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About Rollins

Whitney Coyle, PhD

Assistant Physics Professor, Pre-Engineering Coordinator

whitney coyle physics professor
A trained musician-mathematician, Professor Coyle found her calling in acoustics, the science of sound. This all began by her studying clarinet performance and mathematics at Murray State University in Kentucky and then continuing on earn her PhD in acoustics from the Pennsylvania State University Graduate Program in Acoustics in 2016. Her dissertation research was performed primarily in Marseille and Paris, France, and focused on analytical models to describe acoustical characteristics of the clarinet. She is currently interested in research to better the understanding of the complicated mechanisms that contribute to the playability (or lack thereof) of a particular instrument. 
 
Coyle joined the Rollins faculty in 2015 and is passionate about education and teaching through research with undergraduate students. She is active in many scientific societies, including the Acoustical Society of America, the Association of Physics Teachers, and the International Clarinet Association, and is an enthusiastic clarinetist in the Rollins College Wind Ensemble.

T. 407.691.1279

Academic Employment

Assistant Professor | Rollins College
August 2016 - Present

Visiting Assistant Professor | Rollins College
August 2015 - July 2016

Graduate Research Assistant | The Pennsylvania State University  
August 2010 - August 2016
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow

Education

Ph.D. in Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University, 2016
M.S. in Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University, 2012
B.S. in Music (Clarinet) and Mathematics, Murray State University, 2009

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Coyle, W.L., Gabriel, J.D.*., A method for automatic detection of articulation in clarinet playing. J. Acoust. Soc. of America - Express Letters, (submitted), 2018. 

Coyle, W.L., P. Guillemain, J. Kergomard and J.P. Dalmont. Predicting playing frequencies for clarinets: a comparison between numerical simulations and simplified analytic formulas, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138, 2770-2781, 2015.

Conference Proceedings  

Coyle, P. Guillemain, and J. Kergomard. Rapid creation of tuning maps for a clarinet using analytic formulas, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, pages 295–299, 2014

Coyle, J. Kergomard, P. Guillemain, C. Vergez, and A. Guilloteau. An attempt at predicting the variation in playing frequencies for clarinets. Proceedings of the Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference, pages 350–357, 2013.

Other Publications

Coyle, W.L., (2018). Using an artificial mouth to measure tuning homogeneity. (in press), The Clarinet [online, print], http://clarinet.org/.

Dent, M., Coyle, W.L., (2018). Ask an Acoustician: Whitney Coyle, Acoustics Today [online, print], http://acousticstoday.org/ask-acoustician-whitney-coyle/.

Conference Presentations

Invited Talks

Gabriel, J.D.*, Coyle, W.L., (2019). Automatic detection of clarinet articulations. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Louisville, KY.

Coyle, W.L., Moore, T.R., (2018). Using speckle imaging of air flow inside musical instruments to improve computational models. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Victoria, Canada.

Moore, T.R., Coyle, W.L., (2018). Flow visualizations using electronic speckle pattern interferometry. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Victoria, Canada. 

Coyle, W.L., Moore, T.R., (2017). Flow visualizations using electronic speckle pattern interferometry. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Coyle, W.L., (2017). Diving into the deep end: transition from student to professor. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Boston, MA, USA.

Coyle, W.L., (2015). The Clarinet: past, present and future. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Jacksonville, FL, USA.

Coyle, W.L., Guillemain, P., Doc, J.-B., Guilloteau, A., Vergez, C., (2014). Descriptive maps to illustrate the quality of a clarinet. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Indianapolis, IN, USA.

Coyle, W.L., (2014). From musical acoustics to outdoor sound and back. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Providence, RI, USA.

Contributed Talks

Moore, T.R., Coyle, W.L., (2019). Experimental flow visualizations in an organ pipe using electronic speckle pattern interferometry. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Louisville, KY.

Gabriel, J.D.*, Coyle, W.L., (2018). Studying the clarinet with an artificial mouth: comparison of playing frequencies between model and measurement. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Victoria, Canada.

Coyle, W.L., (2017). Using an artificial mouth to measure tuning homogeneity. Presented at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, Orlando, FL, USA.

Coyle, W.L., (2015). A study of the acoustical characteristics of a quality clarinet. Presented at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, Madrid, Spain.

Coyle, W.L., Kergomard, J., Guillemain, P., (2014). Rapid creation of tuning maps for a clarinet using analytic formulas. Presented at the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, Le Mans, France.

Coyle, W.L., Kergomard, J., Guillemain, P. (2014). Clarinet playing frequency predictions: Comparison between analytic and numerical simulations. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Providence, RI, USA.

Coyle, W.L., Sparrow, V.W., Ikelheimer, B., (2013). Using simplified terrain and weather mapping in outdoor sound propagation predictions. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA. 

Coyle, W.L., (2013). An attempt at predicting the variation in playing frequencies for clarinets. Presented at the Stockholm Musical Acoustics Conference (SMAC), Stockholm, Sweden.

Coyle, W.L., Sparrow, V.W., Ikelheimer, B., Downing, M., James, M., Bradley, K., Mellon, J.,  (2011). Propagation in a realistic outdoor environment. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, San Diego, CA, USA.

Behrens, S.L., Coyle, W.L., Goodweiller, N.P., Cottingham, J.P., (2009). Vibrational modes of accordion reeds. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Coyle, W.L., Behrens, S.L., Cottingham, J.P., (2009). Influence of accordion reed chamber geometry on reed vibration and airflow. Presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Posters

Richard, C.K.*, Coyle, W.L., (2017). Velocity analysis of the vacuum-driven clarinet reed. Poster presented at the Acoustical Society of America meeting, Boston, MA, USA.

Coyle, W.L., Richard, C.K.*, (2017). An investigation of the reed’s vibrating surface area. Poster presented at the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, Montreal, Canada.

Coyle, W.L., (2012). Analytical formulas to predict clarinet playing frequencies. Poster presented at the JJCAS, Marseille, France.

* indicates an undergraduate student

Other Invited Speaking Engagements

Coyle, W.L., (2018). Clarinet Acoustics: in search of quality markers for musical instruments. Presented at the Navy Post Graduate School, Monterey, CA, USA.

Coyle, W.L., (2016). The Flame Challenge with Alan Alda: “What is Sound” – musical sound. Presented at the World Science Festival, New York, NY, USA. 

https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/videos/flame-challenge-what-is-sound/

Professor Whitney Coyle Teaching at Rollins College

Ad-hoc Reviewer

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America           

Professional Organization Member

  • Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
  • Society of Women Engineers
  • American Association of Physics Teachers
  • American Physical Society
  • International Clarinet Association 

Committees

  • Chair, Web Advisory Committee (ASA) [2016 – 2020]
  • Member, Women in Acoustics Committee (ASA)
  • Member, Education in Acoustics Committee (ASA)
  • Member, Musical Acoustics Technical Committee (ASA)
  • Member, Public Relations Committee (ASA)
  • Chair, Student Council (ASA) [2012-2014]  
  • Member - ASA leadership Nomination Committee [2018]

College Board, ETS

  • AP Physics Exam Reader: 2017
  • SAT II, Physics Subject Test Committee [2017 – 2019]    

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Cool Class: Physics for Future Presidents

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Coyle Receives Award for Clarinet Research

Rollins Assistant Professor of Physics Whitney Coyle recently earned first prize for her research on the physics of the clarinet at the International Clarinet Association’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida.
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