UA gets $30 million for new center to study properties of sound

By Greg Hahne
Published: Friday, September 8, 2023 - 2:36pm
Updated: Wednesday, February 28, 2024 - 10:31am

Laser Ultrasonic Testing Equipment
Mark Koenig/University of Arizona
Laser ultrasonic testing equipment.

A $30 million grant will provide University of Arizona researchers with the ability to study an emerging field: the properties of sound.

The grant comes from the National Science Foundation to build the New Frontiers of Sound Science and Technology Center.

The center will bring researchers together to understand topological acoustics, which is the study of complex soundwave properties in space.

Center director Pierre Deymier says the goal is to explore the next scientific advances in the subject.

“If we can create this awareness in the scientific community, in the engineering community, then I think we will have succeeded with the center," Deymier said. "We also need to train and educate our new generation of scientists and engineers in the emerging field of topological acoustics, so they can take these new notions and translate them into future technologies.”

Deymier says that research can offer insights into fields such as quantum computing, cellphone power usage and the impacts of climate change.

Headshot of Pierre Deymier
Mark Koenig/University of Arizona
Pierre Deymier

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