Caroline McKinley wins ANC Best Project Prize

On the 27th July 2026 Ms Caroline McKinley was awarded the ANC Best IOA Project Prize for her dissertation undertaken at London South Bank University. The project was entitled, "Impact of reverberation time and ambient noise levels in school dining rooms". The project was supervised by Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina.during 2024/25. Well done Caroline!  

 

Welcome to the club Dr Alec

On the 14th July 2026 PhD candidate Alec Korchev defended his thesis entitled, "Wind induced noise creak in tall buildings". Alec did his PhD under the supervisory team of Professor Stephen Dance, Mr Ed Clarke and Ms Ottavia Rispoli. We'd like to thank examiners Dr PJ Lee of Liverpool and Federico Rossi of LSBU. Alec was a part-time PhD student working for Clarke Saunders. Well done Alec!

 

Caroline McKinley Wins IOA Best Diploma Student Award

On the 14th May 2026 Caroline McKinley won the Institute of Acoustics Best Performing Student Prize. Caroline was in our 2024/25 cohort of IOA Diploma students. She was working for Anderson Acoustics whilst studying. Well done Caroline! 

 

Prof Shield wins IOA Geoff Kerry Award

On the 14th May 2026 Emeritus Professor Bridget Shield was awarded the Institute of Acoustics Geoff Kerry Medal. The award is for Distinguished Long Service to the Institute, in fact over 45 years! The event was held in York with the President Elect, Paul Shield and Hilary Notley of DEFRA giving the citation. Well done Bridget!

 

Acoustics Group Engagement at ICSV, Istanbul

 

The 32nd International Congress on Sound and Vibration was held in Istanbul 5-9th July 2026. The Acoustics Group engaged through Dr Haydar Aygun (session organiser in Physical Acoustics) and two PhD candidates Ekim Bakirci and Simla Turhan who both presented. The students both had a great time and networked with other early career professionals. Next year ICSV will be held in Thailand!

Ekim Presents at ICSV Istanbul

 

On the 9th July 2026 PhD candidate Ekim Bakirci presented his research at the International Congress on Sound and Vibration held in Istanbul, Turkey. The research paper was entitled, "Development and validation of the IOT AI- integrated noise monitoring terminal using MEMS microphone technology". Ekim had many questions and luckily he had an extra 20 minutes to answer them all. Well done Ekim!

Simla presents at ICSV Istanbul

On the 7th July 2026 PhD candidate Simla Turhan presented her research at the 32nd International Congress on Sound and Vibration, held in Istanbul, Turkey.  Her research was entitled, "Accuracy of 3D printed scale models in acoustic measurement". Discussions followed around low frequency measurements in scaled systems. Well done on your first international conference presentation!

 

Welcome to the Club Dr Antonella!

 

On the 29th June 2026 doctoral candidate Antonella Bevilacqua defended her PhD thesis. The thesis entitled, "Acoustic assessment of Performing Arts Spaces: from Ancient Theatres to Modern Performance Spaces" and was awarded on the basis of Prior Publication. The examiners Dr Raf Orlowski and Dr Shahram Taherzadeh were delighted with her research work, as was the Chair Dr Sevan Harput of London South Bank University. Professor Stephen Dance was impressed that Antonella picked up her ID card at 10am and was awarded a PhD at 3pm! Well done Dr Antonella!

1,000,000 hits in 19 years!

One the 21st June 2026 the LSBU-Acoustics blog achieved 1,000,000 hits! Formed in 2007 it has taken 19 years to reach this achievement. Acoustics is on the map! 

 

Association of Noise Consultants Award 2026

On the 18th June at the Association of Noise Consultants annual conference held in Manchester, UK, the professional body awards for acoustics were handed out. Bickerdike Allen Partners LLC won the Vibration Prediction and Control award.  This was in association with University of Oxford, the National Portrait Galley and London South University. These were represented by David Trew, Catherine Higgitt, Professor Stephen Dance working as a multidisciplinary team from business, academic and governmental sectors. A great team !!

15th ICBEN Meeting in Copenhagen

On the 14-18th June 2026 the University of Copenhagen hosted the 15th International Conference on the Biological Effects of Noise. The largest ever effect saw this multi-disciplinary teams discuss the latest developments. Professor Stephen Dance gave an update to Team 1 "Noise Induced Hearing Loss"  on Music and Hearing Assessment using Otoacoustics Emissions. It was a fantastic few days with highly engaged professionals! Next time it's Auckland's turn :)

 

PhD Candidate Antonella Bevilacqua submits thesis

 

Former IOA Diploma and Masters student Antonella Bevilacqua has submitted her PhD thesis. Her title, "Acoustic assessment of Performing Arts Spaces: from Ancient Theatres to Modern Concert Hall" was undertaken by prior publication, in total 7 papers were selected for assessment. Professor Stephen Dance is the supervisor with the examination date set for 29 June 2026. Good luck Antonella!

First Audiometry Booth Testing

On the 8th June 2026 the Royce Institute funded Biobased Acoustic Additive Manufactured Metamaterial allowed us test the room acoustics of the paediatric audiometry booth at Sunrise House, Peckham, part of Guys and St Thomas's Hospital Foundation Trust. Special thanks go to Dr Bradford Backus of Audio3 and research assistant Ruben Vazquez-Amos. 

 

First In-person Meeting of EU Proxima

 

On the 5th June 2026 the first in-person meeting of EU Proxima proposal was held in Zurich. The bid combines expertise in aircraft emissions, health effects and biodiversity around airports across Europe. The bid includes LSBU, Trinity College Dublin and University of Basel and various SME and research institutes. We have 9 months to complete the proposal but had a great start thanks to Dr Karina Eikicke!

Alec Korchev submits his PhD thesis

On the 23rd May 2026 PhD candidate Alec Korchev submitted his thesis and Turnitin report. His thesis entitled, "Wind induced creaking noise in tall buildings" was undertaken and supported by Clarke Saunders and the Association of Noise Consultants. The supervisory team of Professor Dance, Ottavia Rispoli and Ed Clarke supported Alec over the past 4 years. Well done Alec!

 

International news... Depixen Visit

 

During the 20-22nd May 2026 Professor Stephen Dance visited the offices of Depixen in Istanbul. With the support of the British Embassy a link has been created to develop AI in Acoustics in the overall theme of Architecture.  Productive and informative meetings were held with an end goal set of further developing the software through a manufacturer neutral Product Catalogue, working alongside Ecophon. A very enjoyable few days in rainy Turkey! 

Biobased Acoustic Additive Manufactured Metamaterials Project

On the 19th May 2026 the Biobased Acoustic Additive Manufactured Metamaterial (BAAMM) project commenced with the support of Biosymtex and Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital. The project is led by Federico Rossi and Professor Stephen Dance, on this 5 month Royce Institute funded research. BAAMM will create a unform sound field for free-field audiometry. Lets see how far we get!

 

New Research Assistant Starts on Project

 

On the 19th May 2026 a new Research Assistant has joined the Acoustics Group, PhD candidate Ruben Vazquez-Amos. He will work on the Royce funded BAAMM assisting on metamaterial design and room acoustic measurements. Welcome to paying tax!

The Certificate Students May 2026

 

On the 5th May 2026 the Institute of Acoustics Certificate students started the Environmental Noise Measurement short course. This is the 13th time the Acoustics Group has run the 5 day course. This year Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina is leading the course with 10 candidates. Students are from all backgrounds, so 

an interesting bunch!

Acoustic testing for Tinnisoothe

 

On the 28th April 2026 London South Bank University acoustically tested the Tinnisoothe device. The Tinnisoothe team bought along new prototypes to be tested on our Binaural Observer (Bob). Professor Stephen Dance working with the PhD students took measurements to quantify the spectral response of the original and prototype devices. The anechoic chamber being the ideal environment to undertake those tests, as that space is where Tinnitus would be most apparent, being near silent room.