In 1997, an article in the respected science journal Nature described how the "acoustic imaging" method devised by Professor Chou is used to analyze oscillation data collected from the sun and create images similar to ultrasound scans, which reveal how sunspots slowly disappear into the interior of the sun. This imaging method opened up a new field of solar research.
一九九七年，在權威科學刊物「自然」雜誌上，介紹了周定一設計的「聲波成像法」，解析從太陽收集來的震波資料，讓人們透過類似超音波的影像，看見太陽黑子慢慢在太陽體內消失，此法也開創了研究太陽的新領域。