This award will support collaborative research between Professor Gabriel Weinreich of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Dr. Rene Causse of the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), Paris, in the field of computer studies of the dynamics of musical instruments and of the synthesis and reproduction of sound. This work extends previous collaborative efforts of these researchers in the synthesis of musical instrument sounds based on physical models of the instrument's functioning. The research will include the development of acoustic array audio radiators with the capability of simulating the radiation patterns of real sources, and the use of an acoustic holography system for acquiring data on the radiation patterns to be simulated. The U.S. researcher will benefit from having access to the spherical acoustic holography system at IRCAM, both to verify the performance of the acoustic array to be developed, and to collect data on musical instruments to be simulated. The French researchers benefit from the basic physics experience of the U.S. collaborator. This work may contribute to the understanding of basic acoustics, as well as the development of improved loudspeaker systems.
