The impact of William J. Strong on the acoustics program at Brigham Young University

The early years of acoustics at Brigham Young University (BYU) include names such as Eyring, Fletcher, and Knudsen. However, for nearly 35 years, Bill Strong was the face of acoustics at BYU. As a faculty member, he contributed significantly to the maintenance and strengthening of acoustics at BYU, influencing many lives along the way. One of those lives influenced was the author. Beyond his positive influence in shaping many lives, Bill also contributed significantly to acoustics research throughout his career. Much of his work centered on the acoustics of speech and music. His text, Music, Speech, Audio, has been used for decades to introduce many students to the field of acoustics and has been the text for a popular course on the subject at BYU. This presentation will overview some of Bill’s many contributions, both in acoustics and otherwise, with an emphasis on some of the work carried out by the author and Bill on the acoustics of the clarinet. That work includes a study of the interactions associated with the combined player-clarinet system, as well as an investigation of the directivity of the sound radiated from the clarinet.