Berger Recognized for Contributions to Acoustical Design of Broadcast and Recording Studios

ADDISON, TX, June 24, 2009 — Russ Berger, president of Russ Berger Design Group (RBDG), has been named a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). The announcement of his election was made at the 157th meeting of the Society held in Portland, OR. A Fellow of the ASA is an organizational honor set to recognize an individual who has attained distinction in acoustics or who has rendered outstanding service to acoustics.

“I am humbled and honored that the ASA has elected me as a Fellow for my work in acoustics over the years,� says Berger. “Since my days as a studio owner, I have always been fascinated with small room acoustics. It is very rewarding when I hear good sounding audio from a television broadcast or a song on the radio, and know RBDG’s acoustical work contributed to that sound.�

Berger began providing acoustical design services in the mid 1970s, and his knowledge of pro audio electronics and interest in small room acoustics grew into a design specialty for recording and broadcast facilities. In the early 80’s, he joined the acoustical consulting firm Joiner Rose Pelton (later JRG) in Dallas, Texas, to expand their business and capabilities in recording and broadcast facilities design. In 1990, he started his own firm, RBDG, combining architectural and interior design services with acoustics and noise control engineering.

To date, Berger has designed more than 2,500 recording studios, broadcast facilities, creative production spaces, and home theaters and screening rooms. Projects include Sony Music Entertainment, ABC-TV, NBC-TV, CBS-TV; more than 80 public radio facilities including National Public Radio in D.C., WBUR-FM/Car Talk, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio and Southern California Public Radio; NFL Films, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sweetwater; recording studios for Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, Steve Miller and Whitney Houston; BiCoastal Music, MasterMix, Middle Tennessee State University, TNN, Lakewood Church; and studios for RadioShack’s and JCPenney’s recording/broadcast facilities. His project designs have been used as examples in numerous books on acoustical design.

Throughout his career, Berger has been an active member of the industry, contributing to the development of his peers and the acoustical profession as a whole. He has been published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and numerous industry trade publications. Berger has presented invited papers at ASA conferences and annual meetings of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), as well as numerous AES college chapter meetings. Berger’s key contribution to the industry has been in the acoustical design development of broadcast and recording studios, specifically the behavior of sound in acoustically small spaces and the properties of acoustically coupled spaces.

In 2007, Berger, one of the original licensees (through the Jet Propulsion Lab) for performing TEF (Time, Energy, Frequency) measurements, was recognized for his career work when he was presented the prestigious Heyser Award, named for TEF pioneer and mentor Richard (Dick) Heyser, whose work he had studied.

About Russ Berger Design Group (www.rbdg.com)
Russ Berger Design Group (RBDG) is a design and consulting firm that combines expertise in acoustics, architecture and interiors to create technical environments and buildings for recording studios, broadcast facilities, creative production spaces and home theaters.