CHIRP sonar research is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Applications of sonar technology in the areas of sediment classification, environmental impact studies, and nautical archeology are being developed.  The CHIRP sonar is a towed, digital, wideband, FM sonar that generates high resolution images of sediments beneath the sea floor and provides high quality sediment acoustic data that can be used to characterize sediment properties. Signal processing procedures have been developed that estimate acoustic impedance and compressional wave attenuation with depth beneath the sea floor.  These parameters can be used to predict grain size and other physical properties of marine sediments.
      Underwater imaging techniques are also being developed to generate high resolution, three-dimensional images of the ocean bottom terrain and the sub-bottom in real time. These images are for use by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) for navigation and surveying.
      An Ambient Noise Sonar System has been developed to study naturally occurring sources of noise in the ocean. The system is designed for deployment on an AUV which can relocate to further investigate a particular source. The system is being used to generate "noise maps" of shallow water areas near the coast of Florida.

      Currently under development are broadband noise prediction methods for the next generation of commercial aircraft engines. This is an extension of earlier work which was successful in explaining the mechanisms of broadband helicopter noise. In addition, numerical codes have been developed to evaluate the effect of fuselage scattering on helicopter rotor noise.