Name Vern Knudsen Role Physicist | Died May 13, 1974 | |
 | ||
Books Acoustical Designing in Architecture, Theater Design Education University of Chicago, Brigham Young University Organizations founded Acoustical Society of America | ||
Vern Oliver Knudsen (December 27, 1893 – May 13, 1974) was an American acoustical physicist.
Biography
Knudsen received his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) with an A.B. in 1915. Following his graduation from BYU Knudsen served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1915-1918 in the Northern States Mission, which was headquartered in Chicago. Knudsen then joined the staff of Bell Laboratories where he worked with Harvey Fletcher, who had been one of his professors at BYU.
He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1922. Vern Knudsen's publications include two seminal books, "Architectural Acoustics," published in 1932, and "Acoustical Designing in Architecture" with Cyril M. Harris, 1950.
He co-founded the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), and served as its president, 1933–35, and the ASA awarded him the Wallace Clement Sabine Medal in 1958 and the Gold Medal in 1967. He was the recipient of the John H. Potts (Gold) Medal from the Audio Engineering Society (AES) in 1964.
In 1934, Vern Knudsen was made Dean of the Graduate Division of the Southern Section of the University of California, a post which he held for 24 years and during which time the UCLA Graduate Division increased from 287 to 5160. He served as Chancellor of UCLA from 1959-1960, where there is a building named in his honor.