Summing up 2025

We thank you all for your support over the pas year. We started the year with 22 students on our IOA Diploma and Masters in Environmental and Architectural Acoustics courses and 20 students on our short courses. Five journal papers were published three in collaboration with the University of Parma in Applied Acoustics, Heritage, and Acoustics. PhD candidate Alec Korchev won the IOA Early Career Award. Five conferences were attended in New Orleans, Malaga, Sao Paulo, Milton Keynes and Honolulu and outside of acoustics with the Hearing Conservation Association in Derby and the British Academy of Audiology in Telford. Links with the IOA were further strengthened with The Art of Being an Acoustician run in Manchester. LSBU hosted a full house for the one-day meeting on Air Source Heat Pumps, and a half-day meeting at the Royal Opera House on Musical Acoustics. Royal Academy of Music collaboration continued, as was the link with Guys and St Thomas's Hospital on hearing assessment with LSBU winning a MRC grant. Grants successfully completed include EPSRC UKAN+ and InnovateUK Paediatric Audiometer. We welcomed Dr Rodrigo Sanchez-Pizani another PhD success. Special events included the opening of the Sainsbury's Wing of the National Gallery, UKAN celebration at the Institute of Physics, Noise+ Launch at the Royal Academy of Engineering and EPSRC AURORA at University of Surrey. We had visits from Foster + Partners, Royal College of Arts, the Association of Architects, and the Institute of Professional Sound. For interdisciplinary research a collaboration with architects, structural engineers, designers to create a exhibit at the Venice Biennale.  At the end of 2025 we welcomed two international PhD students with two more to come in early next year. We hope you all have a great Christmas and see you in 2026!

 

Stephen Dance presents in Honolulu

 

On the 5th December 2025 at the joint ASA/ASJ meeting at the Hilton Village, Honolulu Professor Stephen Dance presented the work of Masters student Vincent Tham. The paper was entitled, "Adjustment to the Acoustics of a Choral Rehearsal Room". The presentation was well received and the questions agreed that ISO 23591:2021 might need a revision!

Welcone Yujung Baek to the PhD programme

Miss Yujung Baek has joined the LSBU Acoustics team to do a PhD in “The design of sustainable structures incorporating composite panels for reducing CO₂ emissions from buildings and for attenuating noise” under supervision of Dr Haydar Aygun. She worked as an acoustic consultant for over four years, focusing on room acoustics and noise control, dealing with acoustic and insulation design for culture venues, human activity spaces, aviation, road traffic, and mechanical equipment to meet strict acoustic criteria. She holds a Master’s degree in Audio Sciences (Acoustical Studies) from the USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture

 

Judging at ASA/ASJ Meeting, Hawaiii

 

The 189th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America was held 1-5 December 2025 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu. This was the sixth time it was held jointly with the Acoustical Society of Japan. Professor Stephen Dance was their to judge the best student paper awards and to sit on the Newman Trust committee that supports Architectural Acoustics. Aloha! 

LSBU Research and Innovation Festival

 

A week long festival of Research and Innovation was held at London South Bank University between 24-28 November 2025. The Acoustics Group was well represented in the research images section with 3 of the 13 shorted listed. The images cover the diversity in acoustics  and include: a new AI based low carbon environmental noise monitoring system, measurement of the seats at the Royal Festival Hall and the prototype music based audiometer. Hope you enjoyed the week of festivities!  

Paper published on Acoustics of Low Carbon Concrete

 

On the 18th November 2025 a scientific paper was published in Applied Acoustics by Dr Haydar Aygun et al. The paper entitled, "Impact of varying basalt fibre size on the acoustic properties of low carbon concrete". The study covers absorption with and without perforations both empirical and computationally. Enjoy the read!

Back at British Academy of Audiology with Audio3

 

On the 20/21st November 2025 at the Telford International Centre the British Academy of Audiology held their annual conference. Once again Audio3 had a stand, manned by Dr Bradford Backus and Professor Stephen Dance.  A new product was previewed to assess hearing using music based audiometer, an oncoming software which can be installed with an existing audiometer with free field capability. A great time was had with many interested customers!