Southampton Professor wins major international award

The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) awarded Professor Leighton with their Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal, which is only the fifth time since 1983 that the medal has been awarded as a result of three technical committees collaborating on a nomination.

Every few years each of the technical committees of the ASA can nominate an eminent researcher in the field for a Silver Medal. However, if two or more technical committees collaborate to put forward the same individual who has achieved distinction in both fields, that silver medal is distinguished with the title the "Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal". In this case Prof Leighton was nominated by Biomedical acoustics, Acoustical oceanography and Physical acoustics.
Professor Leighton will receive the medal at the joint meeting of the ASA and the International Commission for Acoustics in Montreal in June 2013.

Professor Leighton, who is Associate Dean (Research) in Engineering and the Environment, says: "I am extremely honoured by this award and humbled to be added to the list of past winners, a list of people whose contributions are truly daunting. I had no idea this was going on, and am extremely touched that, in these busy days when time is the rarest commodity for an academic; so many people have put in the time and dedication to make the case for me."

The ASA is an international scientific society dedicated to increasing and diffusing the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. From its inception in 1929, the ASA's members have helped develop acoustical standards. The ASA also presents awards to individuals for contributions to the field of acoustics and publishes the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), the Acoustics Research Letters Online (ARLO), and a wide range of books and videos on topics related to acoustics.