Born Sept 15, 1914 in Solon, Iowa, Dr. Leo Leroy Beranek has long been considered the industry’s leading expert voice on acoustics. This former MIT professor and founder of Bolt, Beranek & Newman (now BBN Technologies) has been a monumental force since his first publications in 1939, but it was his 1954 book “Acoustics” that still remains a classic in the field and has been updated over the years, and the current 2012 edition, “Acoustics: Sound Fields & Transducers” is still required reading for anyone seriously interested in the nature of sound.
He graduated from Cornell College in 1936 and moved on to Harvard, receiving his PhD in 1940. During World War II, Beranek ran Harvard’s electro-acoustics laboratory, creating communications system for the military and invented and built the first anechoic chamber.
Other Beranek titles — each also a classic in acoustical study — include “Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music Acoustics and Architecture,” “Noise and Vibration,” and “Noise and Vibration Control Engineering.” Beranek also penned his autobiography, entitled “Riding the Waves: A Life in Sound, Science, and Industry” in 2008
So happy birthday, Leo — keep ’em coming!
For more info about Leo Beranek, his career and publications, visit www.leoberanek.com.
