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Preston S. Wilson

Dr. Wilson is an Associate Professor in the Acoustics and Dynamic Systems & Control programs of the Mechanical Engineering Department, and holds a joint appointment as Associate Research Professor at Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin. He joined the Cockrell School of Engineering faculty in August of 2003 after serving as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Boston University, where he studied sound propagation and scattering in bubbly liquids, and the acoustics of water-saturated marine sediments. Previous experience includes 3 years as a research engineer at Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas, 1994-1997, where he studied the acoustics of marine mammal sonar, developed a seismoacoustic mine detection sonar, seismoacoustic vehicle detection sensors and the Combustive Sound Source (a safe and inexpensive alternative to explosive sound sources for use in underwater acoustics experiments). In 2004 Dr. Wilson received a $300,000 Office of Naval Research Entry-Level Faculty Award in Ocean Acoustics for his Project Investigation of the Acoustics of Marine Sediments Using an Impedance Tube. He received the 2005 Office of Graduate Studies Outstanding Thesis/Report Award as supervisor to H. John Camin, III, for his thesis, "A Comparison of Spherical Wave Sediment Reflection Coefficient Measurements to Plane Wave Models". In 2007 Dr. Wilson received the A.B. Wood Medal and Prize from the UK Institute of Acoustics. Dr. Wilson's current research interests are ocean acoustics, physical acoustics and engineering acoustics, with concentrations on sound propagation and scattering in the ocean and in multiphase media, bioacoustics, novel acoustic materials and transduction. New areas this year are underwater anthropogenic noise abatement using large encapsulated bubbles, and novel use of acoustics and sonar technology in the fire fighting environment. Dr. Wilson is an Associate Editor with The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, serves as Chair of the ASA's Education in Acoustics Committee, and is past-President of the Austin Regional Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America. Recent mentions of our work in the science news, on noise abatement with bubbles: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=less-bang-more-bubbles and on tungara frogs on the Science podcast: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6043/779.2.full

Selected Publications

  1. Theodore F. Argo IV, Matthew D. Guild, Preston S. Wilson, Matthias Schroter, Charles Radin, Harry L. Swinney, "Sound speed in water-saturated glass beads as a function of frequency and porosity", The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 129, (2011), 4, pp. EL101-EL107
  2. Christopher J. Wilson, Preston S. Wilson, Chad A. Greene and Kenneth H. Dunton, "Seagrass leaves in 3-D: Using computed tomography and low frequency acoustics to investigate the material properties of seagrass tissue. ", Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Vol. 395, (2010), pp. 128-134
  3. David P. Knobles, John A. Goff, Robert A. Koch, Preston S. Wilson, and Jack A. Shooter, "Effect of inhomogeneous sub-bottom layering on broadband acoustic propagation", IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, Vol. 35, (2010), 4, pp. 732-743
  4. Ximena E. Bernal, Rachel A. Page, Michael J. Ryan, Theodore F. Argo IV and Preston S. Wilson, "Acoustic radiation patterns of mating calls of the Tungara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus): Implications for multiple receivers", The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 126, (2009), 5, pp. 2757-2767
  5. Theodore F. Argo IV, Preston S. Wilson and Vikrant Palan, "Measurement of the resonance frequency of single bubbles using a laser Doppler vibrometer", The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Express Letters, Vol. 123, (2008), 6, pp. EL121-EL125

Most Recent Publications

  1. Lia Kashdan, Carolyn C. Seepersad, Michael R. Haberman, Preston S. Wilson, "Design, fabrication, and evaluation of negative stiffness elements using SLS," Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 18, (2012), 3, pp. 194-200
  2. Jason D. Sagers, Andrew R. McNeese, Richard D. Lenhart, and Preston S. Wilson, "Analysis of a homemade Edison tinfoil phonograph," The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, Vol. 132, (2012), 4, pp. 2173-2183
  3. Christopher J. Wilson, Preston S. Wilson and Kenneth H. Dunton, "Seagrass meadows provide an acoustic refuge for estuarine fish," Marine Ecology Progress Series, (2012)
  4. Christopher J. Wilson, Preston S. Wilson and Kenneth H. Dunton, "Seagrass meadows provide an acoustic refuge for estuarine fish," Marine Biology, Vol. 159, (2012), pp. 2311-2322
  5. Chad A. Greene and Preston S. Wilson, "Laboratory investigation of a passive acoustic methods for measurement of underwater gas seep ebullition," The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, Vol. 131, (2012), 1, pp. EL61-EL66
  6. Kevin M. Lee, Preston S. Wilson, and Mark S. Wochner, "Sound propagation in water containing large tethered spherical encapsulated gas bubbles with resonance frequencies in the 50 Hz to 100 Hz range," The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, Vol. 130, (2011), 5, pp. 3325-3332
  7. Theodore F. Argo IV, Matthew D. Guild, Preston S. Wilson, Matthias Schroter, Charles Radin, Harry L. Swinney, "Sound speed in water-saturated glass beads as a function of frequency and porosity," The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, Vol. 129, (2011), 4, pp. EL101-EL107
  8. David P. Knobles, John A. Goff, Robert A. Koch, Preston S. Wilson, and Jack A. Shooter, "Effect of inhomogeneous sub-bottom layering on broadband acoustic propagation," IEEE Journal Of Oceanic Engineering, Vol. 35, (2010), 4, pp. 732-743
  9. Christopher J. Wilson, Preston S. Wilson, Chad A. Greene and Kenneth H. Dunton, "Seagrass leaves in 3-D: Using computed tomography and low frequency acoustics to investigate the material properties of seagrass tissue. ," Journal Of Experimental Marine Biology And Ecology, Vol. 395, (2010), pp. 128-134
  10. Ximena E. Bernal, Rachel A. Page, Michael J. Ryan, Theodore F. Argo IV and Preston S. Wilson, "Acoustic radiation patterns of mating calls of the Tungara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus): Implications for multiple receivers," The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America, Vol. 126, (2009), 5, pp. 2757-2767