Richard H. Lyon and his contributions to noise control

Abstract

Richard H. Lyon and I had similar interest in modal structure, his in rooms and in structures, and mine in reverberation rooms designed for the determination of sound power. He always had a keen interest in the sound radiated by complex structures. This led to the idea that the sound quality of a product could be influenced by careful adjustment of the many sound sources in a complex machine. He made many contributions to sound quality over the years. He had many other technical interests too numerous to list here, but he was the “father” of statistical energy analysis for which he was greatly admired. Later in life, we were both elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). One tradition of the NAE is to prepare memorial tributes to deceased members for publication in an annual volume. I was pleased to collaborate with a colleague, David Bowen of Acentech Incorporated, on the tribute which detailed many of his contributions to acoustics and noise control.