Staff Background and Experience

Brief profiles of the main participants in the activities of the Unit are given below. In addition, the Unit can utilise the expertise and resources of the School and the University as a whole.

Professor Joseph Lai BSc(Eng), MEngSc, PhD, FIEAust, SenMAIAA, MAAS
Foundation Director of the Unit. Responsible for the development of the acoustics laboratory, provision of continuing education activities (such as short courses and seminars in acoustics and related areas), research and consulting in acoustics and vibration.An academic member of the University College since 1985 and currently a Professor. Research and consulting experience includes: aeroacoustics, advanced acoustic identification and measurement techniques, machinery noise control, finite element modelling, studies of turbulent flows.

Dr Michael Harrap BE, PhD
An academic member of the University College since 1982 and currently a Senior Lecturer. In addition to lecturing duties, his main research interests are in condition monitoring signal analysis, and digital signal processing, applied to acoustic and vibration data. A current research project is the development of a technique for whole-body vibration measurements in the mining industry.

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Marion Burgess BSc, MSc(Acoust), MAAS
A Research Officer for the Unit since 1987 and work responsibilities include noise measurement and analysis, organisation and participation in continuing education activities of the Unit, sponsored projects and consulting in acoustics and vibration. Over 25 years experience in acoustics including experience including testing performance of building materials while at the Experimental Building Station, building acoustics and environmental noise studies (in particular road traffic noise) while at the School of Architecture, University of NSW.

Professor Neville Fletcher
Professor Fletcher is a well known physicist and a Visiting Professor at the Unit. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1990 for his service to Science, particularly in the field of Applied Physics. He has served on many high-level committees and is currently Chairman of the Australian Antarctic Science Advisory Committee and a member of the physics grants panel of the Australian Research Council. He is an Emeritus Professor of the University of New England, and recently retired as a Chief Research Scientist with CSIRO, where he was formerly Director of the Institute of Physical Sciences. He is currently a Post-Retirement Fellow with CSIRO, a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University. His research interests are in condensed-matter physics, atmospheric physics and acoustics. He has published six books and over 140 papers in scientific journals, and holds four patents.