Mechanical engineering professor emeritus honored with Rayleigh Medal from UK's Institute of Acoustics
Published: May 13, 2024 3:00 PM
By Jeremy Henderson
The first professional honor Malcolm Crocker, professor emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received — or at least the first of the 48 honors, awards and recognitions listed in the recently released oral history of his career conducted by the American Institute of Physics, a rare honor itself — was the status of Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. That was in 1973.
His most recent? The Rayleigh Medal, named for Lord Rayleigh, a British mathematician and physicist whose foundational publications in acoustical theory are still studied today. Awarded annually since 1970, it is the highest honor the United Kingdom's Institute of Acoustics can bestow.
Everything in between has been pretty impressive, too.
"Malcolm remains one of the world’s preeminent authorities in the fields of acoustics and vibration,” said Jeff Suhling, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “This prestigious award, one of many, is yet another testament to his exceptional accomplishments and his profound impact in the field."
A native of England, Crocker earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southampton and his doctorate from the University of Liverpool. He joined Auburn University in 1983 as professor and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering following 14 years at Purdue. Crocker served as department head until 1990, when he was named distinguished university professor. He retired from Auburn in 2011.
His crucial contributions to acoustics research: the use of sound intensity theory and measurements to determine the sound power of machinery, and the use of statistical energy analysis to predict the transmission of sound through building structures.
In 1997, his four-volume, 2000-page Encyclopedia of Acoustics received the top award for excellence in Physics and Astronomy publications from the American Association of Publishers.
During his career, Crocker served as editor-in-chief of two leading journals and has authored or edited 10 books, including his Encyclopedia of Acoustics
In 2017, Crocker received the Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has also received three honorary doctorates from universities in Russia and Romania.
Though his international reputation in modern acoustics, vibration and noise control engineering is second to none, Crocker feels his promotion of communications and cooperation among acousticians and engineers across the globe may be his greatest legacy in his field.
Crocker was instrumental in founding three non-profit international institutes — the national Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) in 1971, the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) in 1974 and the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV) in 1995.
The I-INCE and IIAV Institutes annually organize the Inter-Noise series of conferences and the International Congresses on Sound and Vibration.
"These noise control and acoustics and vibration institutes and the conferences and congresses that came from them have been perhaps my most important contributions," Crocker said. "These have greatly influenced several generations of noise control engineers and acoustics and vibration engineers and scientists all around the world."
But, sure, Crocker said — the recognition of his actual research is still appreciated.
"I got to know Guy Strutt, the grandson of Lord Rayleigh, and visited him several times some years ago at the Old Rectory near Terling Place 30 miles east of London," Crocker said. "I arranged for the ASA, the Acoustical Society of America, to pay for him to come to an ASA meeting in Seattle in 1987 at which I organized a special session on Lord Rayleigh and his contributions to acoustics there. So, this award has added meaning for me."
