Training Students in New Acoustic Techniques for Studies of Fracture andNondestructive Evaluation of Exotic Materials

摘要

The field of physical acoustics is a sensitive area in regard to the training ofnew scientists and engineers, because there are relatively few environments where new techniques in this field are practiced and taught. The Acoustics Program and the Department of Physics at the Pennsylvania State University offer such an environment, and with focused programs in the area of acoustics, sincere and highly motivated graduate students are attracted, and the highest qualified applicants are selected. Thanks to funding from the ONR ASSERT program, additional excellent students have been able to enter the acoustics program. Their projects involved (a) the application of modern acoustics techniques to study the physics of fracture and (b) the use of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) to measure the elastic properties of exotic new materials.