Volpe Center Acoustics Facility Staff Biography
Christopher J. Scarpone
Chris became a member of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling team in July 2002 as a student trainee. He became a full time employee after earning his degree in Electrical Engineering in June 2003.
In support of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Park Service (NPS), Chris is a team member working on developing Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) for National Parks with commercial air tours. The goal of the project is to assess and ultimately reduce the impact an aircraft has on the land and creatures that inhabit it. Mr. Scarpone plans, trains, and leads the field team during data collection. He is responsible for testing instrumentation, validating the data reduction program, data processing, computer modeling, and report writing. This work also includes developing more efficient and accurate methods for analyzing ambient data collected in complex outdoor environments.
Mr. Scarpone has completed additional work in support of the FAA as part of a team expanding the INM aircraft source database. In this role, he was responsible for leading the field team during aircraft source data collection, requiring strict adherence to FAA regulations on measurements, data processing, and report writing.
In support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Mr. Scarpone assists in the Traffic Noise Model (TNM) project. TNM is the FHWA’s software program that is used to predict highway noise and aid in highway noise barrier design. His work includes field measurements to validate TNM’s noise prediction accuracy and the analysis of data collected in the field. Chris also uses TNM to model sound levels in ATMP and other NPS-sponsored projects.
In addition to his work in acoustic measurements projects, Chris has also assisted in several air quality measurements initiatives. For example, he was a member of a team that worked in support of the California Air and Research Board (CARB), which required roadside measurements to determine asbestosis levels. Also, Mr. Scarpone worked on a team in support of the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a model for contaminant dispersion in a city environment.
