Joshua Pilipovsky Research Extra Credit

(i) Where is the speaker from and what is his/her area of expertise (which you get from the

speaker’s introduction)?

The speaker was a NASA scientist lecturing about the sounds picked up by satellites.

(ii) Beyond simply rephrasing the title, what is the overarching scientific question the speaker

is trying to address?

She spoke about the sounds picked up by satellites and it took place in a giant metal dome-

shaped structure. The sounds were able to bounce off in all directions making it feel like your

actually there, much like a satellite.

(iii) Where does the data come from or how is it acquired?

Data is obtained by recording sounds of earth picked up by satellites and play it in a way that

satellites hear it.

(iv) What makes this particular work complex or what difficulties did the speaker encounter in

doing the work?

Sometimes there is interference when scientists are looking for a particular sound. The satellite

circles the earth picking up various sounds to study.

(v) What does the speaker still not know about this area or what are the next steps in the

project?

(vi) What was the most interesting aspect of the lecture?

There was a really unique part of this in that in the end, there was an interactive tutorial in a way.

We all got into the humongous sound shell and they blasted it for 7 complete minutes. The

sounds were so real that I almost started freaking out that I was in space. Very realistic indeed.

(vii) What was the most confusing part of the lecture?

The part about sound waves traveling in a vacuum was pretty confusing.

(viii) If you had a chance, what question would you ask the speaker?

Can this type of intense surround sound be implemented in movie theaters, completely

revolutionizing the experience for the viewers?