Melville (NY), 8 October 2015--John L. Butler, Chief Scientist at Image Acoustics, Inc., Cohasset, MA, has been named recipient of the Acoustical Society of America's Silver Medal in Engineering Acoustics for advancing the field of acoustic transducer and transducer array design. The award will be presented at the 170th meeting of the ASA on 4 November 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Silver Medal is presented to individuals for contributions to the advancement of science, engineering, or human welfare through the application of acoustic principles, or through research accomplishments in acoustics.
"It is great to receive an award from such a respected organization, particularly in the field of acoustic transducers. The design of new improved transducers can be not only an engrossing undertaking but one which is challenging and thoroughly enjoyable, especially when predicted and measured results match" said Butler.
John Butler received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. He held positions at Parke Mathematical Labs, Massa Products, and Raytheon Company before establishing Image Acoustics, Inc. in 1974. He has also served as consultant to most major transducer and SONAR companies as well as Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI. His interests are in the development of new and improved transducer designs. Acoustic transducers convert electrical signals to acoustic signals and vice versa. They can send out sound which can be received by our ears or another transducer. In underwater acoustics these transmitted sound signals can be used to detect and determine the distance of another object. Arrays of SONAR transducers are used to locate the object and achieve detection at a greater distance. The more advanced the transducers are, the more accurate the system can be.
Dr. Butler is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. He has published or presented over 34 papers on electroacoustics transducers and has been awarded 27 patents. He is coauthor with Charles Sherman of the comprehensive monograph Transducers and Arrays for Underwater Sound (Springer, 2007).
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The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America--the world's leading journal on acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The Society also holds two major scientific meetings per year. For more information about the Society visit our website, http://www.acousticalsociety.org