December 2007
This fall has been a season of transition. We have settled into our new home in Atlanta and love it. Erica is getting used to her new title of “Dr. Ryherd” at Georgia Tech, and I am finally giving up on being a student. We are also enjoying some travel here in Atlanta and elsewhere in the US.
Erica’s Work
We arrived in Atlanta in August just in time for Erica to begin her new job as a professor at Georgia Tech in the mechanical engineering department (Erica’s Faculty Webpage). In her first semester, she taught a senior elective course in noise control, managed to advise four students, publish a couple academic papers, and helped to create a student chapter of the Acoustical Society of America on campus. I am so proud of her. (I have to be—it is because of her that I was able to stay home and not work. Read on; it is almost excusable.) Make sure to read about the importance of Erica’s research on the effects of noise on humans—Acoustics in Atlanta.
Steve’s ‘Work’
While Erica was inspiring young minds, I was at home in our new apartment contemplating the naivety of man’s traditional role of sole provider. Between philosophic episodes, I did manage to work on my master’s thesis for the applied acoustics program I started in Sweden. I also attempted to minimize the affects of everyday life upon Erica by getting us unpacked and settled into our new home. Most recently, I have been in the process of searching for a job. After a long and arduous search, I am thrilled to announce that I am officially an acoustical consultant with Arpeggio, LLC (www.arpeggioacoustics.com). I will work with people in the building industry and community to optimize acoustics and vibrations relating to room geometries, interior finishes, construction materials, and physical layouts of buildings and communities.
Life in the Big City
It hasn’t been all work since we arrived in Atlanta. We have managed to get around the city a bit to see some sites. Most of our tourist activities have come during visits from friends and family. Erica’s parents came to visit in early September and my parents visited in October. During the beautiful fall weather we found a couple favorite tourist sites—the Martin Luther King, Jr. museum and the World of Coca-Cola. We have also managed to make it to a Georgia Tech football game and have enjoyed some Sunday drives to other parts of the city. There is more stuff to do here than we have time to do it!
Excuse to Travel
We also managed to get away a couple times in the last few months. Granted, it was for conferences, but we will take any chance we can get to travel. We went to two acoustic conferences—one in Reno, Nevada, and the other in New Orleans, Louisiana (view our photos). Reno was a nice little city where I got to try my hand at the dollar black jack table. Unfortunately, we didn’t get out to Lake Tahoe, but the mountain views were spectacular. New Orleans was also an interesting trip. The part of the city we saw had 
recovered nicely from the hurricanes. We stayed right next to the French Quarter. We took in some of the sights—Bourbon Street, Mardi Gras Museum, Café Du Monde, and the river walk. It was a fun trip and we hope to get the chance to go back some day.
