Internal Research & Development

Acentech is excited to announce the launch of our Internal Research & Development Grant Program. Its goal is to encourage our consulting staff to explore topics that expand our knowledge, improve our ability to serve our clients, and ultimately collaborate with other like-minded individuals or firms.

Our 2025 grants have been awarded and research is underway!

• A team led by Esmaeil Memarzadeh, PhD will continue their work to design and test a structural health monitoring system, building on the success of Acentech’s Remote Monitoring Systems (RMS) capabilities.
  
  Esmaeil, a Consultant in Acentech’s Noise and Vibration Group, notes “The Structural Health Active Monitoring of Infrastructure (SHAMI) Group is very excited to move into the second phase of our structural health monitoring project. In the first phase, we completed the initial feasibility study, and now we are progressing to testing on the Powder Mill Bridge in Western Massachusetts. This phase is crucial, as it will determine whether we can extract useful modal data from our sensors, which is key to assessing the potential for remote structural health monitoring with our systems.”
  
  
• A team led by Jay Bliefnick, PhD, INCE Bd Cert will investigate a novel method for reducing low-frequency noise in duct systems.
  
  Jay, an Associate Principal in Acentech’s ArchMech Group, notes:  “The narrow-band duct silencer research project will investigate a novel type of HVAC sound attenuator, designed to have no internal media and produce minimal pressure drop.  The goal of this new silencer will be to attenuate in-duct noise at tunable narrow-band frequencies below 500 Hz, specifically targeting the tonal noise generated by modern AHU fan arrays.”
  
  
• Teams led by Ioana Pieleanu and Andy Carballeira, INCE Bd Cert, will continue the firm’s research into the acoustical properties of materials. Their work employs 3D printing, automated data gathering, scale modeling, and sound intensity methods to characterize architectural and mechanical systems for modeling and simulation.
  
  Andy, Acentech’s Innovation Lead and a Principal in the ArchMech Group, notes: “The architects and engineers we work with are excited to experiment with new materials and forms, but acoustical data are seldom available. We value simulation as an inclusive decision-making tool, but a simulation can only be as good as the data that goes into it. These paired research projects extend Acentech’s ability to rapidly collaborate with designers.”

We are proud to support cutting-edge research in acoustics, vibration, & technology, and look forward to sharing the results of our efforts in conferences, journal articles, and The Lab @ Acentech.

We are actively seeking like-minded partners to collaborate on research opportunities. For more information on our IR&D program, contact Andy Carballeira at acarballeira@acentech.com.