UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two Penn State engineering faculty and one Penn State engineering alumna received notable awards from the Acoustical Society of America at the society’s recent annual meeting, which took place May 11-15 in Philadelphia.
Daniel Russell, teaching professor of acoustics and distance education coordinator, received the Rossing Prize For Excellence in Acoustics Education, and Anthony Atchley, professor emeritus of acoustics, received the society’s Gold Medal, its highest distinction, awarded annually to one individual whose “contributions to the field of acoustics have been unusually distinguished,” according to the society’s website.
Whitney Coyle, associate professor of physics at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, who received her master’s and doctorate degrees in acoustics from Penn State, received the 2026 R. Bruce Lindsay Award. This award is for ASA members who are no more than 10 years removed from their degree.
Atchley, who joined Penn State in 1997, was initially hired to lead the graduate program in acoustics. In 2008, he was named the college’s associate dean for administration and planning and was appointed senior associate dean in 2014.
For Atchley, receiving the Gold Medal is “surreal.”
“When I first joined the Acoustical Society as a graduate student, I would see people in the halls who had either won the Gold Medal or would go on to win the Gold Medal,” he said. “I put them on a pedestal, and the award on a pedestal as well. It’s very humbling. It leaves you with a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude.”
Atchley has been involved with the Acoustical Society since 1984, from joining meetings to chairing committees to eventually being president of the organization.
Atchley said that most of his research — which included work in the fields of ultrasounds and thermoacoustics — was experimental, which provided challenges for students, as well as opportunities to learn and discover what their own research interests might be. He also emphasized the critical thinking and patience skills that accompany experimental research.
“When my students would get frustrated, I would tell them that most research you do, you do wrong, and when you get it right, you move on,” he said. “Perseverance is what gets you an answer.”
Atchley expressed gratitude for notable people who influenced his career, but also to those who supported him without him knowing.
“There are opportunities to thank the people whose names are obvious, but I also encourage people to think back and acknowledge, even if you don’t know who they are, that there have been times in your career where people took time to advocate for you, open doors that you never knew about, and they deserve recognition as well,” he said. “Even if they’re unknown, they deserve recognition.”
Whitney Coyle said receiving the R. Bruce Lindsay Award is not just a recognition of her research, but also the way she integrates her scholarship into her teaching and mentorship.
“My work has always been centered on students,” she said. “The research I do is designed to give them meaningful opportunities to develop skills in communication, leadership, data analysis and problem-solving. I wasn’t always certain I’d be competitive, especially working at a teaching-focused institution and balancing family life. This award brings visibility to my students and the work we do together. Of all the professional recognition I’ve received, this is the most meaningful.”
Coyle earned her doctorate from Penn State in 2016, where she said she was supported by faculty who encouraged her to pursue ambitious projects and opportunities. “With faculty and mentor support, I earned a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and was able to spend time in France studying clarinet acoustics, which broadened both my technical and cultural perspective.”
Coyle spoke highly of her graduate program and the faculty who supported her, namely Vic Sparrow, Dan Russell and others.
“A Ph.D. is a long road and many at Penn State believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Coyle said.
Russell primarily credits his Rossing Award win to his popular website of acoustics animations, which he has maintained and updated as a teaching tool for three decades.
"Acoustics is a science that involves waves and motion, so animating it and visualizing it is really important," Russell said, citing that he often uploads new animations based on the questions he receives from students. Russell said his website receives tens of thousands of visits per month.
“I've gotten emails from third graders who want to use my animations for their PowerPoint presentation for science class,” Russell said, “as well as emails from medical specialists who are going before the British government, trying to argue for a medical claim, and want to use an animation showing how a wave behaves.”
For Russell, winning this award was especially personal, as Thomas D. Rossing was a mentor and adviser to him, as Russell studied under him while working on his master's in applied physics at Northern Illinois University.
“Rossing was the one who introduced me to acoustics and acoustics education,” Russell said. “It means so much, being a student of his and knowing how much he cared about education.”
Russell has been heavily involved with the Acoustical Society throughout his career, chairing the Education Committee and taking a hands-on approach to promoting acoustics education within the society. Russell was even on the selection committee to choose the inaugural Rossing Award winners.
Russell’s primary research area is the acoustics and vibration of sports equipment. He said his website has led to athletic companies finding his work and contacting him for consulting in the creation of new sports equipment.
Russell, who received his doctorate from Penn State, was concerned he wouldn’t be competitive because many prior recipients were notable researchers, whereas he was primarily focused on education, having spent over a decade teaching undergraduates at a private university in Michigan before returning to Penn State as a teaching professor. Russell claims he might not have been considered for the award had he not returned to teach in the Penn State graduate program.
“I love being here,” he said. “I'm getting to teach classes in the subject material that I fell in love with in grad school. I'm really grateful to be at Penn State as part of this acoustics program with all this rich history, and our affiliation with the acoustics program has helped get me to the level of where the Rossing award winners are. I'm grateful to be where I am, and it's an amazing honor to get this award for many, many reasons.”