Acoustics Students Win Prestigious Award

Tiffany Stahura '13, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Robert Celmer, and Rachel Parlock '13 display the Leo Beranek Student Medal for Excellence in the Study of Noise Control.

For the third time in as many years, students at the University of Hartford have won a highly selective award called the Leo Beranek Student Medal for Excellence in the Study of Noise Control. 

The award was presented to the team of Tiffany Stahura '13 and Rachel Parlock '13 during a surprise announcement at Commencement in May, at the diploma presentation ceremony for the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA).

The team of Stahura & Parlock made long-term sound level measurements at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, located in Hartford, Conn., comparing the overall noise levels with patient survey results. They also checked for correlations between overall equivalent sound level (Leq) and statistical levels such as L10 and L33 within four different hospital unit corridors.The results demonstrated that units which received poor scores on patient surveys had higher long-term average noise levels than units which received good patient survey scores. The results also showed a strong correlation between the overall Leq and the statistical L33 values, which has been shown to be unique to hospital environments.

Stahura graduated summa cum laude in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, majoring in Acoustical Engineering and Music. Originally from Hamburg, N.Y., Stahura is currently an acoustical engineer with Cerami & Associates, Inc. in New York City.

Parlock also graduated summa cum laude in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Concentration in Acoustics. A native of Huntington, W.Va., Parlock is currently an acoustical engineer at Lewis S. Goodfriend & Associates, Inc. in Whippany, N.J.