Acentech is an multidisciplinary acoustical consulting firm more than 50 years' old, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Thousand Oaks, California. Acentech senior consultant James P. Cowan, principal author of this book, has extensive experience in architectural acoustics and environmental noise issues and has managed hundreds of projects across the country. He conducts seminars and teaches classes on acoustical topics for the American Institute of Architects and other associations, municipalities, educational institutions, and firms. He is a board-certified noise control engineer and the author of Handbook of Environmental Acoustics, Architectural Acoustics, a CD-ROM, and many educational articles on acoustical topics.