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Dr. Laurel Carney has been named the recipient of the 2025 David T. Blackstock Mentorship Award by the Acoustical Society of America. Presented by the ASA Student Association, the Blackstock Award recognizes exceptional mentorship in the field of acoustics and is based on nominations submitted by ASA members.  It was established in 2004 by the ASA Student Council to honor individuals who demonstrate outstanding dedication and excellence in mentoring students across a wide range of areas. The award was renamed in honor of David T. Blackstock, a pioneer in nonlinear acoustics and a former professor at both the University of Rochester and the University of Texas at Austin.

"We’re all so excited to celebrate Dr. Laurel Carney as the recipient of the 2025 David T. Blackstock Mentorship Award! 🎉 This award is truly well deserved as Dr. Carney has inspired generations of students through her incredible mentorship."
 ~ Afagh Farhadi, UR Alum, ECE PhD ’23 (LinkedIn post)

Professor Carney is the Marylou Ingram Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Neuroscience. As an internationally recognized leader in auditory neuroscience, Professor Carney is a a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

The Carney Laboratory uses many experimental and computational techniques in an effort to better understand hearing and hearing loss. The lab combines neurophysiological, behavioral, and computational modeling techniques towards the of goal of understanding the neural mechanisms supporting perception of complex sounds. Carney is also interested in applying her results to the design of novel signal-processing strategies to enhance speech. 

David Blackstock, the namesake of the award, joined the University of Rochester’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1963 and played a foundational role in the development of weak shock theory in nonlinear acoustics. Although he later moved to the University of Texas at Austin in 1987, he continued to teach acoustics courses at Rochester for many years, leaving a lasting legacy in the department and the field.