Kara Gordon
Lead Acoustic Noise Engineer, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu

Kara Gordon is the lead acoustic noise engineer for the brand-new, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which means she is an expert in sound and how sound is transmitted.

She and her co-workers have spent months inspecting every part of the car to find squeaks, hums, rattles, whistles and everything else that can make a car interior noisy, using high-tech tools and techniques to help make the job easier.

Their mission is to reduce, absorb and block as much unwanted noise as possible, so that Malibu owners can drive in peace and quiet.

Q: What do you have against noise?

A: It’s not so much what I dislike, it’s what our customers dislike. Customers find noise very annoying. We wanted them to be able to hear their radios, navigation systems, and their kids in the back seat. This is important to me, too, because I am a mom of two.

Q: How do you get the noise out of a car?

A: First, we look at the main reasons why a car can be noisy. They boil down to shape, sealing and acoustics.

We make sure the car is shaped so it will slide easily through air and not create a lot of wind resistance, or drag. The study of how objects move through the air is called aerodynamics. It comes from two Greek words: aerios, meaning air, and dynamis, meaning force.

We use a special wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of our cars and trucks. Every detail affects aerodynamics, even the roof racks and the shape of outside mirrors, so we look at everything.

Then, we make sure the car is sealed up. We use special glass in the windshield and front windows to keep air from leaking in, a big cause of noise. We triple-seal the doors and put foam in the car’s cavities that expands when the car goes through the paint oven.

After we seal the car we insulate it. Just like you wear a coat to keep warm, we add insulation to absorb the noise to keep it out of the car.

Q: How do you detect and measure noise?

A: We use a digital recording device called an Aachen (AY-ken) HEAD, which looks and performs like a human head, to record sound real-time. We also use what we call a Jury Room, where we listen to and rate individual sounds recorded by the Aachen HEAD.

The room has special panels on the walls that give us uniform sound levels all over the room, and we wear special headphones.

We also spent a lot of time in real-world driving and detected noises that way, too. I even take my kids for rides in our prototypes to try them out!

Q: What advice would you give to a student thinking about becoming an engineer?

A: Of course, it’s important to study and work hard. Take as many math and science classes as you can, and sign up for extracurricular science and engineering clubs and programs. Engineering is about identifying problems and solving them, so look for challenging activities.

Q: Is your home also quiet?

A: No, I have two young sons!