since 2000
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), since 2001

I have served the ASA in several leadership positions, including Chair of the Public Relations Committee (2009-2018), Chair of the Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics (2019-2023), and Chair of the Virtual Technology Task Force. I was recently elected to a three-year term on the Executive Council.