Underwater acoustics education at Portland State University

Abstract

The Northwest Electromagnetics and Acoustics Research Laboratory (NEAR-Lab) is in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Portland State University (PSU) in Portland, Oregon. The NEAR-Lab was founded in 2005 and is co-directed by Lisa M. Zurk and Martin Siderius. A primary interest is underwater acoustics, and students at undergraduate and graduate levels (occasionally also high school students) regularly participate in research. This is synergistic with underwater acoustics education at PSU, which includes a course curriculum that provides opportunities for theoretical and experimental research and multiple course offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The research generally involves modeling and analysis of acoustic propagation and scattering, acoustic signal processing, algorithm development, environmental acoustics, and bioacoustics. The lab maintains a suite of equipment for experimentation including hydrophone arrays, sound projectors, a Webb Slocum glider, an electronics lab, and an acoustic tank. Large-scale experiments that include student participation have been routinely conducted by successful collaborations such as with the APL-University of Washington, NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, and the University of Hawaii. In this talk, the state of the PSU underwater acoustics program will be described along with the courses offered, research activities, experimental program, collaborations, and student success.