CETA Faculty Member Is Awarded Greenberg Grant

Dr. Michelle Vigeant, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has received a Greenberg Junior Faculty Grant to be used in her research on acoustic absorption in concert halls. Dr. Vigeant’s research focuses on the relationship between late lateral energy and acoustic absorption. She is considering the sense of being enveloped, completely surrounded, by sound in concert halls and how late lateral energy relates to acoustic absorption and the sense of envelopment that is important to the listening experience. In studying the relationship, Dr. Vigeant hopes to derive a better understanding of how the physical aspects of any acoustically sensitive space contribute to envelopment, an understanding that will help designers and researchers in advancing concert hall design. Three undergraduate Acoustical Engineering students will assist Dr. Vigeant as she analyzes the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Hall in downtown Hartford, develops a computer model of the theater, and analyzes the resultant data.

Dr. Vigeant earned her B.S. at the University of Alberta, and her Ph.D. in Engineering (Architectural Engineering, Acoustics) at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her principal research interests lie in architectural acoustics, psychoacoustics, musical acoustics, and noise control. To learn more about Dr. Vigeant’s research, you can go to her web page by clicking here.

Dr. Michelle Vigeant

The Greenberg Junior Faculty Grants are grants given by the University to promote high quality scholarship by faculty members just beginning their careers. The grants are endowed by Arnold and Beverly Greenberg, long-time benefactors of the University of Hartford.