UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Julianna Simon, associate professor of acoustics and of biomedical engineering, has been named the interim director of the Penn State Graduate Program in Acoustics.
In this Q&A, Simon shares her perspectives on the field of acoustics, the direction and goals for the acoustics program, and Simon’s own professional background and research.
Q: What is the engineering field of acoustics? What are some of the types of research within the field?
Simon: Acoustics is the study of sound generation, control, transmission, reception and effects of sound. Many people become interested in acoustics through music; however, the field of acoustics is much broader and includes biomedical acoustics, animal bioacoustics, underwater acoustics, structural acoustics and vibration, speech communication and noise, to give a few examples. At Penn State, we have faculty conducting research in sonic booms from aircraft, the effects of office noise on speech intelligibility, acoustic metamaterials to create cloaks, focused ultrasound to treat tendon injuries and more.
Q: What are some of the highlights and key features of the Penn State acoustics program? What makes the Penn State program unique?
Simon: Penn State is the only civilian institution in the United States that offers advanced degrees — master of science, master of engineering and doctoral degrees — in acoustics. Most of our courses are blended between resident and World Campus students, as many industries recognize the need for their employees to know acoustics and vibration. We have Penn State acoustics alumni in many areas of the government, academia and industry, including technology giants like Apple, Google, Bose, etc.
Q: What is your own area of research focus? What are some exciting projects that you are working on?
Simon: My research is in biomedical acoustics. My lab, called the Biomedical Acoustics Simon Lab, or BASiL, seeks to apply the fundamentals of acoustics to develop novel ultrasound diagnostics or therapeutics. Some of our ongoing research includes developing a new focused ultrasound technology to treat chronic tendon injuries, using focused ultrasound to “exercise” muscles, diagnosing and treating pathological mineralizations, understanding the distribution of bubble nuclei for acoustic cavitation in tissues, and ultrasound-mediated drug delivery. We collaborate with researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Applied Research Laboratory and the College of Medicine.
Q: What is your professional background? What drew you to the field of acoustics?
Simon: I got my bachelor of science degree in bioengineering from Washington State University in 2009 and my doctorate, also in bioengineering, from the University of Washington in 2013. After finishing my doctorate, I received a National Space Biomedical Research Institute First Award Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate kidney stone detection with ultrasound in spaceflight analogs. I joined Penn State as an assistant professor in 2017, where I started the BASiL lab. I received the R. Bruce Lindsay early career award in 2023 from the Acoustical Society of America, the NSF CAREER award in 2020, and I have co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal papers and 200 abstracts for national and international conferences.
I began playing the piano at the age of 7, but never thought of acoustics as a career pathway. Rather, I became interested in acoustics as an undergraduate when my horse tore a ligament in her leg, and it was diagnosed and treated using ultrasound. When speaking with potential labs for graduate research at the University of Washington, I met with ultrasound researchers and found that ultrasound was the only medical diagnostic and therapeutic that was feasible to fly in space. Combining my passions for music, horses and spaceflight, I began researching ultrasound and have never looked back!
Q: What are some of your leadership goals for acoustics at Penn State?
Simon: My main goals are to maintain our global excellence of quality education and research in acoustics and to increase awareness of acoustics at Penn State. We are currently developing four graduate certificate programs in acoustics and are exploring the possibility of creating an undergraduate major in acoustics. A very interdisciplinary group, faculty and graduate students in acoustics collaborate extensively with researchers inside and outside Penn State.