The American Association for the Advancement of Science is making some noise over an ISU professor’s research about sound.

David Holger, associate dean of engineering, has been selected as a Fellow of the AAAS after being a member of the scientific society for 26 years.

“To become a fellow, you need to be nominated by a regional committee,” he said. “They look at long-time members and what they’ve accomplished.”

Holger said he was recognized by the society for his accomplishments in the fields of engineering administration, engineering accreditation and noise control engineering.

“The bulk of my research has been in numerical acoustics and in developing ways to make machines run quieter,” Holger said. “By being the associate dean for the college, I’ve dealt with the administration aspect as well.”

Holger said he has worked on machines ranging from fans to jet components. He said he also has spent time redesigning airport runways to reduce the sound that airports emit in their surrounding neighborhoods. “Not all of my research involves quieting the machines directly,” he said. “We use complicated computer models to predict noise contours at airports and air force bases.”

Holger said he has collaborated on several projects with colleagues at Iowa State during his 26 years at the university.

“I’ve worked on fan noise and centrifugal compressor noise, sometimes in collaboration with Adin Mann,” he said.

Mann, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, said Holger has been a valuable resource.

“Working with [Holger] was nice; he’s sort of a resource manual,” Mann said. “He’s very good with the fundamentals, has a good broad base and general knowledge and is able to approach things from his research background, but at the same time he is well aware of what the other guys are doing in the field [of noise and acoustics].”

Mann said Holger is also a good teacher and friend. “I learned a lot from Holger when we worked on one project to quiet lawn mower blades and home vacuums,” he said. “When I was an undergrad, he introduced me to a lot of other people in our field.”