Ph.D. student wins paper award at NOISE-CON

Ke “Scott” Luo, a Ph.D. candidate in the Pigman College of Engineering Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was recently awarded a Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA (INCE-USA) Student Paper Award at NOISE-CON 2026 in Long Beach, California.

Each year, at the corresponding NOISE-CON conference or North American INTER-NOISE Congress, one or more papers presented by students are selected for their outstanding content and quality of presentation. These selected student authors are then awarded the INCE-USA Student Paper Award at the conclusion of the conference.

Luo was one of five students across North America selected for the INCE-USA award for his paper titled, “Application of double tuned expansion chambers to square cross-section ductwork.”
 

The paper discusses how research has demonstrated a double tuned expansion chamber (DTEC) can significantly improve noise reduction without requiring additional space. The research applied the concept to square ducts commonly used in HVAC systems, using finite element simulations to determine the optimal end corrections and validating the results through experimental measurements. The findings suggest that DTEC technology could offer a compact and effective approach to controlling noise in HVAC ductwork, where available space is often limited.

Noise-Con is a premier national conference on noise control engineering, typically organized by the INCE-USA, which highlights outstanding research by student engineers and scientists in the field of acoustics and noise management.