Volpe Center Acoustics Facility Staff Biography
Cynthia S.Y. Lee
Ms. Lee has been working at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Acoustics Facility for fifteen years. Her work covers many aspects of transportation-noise research, including the measurement, analysis, and modeling of aircraft noise, highway noise, and locomotive-horn characteristics for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Park Service (NPS), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Federal Rail Administration (FRA).
In support of the FAA and NPS, she is the project leader conducting research in support of the Grand Canyon National Parks (GCNP) Overflights Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the development of Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) for approximately 100 National Parks with commercial air tours. The goal of the GCNP Overflights EIS is to achieve restoration of natural quiet. The objective of the ATMPs is to develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent significant adverse impacts from the air tours on the natural and cultural resources, visitor experiences, and tribal lands. Acoustic data collected is used to determine ambient sound conditions and predict noise impacts from air tours or other sound sources of interest for National Environmental Policy Act documents or other planning documents.
Other work includes support of the FHWA’s Traffic Noise Model (TNM) and the FRA in the use of locomotive horns at public highway-rail-grade crossings in response to the Congressional Swift Rail Development Act of 1994. TNM is the FHWA’s computer program used to predict highway noise and aid highway noise barrier design.
