Planes, rockets, trains, and buildings—A career that included them all, and more

James Phillips started his career conducting aircraft cabin acoustics measurements in the laboratory and in-flight at McDonnell Douglas while completing his Master of Science in Acoustics degree from the Pennsylvania State University in 1989. From there, he worked briefly at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before moving on to the Aerospace Corporation where he analyzed launch vehicle and payload acoustic, vibration, and shock environments for the then United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. After that, he changed his career path to work for an acoustical consulting firm where he spent much of his time analyzing sound and ground-borne vibration from rail transit vehicles, as well as many other noise and vibration related issues in other fields. He currently works in the Intertek Building Science Solutions - Noise, Acoustics, and Vibration group measuring and analyzing noise and vibration within buildings and propagated to communities. This presentation will briefly discuss how Mr. Phillips used the knowledge gained from each step in his career to move on to the next.