Acoustics Group at the Royal College of Art

On the 31st March 2017 the Masters students were invited to the Royal College of Art for their now annual visit. Mike Wyeld gave a tour of the facilities to 12 students showing them the workshops, fashion, Rapidform, animation  and the sound studios. The tour finished with lunch overlooking the Royal Albert Hall. Many thanks goes to for looking after us!

New Acoustics Lecturer Position

The Acoustics Group is looking for a new lecturer/senior lecturer to assist in the Division of Civil Engineering and Building Services at London South Bank University. This is a permanent lectureship and will help with the now record breaking number of students on the taught acoustics programme. Applicants can apply here

Presentations to the Occupational Voice Symposium

On the 28/29th March 2017 UCL Hospital Trust organised the 5th Occupational Voice Symposium held at UCL London. Dr Stephen Dance was invited to give a presentation based on the research of Gizem Okten in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music entitled, "An investigation into the effect of acoustics on vocal loading of Opera". This was followed by John Bernays from the Royal Opera House giving a presentation, "Royal Opera House Chorus Sound Exposure Project". The presentation were followed by a four way panel discussion  on voice care, the environment and acoustics. Our thanks goes to Ruth Epstein for organising the event.

Masters students to present at IOA London branch

On the 12th July the Institute of Acoustics holds its annual summer gather, but before the festivity three Masters students from London South Bank University will present their dissertation projects, Rodrigo Sanchez will present on assessing the effect of intelligibility on no native English speakers, Eric Ballestero will present on Virtual Reality using CATT Acoustic, Unity and MaxMSP on the Oculus. Finally, Nathan will present on the impact of High Speed rail. We hope you can all join us at WSP HQ who have kindly offered to host the event,

Eric Ballestero awarded the Newman Medal

It is with great pleasure to announce that Eric Ballestero has been awarded the Acoustical Society of America Newman Medal for Architectural Acoustics. Eric dissertation was on, "Acoustic Virtual Reality: Dynamic Binaural Synthesis of the Roman Theatre at Arles". Eric will be presenting his thesis at the International Congress on Sound and Vibration in London this summer.

PSI Audio Active Velocity Acoustic Absorber in the Lab

On the 27th March 2017 PSI Audio loaned the Acoustics Group of London South Bank University 2 AVAA C20 active velocity acoustic absorber loudspeakers to test. As this is all abut the bass, PhD student Doug Shearer and MSc candidate Daniel Tkaczyk are running a battery of laboratory tests, studio tests and classroom test to see how the new technology performs!

Nathan Gregory Wins RBA Acoustics Prize

RBA Acoustics are pleased to announce that the 2017 RBA Acoustics prize goes to Nathan Gregory of London South Bank University. Nathan studies on the Masters programme and his dissertation was on, "The subjective impact of High Speed rail". Well done Nathan, and we all look forward to your presentation at the Institute of Acoustics London branch in the summer!

Dr Bob Peters Becomes Chair of the IOA Education Committee

Dr Bob Peters, LSBU Visiting Research Fellow, was appointed today Chair of the Institute of Acoustics Education Committee for a tenure of three years, Congratulations and thank you Bob

Royal Opera House Choral Rehearsals

On the 21st March 2017 Dr Stephen Dance was invited to the Royal Opera House to take part in a Choral Rehearsal Experiment. In the main rehearsal space two experiments were undertaken one to reduce the sound exposure and the other to determine the establish the best organisation layout to use. The 46 singers enjoyed the experimental configurations and much feedback was given, which will inform future layout options. They also all enjoyed the free Easter Eggs!

Psycho-Acoustics of Open Plan Offices Lecture

Invited by the Acoustic Group, Dr Nigel Oseland (Workplace Unlimited) and Paige Hodsman (Ecophon) delivered on 16 March 2017 a guest Masterclass on Psycho-acoustics as an approach in the design of office spaces. The session saw a full lecture theatre with some representatives of LSBU Estate & Facilities, architect and psychology students in attendance alongside the MSc and Diploma acoustics students. The talk was received with load of interest, judging by numerous questions and after discussions

British Council Awards

On the 7th March 2017 the British Council sponsored Saudi Arabia UK Alumni awards were held. Former LSBU Master's student Emad Bukhary was nominated in the Enterprising section. As a Masters student in Environmental and Architectural Acoustics his endeavours were focused on Engineering and Architecture. Many congratulations to Emad and we all wish him well for his future successes. 

Abstract submitted to the Occuptional Voice Symposium

On the 28/29th March 2017 University College London NHS Trust will host the 5th Occuptional Voice Symposium. Dr Gizem Okten and Dr Stephen Dance will present their work with the Royal Academy of Music Opera singers on the effect of room acoustics on the vocal load of singers. In addition, a panel of experts will discuss their research.

Binaural measurements at London IMAX cinema

On the 6th March 2017 the Acoustics Group visited the London IMAX cinema at Waterloo. Binaural measurements were taken using Bob (our dummy) using the various sound settings were had calculated. These settings will be used for the New York Metropolitan Opera live stream of La Traviata this Saturday evening!

NHS England Action on Hearing Loss Day

March 3rd is World Hearing Day as such NHS England organised a multi-disciplinary meeting at Borough, London. The meeting was opened by Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for England, then there were presentations by Dangerous Decibels, Action on Hearing Loss, and the Hearing and Deafness Alliance. Discussions were held with Clare Forshaw from the Health and Safety Executive to revisit current EU driven legislation.

The British Blind and Shutters Association Acoustic tests

During early March 2017 KTP Associate and PhD student Zoe De Grussa has been testing blinds in the Acoustics Laboratory of London South Bank University. The acoustics performance of a number of different manufacturer's blinds have been tested in the reverberation chamber. This work is part of her research for the British Blind and Shutters Association.