INCE-USA is offering the Nancy Timmerman Members’ Choice Project of the Year Award to acknowledge notable project(s) completed in the field of noise control or architectural acoustics. The primary candidate must be an Associate or Full Member of INCE-USA. Of the applications received, finalists will be selected for voting by INCE-USA Members. One or more projects may receive the award during any given year.
Award: Certificate and recognition of achievement in conference and INCE-USA materials.
Justin Morgan, INCE and Adam C. Jenkins, PE, INCE Bd, Cert. of The Greenbusch Group
for the project: Skagway Ore Peninsula Redevelopment Project
The Skagway Ore Peninsula Redevelopment Project, located in the remote town of Skagway in southeast Alaska, included demolition of existing docks and mooring structures, removal of ore loading equipment, and construction of a new dock with five new mooring dolphins. Three of the new dolphins were constructed in water over 100 feet deep. The Greenbusch Group monitored underwater and in-air sound levels during the removal of 14-inch, 24-inch, and 36-inch diameter pipe piles with a variety of vibratory hammers. Installation of 24-inch, 36-inch, 42-inch, and 48-inch diameter pipe piles with vibratory and diesel impact hammers was also measured. Underwater sound levels were measured simultaneously at two locations, 30 feet from the pile and at a distance equal to three times the water depth at the pile location. Several of the piles were nearly 300 feet long and were driven in water approximately 150 feet deep. A total of 28 piles were monitored, and staff spent 27 days in Skagway. With temperatures dipping to as low as -27 degrees Fahrenheit, special care was given to maintaining the minimum operating temperatures of the monitoring equipment (and monitoring staff). Because of the project’s remote location, monitoring staff would frequently need to carry the equipment approximately 1 mile to and from the site each day. Pile driving also occurred in multiple work areas each day, requiring the equipment to be portable and flexible. Monitoring equipment included custom hydrophone enclosures and cables, and recording equipment capable of simultaneous multichannel measurements. Recording equipment was able to be divided into distinct measurement systems to make single channel measurements at different locations to allow for data collection several hundred feet from the pile.
Ethan Brush, Acentech
for the project: Transforming Classrooms and Offices to Quantum Computing Labs: Renovating an Existing University Building to a Low Vibration Facility
Completed in the early 2000’s, Harvard University’s building at 60 Oxford Street in Cambridge, MA was initially home to a data center, various classrooms, and department offices. Design work began in 2019 to transform the building to accommodate advanced laboratories working in quantum engineering, molecular biology, optical physics, and catalytic chemistry. The ability to conduct ultra-precision measurements was essential to the success of the new occupants, and upgrading the building’s vibration performance was a fundamental part of the renovation design. As the acoustics and vibration consultants for the project, Acentech worked with the design team to upgrade a building in the heart of campus that was not originally built with low vibration spaces in mind. The ultimate result was a facility that now hosts twenty-seven precise measurement labs, expanding Harvard’s research capabilities. Now named The David E. and Stacey L. Goel Quantum Science and Engineering Building, the facility opened to occupants in 2024.
Eric Wood, Acentech
George Maling, NAE
Bob Hellweg, Hellweg Acoustics
Adnan Akay, Bilkent University
Gregg Fleming, Volpe
for the project: Technology for a Quieter America (TQA) Workshops and Reports
Felicia Doggett, President & CEO
Metropolitan Acoustics
for the project: One Riverside Pool Isolation
A problem arose at a recently completed high-rise condominium building in Philadelphia, PA. Tenants on many levels above a pool located on the second level of the building stressed that they could hear low-frequency sound when an early-morning swimmer was doing laps. Looking through literature, we found nothing to attest to the phenomenon that presented itself. To investigate, we used a 15 lb. rubber medicine ball to simulate the force caused by the swimmer, which also provided a repeatable source. Cavitation in the water created by the arm strokes of the swimmer was exciting the pool shell and transmitting through the structure ultimately converting to audible sound via the lightweight partitions in the living units. Our measurement system included time synchronized triaxial accelerometers to determine the transmission paths through the building. We identified this unique problem, determined the structural transmission paths, and provided recommendations which ultimately resulted in a successful outcome. ?Learn More Here!
