Carter Paprocki (left), a second-year doctoral student in acoustics, received a four-year fellowship to grow his skill set in applying machine learning tactics to acoustics data. His adviser, Andrew Barnard (right), is a professor of acoustics at Penn State and director of the graduate program in acoustics. Credit: Tyler Henderson/Penn State . All Rights Reserved.
Acoustics graduate student receives four-year fellowship in nuclear engineering
June 6, 2023
By Mariah R. Lucas
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Carter Paprocki, a second-year doctoral student in acoustics at Penn State, was named the recipient of the Rickover Fellowship in Nuclear Engineering. Administered by the South Carolina Universities Research and Education Foundation in conjunction with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Energy, the fellowship includes four years of full tuition and stipend funding and a job at a U.S. Naval nuclear laboratory after graduation.
“Carter has a passion for research and development that supports national defense, having worked on Navy related projects throughout his undergraduate degree,” said Andrew Barnard, professor of acoustics and director of Penn State’s graduate program in acoustics. “His hands-on engineering skills and passion for research make him an excellent recipient of the Rickover Fellowship.”
Paprocki’s research interests developed during his time working closely with Barnard as an undergraduate and master’s student at Michigan Technological University, where Barnard was an associate professor of mechanical engineering before joining Penn State in 2022.
As an undergraduate, Paprocki participated in Department of Defense-funded research with Barnard, including completing proof-of-concept work of a live scan sonar system for U.S. Navy SEAL scuba divers and a remote-controlled rescue device developed for dangerous rescues in Lake Superior.
As a master’s student, Paprocki completed hydraulic flow noise control research with noise data generated by construction equipment.
Now, Paprocki focuses on digital signal processing and machine learning in acoustics. He is working with the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State to create an algorithm to process and evaluate vehicular noise data in state parks.
“Recreation, parks and tourism management researchers are interested in seeing how vehicle noise affects people’s perceptions of the environment, and how they recreate as a result,” Paprocki said. “Last summer, researchers placed two noise sensors on sites near the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon that continuously collected noise data. It’s my job to develop a machine learning algorithm that can cut down on the listening hours it takes to go through that sensor data and detect and classify the type of sound that occurred through digital signal processing.”
Papocki also is training the model to automate the detection and classification of acoustic sources by inputting acoustic and vibration datasets.
“I am experimentally cross training the model to ‘understand’ the nuances of vibration data by giving it smaller tasks to perform,” Paprocki said. “The hope is that through my research, I can develop a model that has practical applications of machine learning in other areas of acoustics.”
This particular research interest — the application of machine learning to acoustics — made Paprocki a good candidate for the Rickover fellowship.
“The Naval lab that I’ll join after graduation is actively developing a department to do machine learning in nuclear engineering, which uses acoustics data,” Paprocki said. “They are essentially funding my research now so that I learn those skills, become a subject matter expert and apply them in my future employment.”
After he graduates, Paprocki will go to work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in Pittsburgh, where he will complete acoustics research on the nuclear reactors and the systems that support them while using machine learning to alleviate some of the necessary data processing.
Prior to graduating from Penn State, Paprocki will spend 10 weeks at the Bettis site completing an onsite practicum as part of the fellowship requirements.
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