It might be helpful to discuss the credentials of two of the acoustical experts who worked on the HSCA acoustical evidence: Dr. James Barger and Professor Mark Weiss.
Dr. Barger (now retired and still living) received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1957, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1960, and an M.A. in applied physics from Harvard University in 1962. In 1964 he received a Ph. D. in applied physics from Harvard University.
He was a sonar project officer in the U.S. Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory, a research assistant at the Harvard University's Acoustics Research Laboratory, and a senior scientist and director of the Physical Science Division with Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc. (BBN).
An expert in sonar, underwater noise detection and reduction, broadband medical ultrasound, geophysical seismic sensing, and noise and vibration cancellation, Dr. Barger designed prototypes of the explosive line arrays used by the Navy's Distant Thunder Sonar System, analyzed and designed sound sources for geophysical seismic exploration, and developed the initial science-based understanding of turbulence-induced noise as relevant to submarine stealth technology.
Dr. Barger is the author of numerous scientific papers. He has lectured in the field of applied acoustics in the United States and Canada and at the time was a lecturer on sound scattering and reverberations with Bolt, Beranek & Newman's antisubmarine warfare course.
He was a National Science Foundation fellow and was a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. He was also a member of the U.S. Naval Advisory Board for Underwater Sound Reference Services.
As chief scientist with BBN, Dr. Barger personally supervised the analysis of the 18-minute gap on the Nixon-Watergate tapes and the analysis. He also played a leading role in the analysis of the gunfire sounds recorded during the shooting episode at Kent State University.
Professor Weiss (died in 2020) received a B.E.E. degree from the City College of New York in 1952, and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1957. From 1957 until 1964, he worked as a project engineer for the Federal Scientific Corp., and from 1965 until 1974 he was vice president of that corporation for acoustical research. He was also a professor in the Department of Computer Science of Queens College of the City University of New York, a position he assumed in 1974.
Professor Weiss was the author of over 30 articles and technical reports concerning electronics for acoustical engineering. He worked on projects such as the development of instruments for real-time spectrum analysis of audio signals, development of the first real-time system for extraction of vocal pitch using the cepstrum approach, and was involved in the development of techniques for reducing wide-band noise and other interference on speech recordings to increase the detectability and intelligibility of speech.
From November 1973 until June 1974, Professor Weiss was a member of a panel of technical experts appointed by Chief Judge John J. Sirica to examine the White House tape recordings in connection with the Watergate grand jury investigation.
He was a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He was frequently hired as an acoustical expert by the New York Police Department, the U.S. Air Force, the FBI, and the National Security Agency.
