“That IS physics.” Acoustics and its existence within Brigham Young University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy

In the April 2024 American Physical Society newsletter, “APS News,” Prof. A. Zangwill published an opinion piece describing the boundaries of “physics” and historical debates over where they should be drawn. The title? “That’s not physics.” The prime example of a discipline that used to be considered physics but is no longer? Acoustics. As an acoustician who somehow became Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University (BYU)—a department that ranked seventh in the nation for undergraduate degrees awarded in 2022–2023—reading this article naturally resulted in an existential crisis of sorts for me and ruined a particularly pleasant afternoon. As a mentor, professor, acoustician, and now Chair, I have thought hard about the role of acoustics in a physics and astronomy department. In this presentation, I discuss the history of acoustics within BYU Physics, its growth that has opposed national trends, and its present trajectory within the ever-changing definition of “physics.” While acknowledging the dangers of both overfitting and extrapolating, I offer a perspective on acoustics within an undergraduate physics curriculum.