Medford/Somerville, Mass. – They explore the physics of food. They conduct experiments in the weightless environment of NASA’s 0-gravity plane. They improve the quality of the world’s best musical instruments by subjecting them to extremes in temperature and humidity. And more and more frequently, they earn the attention of the national media.

   The Wall Street Journal contains the latest report about the innovative research and teaching ofTufts University’s School of Engineering. An October 13 article, “In the Name of Science, Tufts Students Abuse Musical Instruments,” reporter Jeffrey Krasner explores a mechanical engineering course dedicated to tormenting the world’s best instruments.

   Led by professor Chris Rogers, this year’s Massachusetts Professor of the Year, a group of Tufts students heat up and cool down pianos and trumpets – all in the name of good music. “Researchers think that if they can understand why tones change under extreme conditions, they might be able to make instruments that play better all the time – or at least explain why some horns sound better than others,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

   By comparing the sound from untreated trumpets against trumpets that have been cryogenically frozen, the students are trying to determine if climate changes the sound of instruments. They do the same thing with Steinway pianos. Instead of freezing them, however, the group cranks up the heat and humidity.

   “We’re looking at the finer stuff, like you’re sitting down and playing Tanglewood and the temperature jumps by a number of degrees,” Dr. Rogers told the Journal. “How much harder or lighter does the hammer hit the string?”

   So who supplies Tufts with all the instruments? None other than the best in the music business – Steinway. The Waltham-based company provides $30,000 in funding, trumpets, pianos and the giant piano-baking oven. “If we understand the wood and the science better, that can help us make better pianos,” Steinway CEO and Tufts alum Dana Messina told the Wall Street Journal.

Online: http://www.tufts.edu/communications/printable/101399EngineersInJournal