Meet the Student Council

The ASA Student Council is composed of a chairperson and 14 representatives who each represent one Technical Committee (TC). Below, you can learn more about each member of the student council.

Student Council Chair: Chirag Gokani

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 (limited appointment)
University of Texas at Austin, USA
chiragokani@utexas.edu
Website

Chirag Gokani is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is co-advised by Profs. Michael Haberman and Mark Hamilton. Chirag researches the scattering and radiation of sound from asymmetric objects. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics and a minor in music from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2021. His love for both physics and music led him to pursue graduate studies in acoustics.

In his free time, Chirag enjoys being in thunderstorms, playing in waves at the beach, and getting stuck in traffic jams!

Previous SC Chair: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Brijonnay Madrigal, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Animal Bioacoustics Representative: Lucinda Chambers

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
Cornell University
Pronouns: she/her
Lucindachambers2577@gmail.com
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Lucinda Chambers is a PhD candidate in marine bioacoustics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, under the supervision of Professor Tracey Rogers. Lucinda received her Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering in 2023 from UNSW and completed an honour’s thesis in aeroacoustics studying noiseless flight of gliding insects. After some time spent as an acoustic engineer in an environmental consultancy, she returned to UNSW in 2023 to begin a PhD on the acoustic soundscapes of the Southern Ocean. In particular, her thesis focuses on communication systems of Antarctic marine mammals, including leopard seals and beaked whales. In her free time, you can find her performing pub gigs in Sydney with her band or hiking coastline trails in search of the best hidden whale watching spots.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Marissa Garcia, Cornell University

Architectural Acoustics Representative: Lizette Wong

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
University of Texas at Austin, USA
Pronouns: she/her/hers
lizettewong@utexas.edu
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Lizette is a PhD student in mechanical engineering at UT Austin working with Dr. Michael Haberman to explore the spatio-temporal modulation of acoustic metamaterials. She received her B.S. in electrical engineering and B.M. in jazz piano in May 2025. Lizette was drawn to acoustics because of how it bridges engineering and music to shape the human experience of listening and interacting with sound. Outside of school, Lizette loves to make music, bake, read, and find new matcha and coffee shops.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Olivia Heui Young Park, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Acoustical Oceanography Representative: Jade Lopez Case

Term: Fall 2024 – Spring 2026
University of Rhode Island
jadelcase@uri.edu
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Jade Lopez Case is a Ph.D. student in Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. She previously received her undergraduate degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. Here is where she was first exposed to the world of acoustics and the Acoustical Society of America through conducting musical acoustics research under the guidance of Thomas Moore.

With the help of supportive mentors, she is now pursuing a doctorate degree with a focus in underwater acoustics and acoustical oceanography. Her research, under the guidance of James Miller, focuses on using various acoustic propagation models to develop optimization algorithms that work to resolve environmental parameters in different ocean environments. In addition to conducting independent research, she loves mentoring and collaborating with undergraduate students while practicing her science communication skills.

When she isn’t debugging code, Jade enjoys planning trips, traveling, watching video essays, reading, and searching for the best dirty chai in the country.

Previous TC rep: Fall 2022 – Spring 2024: Miad Al Mursaline, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Biomedical Acoustics Representative: Cassidy Christie

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
University of Texas at Austin, USA
Pronouns: she/her
cchristie@utexas.edu
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Cassidy Christie is a PhD student in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and at the Applied Research Laboratories. She is supervised by Dr. Mark F. Hamilton, and studies acoustic radiation force on heterogeneous particles and nonlinear shear wave beams in tissues. Cassidy received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in music from the University of Rochester in 2024. As an undergraduate, she participated in research and engineering projects concerning musical pitch tracking and neural encoding, models of age-related hearing loss, RF angle-of-arrival software implementation, and methods for bone conduction evaluation. In addition to her research, Cassidy loves encouraging the next generation of scientists and engineers by volunteering with Women in STEM of UT Austin. In her free time, she enjoys golfing, crocheting, and trying out new coffee shops.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Chirag Gokani, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Computational Acoustic Representative: Philip Kaufinger

Term: Spring 2025 – Fall 2026
University of Texas at Austin
pkaufinger@utexas.edu
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Philip Kaufinger is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin. Under his advisor, Dr. Mark Hamilton, Philip researches shear wave beams in soft elastic materials with an emphasis on beam focusing and harmonic generation for applications to shear wave elastography. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in applied mathematics as well as a B.A. in Music from Lehigh University in 2022. During his undergraduate, Philip participated in an acoustics based NSF: REU fellowship where he studied finite element modeling of free-reed instruments. It was during this fellowship that his curiosity towards acoustics became a desire to study it in great detail.

Outside of his graduate studies, Philip enjoys playing music in the UT orchestra or writing music with unique instrumentations.

Previous TC Rep: Spring 2023 – Fall 2024: Pravinkumar Ghodake, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Engineering Acoustics Representative: Matthew Olmstead

Term: Fall 2024 – Spring 2026
The Pennsylvania State University, USA
mjo5585@psu.edu
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Matthew Olmstead is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Acoustics at Penn State. He is a member of the Sound Innovation of Metamaterials and Biomedical Acoustics (SIMBA) lab led by Dr. Yun Jing, where his research focus is on transcranial photoacoustic imaging of the human brain enhanced by deep learning. He previously earned a B.S.E. at the University of Hartford in 2020, where he majored in Acoustical Engineering & Music with a concentration in Classical Piano.

Outside of the lab, Matthew loves rock climbing, playing volleyball, and singing in choir! He is also a huge fan of animated Disney movies and has moved across the country with his family a total of seven times!

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2022 – Spring 2024: Pratik Anirudha Ambekar, University of Washington

Musical Acoustics Representative: Jee Woo (Kevin) Kim

Term: Spring 2026 – Fall 2027
Penn State University
jvk6427@psu.edu
Website

Jee Woo (Kevin) Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in Acoustics at Penn State. As a member of Dr. Yun Jing’s Sound Innovation in Metamaterials and Biomedical Acoustics (SIMBA) lab, he researches acoustic metamaterials and parametric acoustic arrays. Previously, he studied at the University of Hartford with a major in Acoustical Engineering and Music (Clarinet performance). His passion for acoustics began in his sophomore year in high school after realizing his passion for both architecture and music, eventually figuring that if he couldn’t build the hall or play the solo, he might as well master the physics that makes them work together.

When not in the lab, he enjoys composing, listening to music, and cooking.

Previous TC Rep: Spring 2024 – Fall 2025: May Pik Yu Chan, University of Pennsylvania

Noise Representative: Caner Baydur

Term: Spring 2025 – Fall 2026
Tongji University, China
canerbaydur@tongji.edu.cn
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Caner is a Ph.D. candidate in Design at the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University (Shanghai, China), and a member of Sustain X (Complex Sociotechnical Systems Design Research Centre). He received his B.Sc. in Architecture with First-class Honours in 2016 and obtained a Chinese-taught M.Sc. in Physics at Tongji University in 2022, becoming the first international student at the university’s Institute of Acoustics. He completed his M.Sc. thesis on reconfigurable acoustic metasurfaces.

By leveraging his interdisciplinary background, Caner has been exploring ideas in his Ph.D. research that focus on integrating programmable acoustic ventilation metamaterials into the built environment. His doctoral studies are supervised by Professors Yongqi Lou, Jian Kang, Nicholas Fang, Yong Li, and Xu Wang. His efforts in acoustics have been recognised and supported by esteemed institutions, such as the Acoustical Society of America, China Scholarship Council, Bank of China, Turkish Physics Society, and Turkish Physics Foundation.

When he’s not immersed in research, Caner enjoys honing his skills on the violin and staying fit through tennis.

Previous TC Rep: Spring 2023 – Fall 2024: Logan Matthews, Brigham Young University

Physical Acoustics Representative: Makayle Kellison

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
Brigham Young University
Pronouns: she/her/hers
makayle@student.byu.edu
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Makayle Kellison is a Ph.D. student in physics (acoustics) at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She is part of Dr. Kent Gee’s Physics and Aerospace Student-Centered Acoustics Laboratory (PASCAL). Her research focuses on rocket and jet aeroacoustics, particularly the propulsion noise generated by NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, a Barry Goldwater Scholar, and previously interned at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Makayle completed her B.A. in physics at Rollins College, a liberal arts school in Winter Park, Florida. She was first introduced to acoustics research as an undergraduate student, where she studied organ pipe and clarinet acoustics.

Having attended high school abroad in Amman, Jordan, Makayle enjoys traveling and exploring new places (especially beaches). Outside of the lab, she spends her time swimming, running, reading, and hanging out with her cat, Chip!

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Jack Case, Penn State University, USA

Psychological and Physiological Acoustics Representative:
Abhijit Roy

Term: Fall 2024 – Spring 2026
Northwestern University
AbhijitRoy2025@u.northwestern.edu
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Abhijit is a PhD candidate in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University. He works with Dr. Pamela Souza in her Hearing Aid Lab, focusing on projects related to listener preferences from amplification strategies in hearing aids. Abhijit received his MA in Acoustical Studies from the Johns Hopkins University and his BFA in Sound Design and Music Production from the Savannah College of Art and Design. His research work has spanned language-specificity requirements in hearing aids, acoustic based behavioral studies in the mouse and chicken animal models, and acoustic analysis of hearing aid function. He has also spent time working on developing ML based speech separator algorithms to help hearing aids function in noise better. When not in the lab, Abhijit can be found practising guitar, playing soccer or cricket, or reading mountaineering novels.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2022 – Spring 2024: Ann Holmes, University of Louisville

Structural Acoustics and Vibration Representative: Jeff Bell

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
Penn State University
jjb7481@psu.edu

Jeff Bell is a PhD student and National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellow at Penn State University advised by Dr. Yun Jing. His area of research includes numerical methods for solving heterogeneous and nonlinear acoustics problems with applications in lithotripsy, transcranial ultrasound, and underwater communications. He graduated with a B.M. in Piano Performance, B.S. in Applied Mathematics, and a M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Alabama in 2022.

Outside of acoustics, he enjoys making music, playing board games, the outdoors, and studying history.

Previous TC Rep: Spring 2025: Klara Chojnacka, AGH University of Krakow

Speech Communication Representative: Sarah Rose Bellavance

Term: Fall 2024 – Spring 2026
New York University
Pronouns: they/she
srb664@nyu.edu
Personal website

Sarah is a PhD student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University. They work with Dr. Susannah V. Levi in the Acoustic Phonetics and Perception Lab and with Dr. Aaron Johnson at NYU Langone’s Voice Center. Sarah’s research focuses on the acoustic and social dimensions of disordered and non-disordered voice qualities using perception experiments and automatic detection methods. They hold a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Vermont and an M.S. in Linguistics from Georgetown University. Before beginning their graduate studies, Sarah worked as a baker. In their free time, they still enjoy baking (at a much smaller capacity), knitting, and being outside.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2022 – Spring 2024: Satwik Dutta, The University of Texas at Dallas

Underwater Acoustics Representative: Robert Drinnan

Term: Fall 2025 – Spring 2027
University of Washington (UW) and Applied Physics Laboratory (APL-UW)
drinnan@uw.edu
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Robert Drinnan is a PhD student at the University of Washington Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Acoustics Department of the Applied Physics Laboratory – University of Washington. His research concerns understanding the vector component of the underwater sound field to characterize different aspects of ocean environments. Presently he is working on explosive sources deployed during the Seabed Characterization Experiment and their effect on propagation in the seabed. Robert has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science in Oceanography from Dalhousie University and is a registered professional engineer in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Prior to starting his PhD, Robert worked for four years in ocean technology designing hydrophone calibration systems. Outside of research Robert can be found, singing in barbershop quartets or hiking and climbing in the pacific northwest.

Previous TC Rep: Fall 2023 – Spring 2025: Natalie Kukshtel, MIT-WHOI Joint Program, Woods Hole MA

Signal Processing in Acoustics Representative: Ben Masters

Term: Fall 2025 – Fall 2027
University of Waterloo
bpmasters@uwaterloo.ca

Ben is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Waterloo’s Hearing Lab where he studies the perception and measurement of effort during conversational interactions. The long-term goal of his research is to develop more naturalistic ways to assess the performance of hearing aid signal processing features. He previously received his Master of Applied Science, also from Waterloo, and Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the acoustics program at Purdue University. Aside from his research, he enjoys teaching, playing music, and the outdoors.

Previous TC Rep: Spring 2024 – Spring 2025: Raymond Plasse, Belmont University