Keynote Speaker

Dr. Peter Newman

Unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations: Balancing use and preservation in U.S. national parks

Abstract: U.S. national parks and related areas grapple with the perpetual challenge of balancing high numbers of visitors while simultaneously protecting the ecological and experiential values of a place. Dr. Newman's presentation will focus on one such impact of visitor use, the ecological and experiential effects of anthropogenic noise and the protection of natural soundscapes

About Dr. Newman:

Dr. Peter Newman was appointed Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources on July 1, 2024. He earned his Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont and his M.S. in Forest Resource Management from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry College. Dr. Newman was the inaugural Suzie and Allen Martin Professor and Head of the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, with a joint faculty appointment in the Graduate Degree Program in Acoustics at Penn State University. His research focuses on visitor capacity decision-making in the context of protected areas management with a focus on the acoustic environment.
   He has conducted visitor use management studies in parks and protected areas within the United States and internationally, including Denali, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Acadia, and the Great Smokies. He is a long-standing partner of the National Park Service (NPS), Natural Sounds and Night Sky Division in Fort Collins, CO. Peter is a Fellow of the Academy of Leisure Science and a member of the Gund Institute for Environment Steering Committee. Throughout his career, he has led the implementation of high-quality undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, advising, and student engagement. 
   Peter is passionate about outdoor recreation. He was a member of the Backcountry Patrol, USFS in Idaho and a National Service Park Ranger in Yosemite National Park.

The Future of Peace and Quiet

The Wednesday Plenary will have a panel of speakers and will provide an interactive discussion focused on the future of the soundscape in the 21^st Century.  Speakers were chosen to highlight technologies and policies that may have a significant impact in quieting the future soundscape.  The Plenary is hosted and moderated by Special Guest and Author Garret Keizer, the author of The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want.

Special Guest and Moderator Garret Keizer
Garret Keizer is the author of The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want: A Book About Noise, which he wrote with the aid of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and of eight other books including the memoir Getting Schooled and the poetry collection The World Pushes Back. A contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine and Virginia Quarterly Review, he has also published his work in Mother Jones, The New Republic, and The New York Times, among others. He lives with his wife in Vermont.

Panelists
Judy Rochat is a Principal Associate at Cross-Spectrum Acoustics. She holds a doctorate in acoustics from Penn State and has about 30 years of experience in transportation noise and vibration, including highway, rail, and aircraft projects. For the Institute of Noise Control Engineering - USA, Judy recently served as President, after serving as VP of Technical Activities, and she is a Fellow of the Institute. In addition, she is an Associate Editor for the Noise Control Engineering Journal, a Director for International INCE, and a former Chair of the TRB noise and vibration committee. She worked for U.S. DOT / Volpe Center for over 15 years before joining the consulting world.

Reuben Peckham is a graduate and post-graduate of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research in Southampton, UK. He is a Chartered Engineer and has 30 years of experience in industry, research and consultancy relating to acoustics, noise and vibration.  He is a director of 24 Acoustics Ltd- which is a consultancy company based in the UK specializing in acoustics, noise and vibration with particular expertise in the assessment and management of noise from heavy industry. Reuben is also an accomplished and highly experienced expert witness having given evidence in courts of law and public inquiries in the UK.   He is also a director of Intelligent Instruments Ltd.  Intelligent Instruments design and manufacture a range of instrumentation for the measurement of noise, vibration and dust. This includes their SoundVueTM noise camera system which is used to detect excess noise from nuisance vehicles and is in operation in multiple cities across 4 continents.

Les Blomberg is the Executive Director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.  He founded the national non-profit in 1996.  The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse assists the general public with noise problems, helps communities interpret, revise, and enforce their noise ordinances, trains police officers in noise enforcement, and assists other non-profits, such as the Sierra Club, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Consumer Reports address noise issues.  Les’s specialization is federal, state, and local noise policy. He is a member the National Park Service’s and FAA’s National Parks Overflight Advisory Group and a former member of ANSI S12 Standards Committee.