EPSRC UKAN Audio Day

The EPSRC funded UK Acoustics Network held their Audio Day at Surrey University on the 6th July 2018. The Special Interest Group for Comms and Rooms co-hosted the event where the latest spatial audio was demonstrated followed by a discussion lead by Abigail Bristow with Jon Francombe from the BBC and Sacha Krstulovic form Audio Analytic. The Acoustics Group was represented by PhD candidates Doug Shearer and Rodrigo Sanchez-Perez, along with more than 100 other researchers!

New Visiting Fellowship for Bob Peters

Dr Bob Peters has been appointed as a Visiting Fellow of London South Bank University. Dr Peters has been lecturing acoustics for more than 20 years for LSBU. After retiring he has taken on a position at the Institute of Acoustics as Chair of the Education Committee. This will be of great assistance as Apprenticeship become more common as a means of up-skilling in associated acoustic industries.  Help to have Bob back on board!

Abstract submitted to Symposium on Metameterials

An abstract has been submitted to the EU funded symposium aimed at early career researchers in acoustics metamaterials. The meeting is supported by an EU Cost project and the UK Acoustics Network. Eric Ballestero has submitted an abstract entitled, "Acoustic diffusers and metadiffusers in orchestra pits: The good, the bad and the loony". The meeting is held in the University of Valencia at Xativa. 

New Visiting Professorship for Peter Mapp

Dr Peter Mapp has been appointed as a Visiting Professor.by London south Bank University  Peter will specialise in Speech Intelligibility with the Acoustics Group. The Acoustics Group has worked with Peter over the past 10 years as both an industrial supervisor and a visiting lecturer. Now we plan on growing our speech expertise to become world leaders in intelligibility. Welcome Peter!

MSc students present at IOA London Branch

On the 12th July 2018 two students studying on the MSc in Environmental and Architectural Acousticd presented their dissertations to the Institute of Acoustics London Branch. Callum Brewer presented on Bolivar Hall - an objective and subjective acoustic survey. This was followed by Dhruvit Zaveri who presented on a new musical instrument- The Yaybarha. Dhruvit then provided a finale by playing the instrument which was extremely well received and sounded like a fusion of Indian/Middle Eastern sounds with more than a hint of sci-fi from the 1950s!

Paper presented at ICSV 25, Japan

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Despite typhoon, rains and floods affecting south Japan, Luis Gomez-Agustina managed to present his paper on the second day of ICSV25 Congress in Hiroshima on 10 July 2018.The paper co-authored by Steve Dance on the community response to noise emissions from the London Heliport. The presentation attracted interest judging by the numerous questions from the audience. Let's hope the weather improves in Japan.

Acoustics Group at European Workshop on Metamaterials

Imperial College hosted the European Workshop on Acoustics and Mechanical Metamaterialshttp://www.imperial.ac.uk/plasmonics-metamaterials/european-workshop/ supported by the UK Acoustics Network www.acoustics.ac.uk. The Acoustics Group were well represented with lecturers and PhD students in attendance. It looks like they were enjoying themselves, and hopefully learning about metamaterials!

Bradford Literature Festival - The Power of Silence

On the 7th July 2018 Dr Stephen Dance took part in a panel discussion on the Power of Silence as part of the 4th Bradford Literature Festival. Also on the panel were journalist Arifa Akbar and hermit Father Bruno Healy. There was great interest in the philosophical debate around silence, tranquillity, contemplation, focus, and our hectic lifestyle! 

New Research Project with Henry Wood Hall

The Acoustics Group have been awarded a Knowledge Exchange Voucher. The voucher is to improve the acoustic of Henry Wood Hall for the benefit of musicians. It utilises the research of PhD candidate Doug Shearer working with Eric Ballestero to implement the optimal solution to rebalance the acoustic. It will be a busy summer!

New multi channel sound acquisition sysytem

The Acoustics Group are pleased to announce that an updated multi-channel sound acquisition system is now in use. The Digigram VX pocket 4 channel audio card will allow multi channel data acquisition possible when combined with the new (old) Dell E5410, the last PCMCIA laptop manufactured! winMLS, Arta and Room EQ Wizard will drive the system.