Dale Vance Holliday (May 29, 1940 – February 4, 2010) was an American physicist and acoustician. Born in Ennis, Texas, Holliday attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He graduated with a B.S. and M.A. in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and did extensive

theoretical A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

and

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

al research on the

Mössbauer effect The Mössbauer effect, or recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence, is a physical phenomenon discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer in 1958. It involves the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of gamma radiation by atomic nuclei bound in a ...

. He died in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on February 4, 2010, after a period of illness. Holliday became one of the first 100 employees of

Tracor Tracor, Inc. was a major North American defense electronics contractor which was acquired by Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), a subsidiary of General Electric Company plc, in 1998. Following the purchase of MES by British Aerospace in November ...

in 1962 and quickly became Director of Analysis and Applied Research in the Electronic Systems Division. In 1965 Holliday left Austin to develop the Tracor facility in

and began his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of fac ...

at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. In

Holliday began his study in

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

for which he is known. His study of transient flow in

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

pipelines A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The Un ...

led to the publication of a

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

which is still used as a standard reference. In the 1970s Holliday began testing a revolutionary technique for the detection and size measurement of zooplankton in thin layers involving multi-frequency backscattering. The technique developed and after twenty years became the established framework for research in the field. In the early 1980s Holliday built the first prototype of the Tracor Acoustical Profiling System (TAPS) which has been described as decades ahead of its time by the Acoustical Society of America. TAPS is now the standard instrument for acoustical profiling of

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

in the sea. Holliday published hundreds of papers on

underwater acoustics Underwater acoustics (also known as hydroacoustics) is the study of the propagation of sound in water and the interaction of the mechanical waves that constitute sound with the water, its contents and its boundaries. The water may be in the oce ...

and acoustical oceanography and given dozens of talks and symposia in several countries. In 2004 Holliday became only the third recipient of the

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...

Silver Medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in Acoustical Oceanography, for "contributions to the study of

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

, from plankton to

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

". Holliday was awarded the Prix d'Excellence by the

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES; , ''CIEM'') is a regional fishery advisory body and the world's oldest intergovernmental science organization. ICES is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, where its multinational s ...

(ICES) in recognition of extraordinary contributions, fulfilling the ICES vision of scientific discovery, leadership, and applications that have had major influence on policy for sustained use and conservation of marine ecosystems. The Award was presented at the ICES Annual Science Conference on Monday September 22, 2008. The research vessel R/V Dale Van Holliday is operated by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

Fisheries Service. Holliday died on February 4, 2010, at the age of 69 from complications of heart surgery, which was in turn caused by complications from the

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

which he had battled his entire life. The Acoustical Society of America organized
session in his memory
during its 162nd Meeting, on October 31, 2011.

Honors and Positions

* Prix d'Excellence -

(2008) *

in acoustical oceanography -

(2004) * Meritorious Public Service Award - Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval Research (2002) * Founding Editorial Board - Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (2002) * Steinbach Visiting Scholar -

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

(1987) * Member of the US Delegation to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (1987) * R/V D. V. Holliday -

References

Sources

*
Biography, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

External links

Sounds in the Sea: From Ocean Acoustics to Acoustical Oceanography, Chapter 12A shallow scattering layer...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, D. Van Acousticians American physicists University of California, San Diego alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni 1940 births 2010 deaths Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America People from Ennis, Texas