Acoustic Education at Penn State

I recently read an article about the importance of continuing education and keeping the mind sharp. This reminded me about returning to school to increase my knowledge of acoustics. This decision resulted in pursuing a masters degree in Jan. 2011. It was a difficult decision but after a few months of serious consideration, I took the plunge and signed up at Penn State. I didn't know much about Penn State but given my passion for acoustics, I soon found out that they had one of the best graduate acoustics program and offered an excellent distance education program. The program is blended allowing distance education students to take the same classes as residence students located at Penn State. It is a one of kind program that has been in existence for over 50 years.

I have to admit they were very upfront and honest about the challenge I would face given the length of time since completing my undergraduate electrical engineering education. But I was encouraged to give it a try.

After an intense refresher class in engineering mathematics, I started a series of graduate level engineering acoustic classes that lasted 5 years; one class per semester and one over a summer! I can't say enough about the program. Not only was each course challenging but completing all course work online added an additional challenge. But with the help of the excellent professors I graduated in Aug. 2015. It was an extremely rewarding experience.

Not only did this experience keep the mind sharp, it prepared me for the challenge and confidence to start an acoustic engineering company focused on product design and consulting. The product design effort has included several potential products that have gone through proof of concept, R&D, and prototyping. This has included the filing of several patents. The consulting has included working with customers on a wide variety of acoustic challenges.

It's exciting to now take one of the products into production and available for sale. This product is the new Sondare Megaphone sound enhancing phone case. It uses several principles of a passive acoustics to enhance the sound of a mobile device. It not only directs the sound towards you but increases the output by 2X.

Starting a new company and designing new products along with assisting customers with solving a variety of acoustic problems would not have been possible without my decision to attend the outstanding program at Penn State. If you have a passion for acoustics and are looking to continue your education, I strongly encourage you to look into this program.

Also check out the Sondare Megaphone at sondareproducts.com