Bob is the founder PSM Consulting LLC.  He is a registered professional engineer and he has worked in consulting for over 40 years.  In 2014, he became an avid pickleball player and was asked to investigate ways that the sound of pickleball might be reduced in level at residences near his winter home in Florida. That work involved careful analysis of work done by acoustics engineers and at methods of reducing the level of annoyance experienced by neighbors of pickleball courts. This led to a study of how pickleball sounds are generated and propagated.

He has now been working in pickleball sound mitigation for over 8 years and he frequently offers advice and formal consulting services to communities, pickleball clubs and those living near pickleball courts and courts being converted to pickleball.

Barry Wyerman, PhD, is the Principal Acoustical Consultant for PSM Consulting LLC. His professional background includes 50 years of acoustical experience in creating innovative acoustical products, solving industrial sound control and vibration problems, and designing solutions for automotive noise and vibration control. He previously worked for Owens Corning Fiberglass, Lord Corporation, General Electric Transportation Systems, Lear Corporation, and Janesville Acoustics. He holds 4 US patents on acoustical products. He is the owner of Acoustical Design and Consulting, LLC, which provides engineering and consulting support in all areas of acoustics and noise control. He has a BS degree in physics from Ohio University, MS and PhD degrees in engineering acoustics from Penn State University, and an MBA from Xavier University. He is a pickleball player and a USA Pickleball Level 2 Referee. His professional associations include: The Acoustical Society of America, Society of Automotive Engineers, Noise and Vibration Committee.

DALE H. VAN SCOYK is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He has MBA training from Arizona State University.

He has over 25 years experience with industrial equipment design, testing and manufacturing. He has written white papers and delivered presentations for the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE) on electromagnetic noise measurement and suppression, as well as light wave spectrum analysis, perceived light pollution and LED light technology topics.

Dale is a year-round pickleball competitor in Wisconsin and Florida with gold medal awards. He is a USA Pickleball Certified Referee, an Ambassador and a PPR Certified Pickleball Instructor. He has worked with multiple municipalities in the Midwest on tennis court conversions for dual use pickleball courts in residential areas, where noise abatement techniques were required.

Braxton Boren is an Associate Professor of Audio Technology at American University, specializing in room acoustics and sound simulation. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University and received a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue his Master’s in Physics from the University of Cambridge. He completed his PhD in the Music and Audio Research Laboratory at New York University. He worked for two years as a researcher in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Princeton University before beginning his current position at American University. He teaches courses on room acoustics, computer simulation, digital signal processing, and the human auditory system. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is a Full Member of the Acoustical Society of America and the Audio Engineering Society.

Steve Surprenant is a graduate of Southwestern Minnesota State University, with degrees in Electronic Engineering Technology (BS degree) and Health (BA degree).

He has had careers with General Electric HealthCare as a Technical Support Engineer and Technical Support Manager (38 years) and at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota as a BioMedical Engineer (7 years). Steve has extensive training and experience with test and measurement instrumentation.

His hobby as an indoor sound technician prompted further self-study in acoustics, especially outdoor impulse sound measurement, human response characteristics, and the practical effectiveness of mitigation and masking alternatives.

Steve currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin and is actively involved with pickleball as a competitor and a USA Pickleball Credentialed Referee and Registered Trainer.

Joerg Duebel holds dual Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Karlsruhe, and Business Management, from Purdue University. Post graduate studies include technical coursework at Cornell University. His broad career experience as a researcher and production engineer includes activities associated with environmental studies, water conservation, optimization of complex manufacturing processes and computer modeling. His research contributions have resulted in multiple scientific publications. Joerg participates annually in the 2-day 180-mile Pelotonia bicycle ride for cancer research at The James – Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a pickleball Certified Referee and a PPR Certified Pickleball Instructor, living part time in Naples, Florida and Columbus, Ohio.

Andy is a 1968 graduate of Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in English Education. She has several years’ experience teaching English composition and technical writing on the high school and college level.

Andy was a technical editor at California Institute of Technology in the Earthquake Engineering Department working with PhD candidates. More recently she was the Satellite Systems Coordinator for GE Medical Systems Television, planning satellite installations at hospitals across the US.

Andy is also a year-round pickleball player, having taken up the sport as the pandemic closed the possibility for other activities. She has played in various tournaments and won a medal in the Wisconsin Senior Olympics. Andy volunteers at tournaments as a pickleball desk coordinator and match starter and plays several times a week with local groups in Wisconsin and Florida. She is also on the Board of Directors of the local pickleball club.

Andy is involved in preparing all of our sound assessment reports.