The UK Acoustic Network core team is led by the University of Sheffield and Imperial College, and includes leading academic experts from Loughborough University, the University of Salford, London Southbank University, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Surrey, the University of Manchester, Bath University, Reading University, and the University of Southampton.
Recognising the importance of creating a positive environment, where early career researchers can advocate for change within the field of acoustics, we also have representation from UKAN+ early career members from the University of Salford, University College London, the University of Warwick and the University of Surrey.
The team form the UKAN+ investigators and determine the vision to steer the networks current operations and future developments, offering sound strategic, ethical and financial guidance.
Project Leads
Director of UKAN+ (The UK Acoustics Network)
Professor of Acoustics at The University of Sheffield
Kirill’s research interests are in acoustic sensing, robotics and porous media. He leads the EPSRC UK Acoustics Network Plus. He also leads the EPSRC Programme Grant to develop robotic autonomous sensing for buried pipes (pipebots.ac.uk). He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK Institute of Acoustics and Acoustical Society of America. He is a coordinating editor for the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He is a founder of two successful spin-off companies which commercialised his research into acoustics sensing for sewer pipes (Acoustic Sensing Technology Ltd) and sustainable noise absorbing materials (now marketed by Armacell). He is a chartered engineer.
Deputy Director of UKAN+ (The UK Acoustics Network)
Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London
Richard is an applied mathematician, Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Institute of Acoustics; his research lies in wave mechanics, metamaterials, fluid mechanics and vibration/elasticity. He is the co-editor of one of first books on Acoustic Metamaterials, PI of a recent EPSRC Programme grant on the Mathematical fundamentals of Metamaterials, and recently co-editor of the volume on Elastic Metamaterials for the Handbook of Metamaterials.
He has a track record of working with industry, sits on the scientific advisory boards of the Smith Institute and Multiwave (an SME in metamaterials), and has undertaken numerous consultancy and advisory roles for both industry and government.
Aisling Cooling
Network Manager for UKAN+ (The UK Acoustics Network) at The University of Sheffield
Aisling Cooling is the Network Manager for UKAN+. Having worked at the University of Sheffield for over 16 years, Aisling is experienced in managing a range of large, collaborative research projects involving a wide range of stakeholders. As Network Manager, Aisling is responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of the UK Acoustics Network. This includes maintaining the UKAN+ network, project coordination and management, budget management, reporting, communication and event management.
Aisling is the prime contact for any enquiries about UKAN+.
Co-Investigators
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Professor of Computational Aerodynamics at the University of Manchester.
Antonino is a leading expert in aircraft noise and spends a lot of time tinkering hands-on with numerical models, large scale multi-disciplinary simulations, stochastic data handling, with applications ranging from advanced rotor systems to aero-engine intakes and aircraft in full flight configuration. He works at the interface where research has practical applications, for example when design and operational changes can lead to a reduction of emissions from airborne vehicles.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Manufacturing and Transport
Senior Research Fellow at Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
Li-ke Jiang obtained his PhD in environmental acoustics and planning from University of Sheffield in 2016 and was one of the 14 Early Career Researchers of the MSC-ITN Urban Sound Planning (SONORUS) project. Subsequently, he worked as a research fellow at University of Surrey and then moved to University of Leeds. Within acoustics, his work has mainly focused on soundscape/noise impact assessment and valuation, using methods such as multisensory assessment, VR, and environmental and health economic analyses. Beyond acoustics, he has worked on a wide range of projects on transport investments and innovations and their social and environmental impacts, funded by UK and EU research programmes (e.g., ESRC, EPSRC, Royal Society, Horizon 2020) as well as by governments and industry (e.g., Transport for the North, National Highways, HS2).
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Sustainability
Lecturer in Environment and Sustainability
Dr Helen Whitehead is the Early Career Acoustic Champion in Sustainability. She is a Lecturer in Environment and Sustainability within the Geography & Environmental Management team at the University of Salford. She completed her PhD in Environmental Science in 2023 where she used ecoacoustics to monitor avian biodiversity in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. She has been a member of UKAN for some years and has been actively involved in the Bioacoustics SIG.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Wellbeing
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Salford
Volkan Acun is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Acoustics Research Centre at the University of Salford. He is a member of the “Future Homesæ project Acoustics team, focussing on evaluating the human response to air source heat pump noise emissions. He is part of the IAE Heat Pump Technologies Annex 63. This initiative brings together research from various European universities, such as the Austrian Institute of Technology, RWTH Aachen University, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Through this collaboration, some of the top people in heat pump Acoustics and Psychoacoustics work together to make advances in the technology and share knowledge and resources.
Wellbeing and sustainability have been a recurring part of his work as an Interior Architect from his undergraduate years to his current postdoctoral research. In his current research project, he is working on increasing the adoption of sustainable technologies, such as air source heat pumps, for the decarbonisation of domestic heating in the UK.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in AI
Research Fellow, Centre for Vision Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP), University of Surrey.
Arshdeep Singh is employed as a Research Fellow A at the Centre for Vision Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) at the University of Surrey, working on the project “AI for Soundæ funded through an Established Career Fellowship awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to Prof Mark Plumbley (Principal Investigator). Arshdeep is also a Sustainability Fellow at the Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey, UK.
Previously, Arshdeep completed his PhD from IIT Mandi, India. His research focuses on designing machine learning frameworks for audio scene classification and compression of neural networks. During his PhD, he worked on sound-based health monitoring to identify the health of an industrial machine as a part of his internship work in Intel Bangalore, India. Earlier, he completed his M.E. from Panjab University, India and was awarded a Gold medal. He has also worked as a Project fellow in CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, India.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Research Fellow at the University of Warwick.
Hasina is a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick – WMG’s National Polymer Processing Center (NPPC) and visiting researcher at the University of Sheffield. Hasina is currently working on the sustainability of plastics using chemometrics and machine learning algorithms. She is also based at the Automotive Composite Research Center at Warwick where she’s worked on the process engineering of high-volume manufacture thermosetting carbon fibre composites in automotives particularly focusing on ‘Zero-waste manufacturing of highly optimised composites with hybrid architectures’. Collaborative partners include Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Ford and the University of Nottingham. Alongside this, she investigates fractographic behaviour of carbon fibre composites using acoustics for non-destructive evaluation (NDE).
Hasina’s previous role looked at defects in buried pipes using fibre optics and distributed acoustic sensing. Hasina completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield from the department of Mechanical Engineering where she looked at silica aerogels and their uses in vibro-acoustic applications for building and pipe insulation. During her PhD, Hasina completed over 6 months of her research abroad and worked alongside international establishments in Italy and Switzerland. Through this, she has successfully published 6 journal papers, contributing to her field of research in Science and Engineering. Her research interests lie in polymers, materials science, composites, porous materials and acoustics.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Reader in Theoretical Acoustics at the University of Salford
Olga conducts research projects and supervises PhD students studying the application of natural and artificial materials in acoustics. Her current research interests include nonlinearities of acoustic metamaterials and granular chains, acoustic properties of nanoporous materials and natural porous materials. She has published widely in leading acoustical and physical journals including Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Journal of Sound and Vibration, Journal of Applied Physics and Physical Review. She has an MSc in Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and a PhD in Acoustics from General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Associate Professor, NTU Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham.
Chris is an auditory neuroscientist with wide interests in the mechanisms of hearing and hearing loss. He has a background in engineering and computer science, and is experienced in computer modelling of the ear and brain, neurophysiology and experimental psychophysics. He has worked on numerous basic science topics such as the biological basis of frequency analysis by the ear and brain, how neuronal adaptation supports our ability to analyze the auditory scene, how neural circuits in the brain encode and process dynamic sounds such as speech, sound localization and how speech perception is aided by being able to see people’s faces. Increasingly, he is concerned with how processing by our ears and brain change with age, and how this affects our ability to functions in complex auditory environments.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Professor of Signal Processing at the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) and Head of School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey.
Mark is an expert on analysis and processing of audio and music, using a wide range of signal processing and machine learning methods. He led the first international data challenge on Detection and Classification of Acoustic Scenes and Events (DCASE 2013), and hosted the DCASE 2018 Workshop in Woking, Surrey. He led the EPSRC project “Making Sense of Sounds”, and is a co-editor of the recent book on “Computational Analysis of Sound Scenes and Events” (Springer, 2018). He currently holds a 5-year EPSRC Fellowship on “AI for Sound”, aiming to bring sound recognition technology “out of the lab” for the benefit of society.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Head of Department Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey
Abigail’s research is focussed on transport management and policy and most notably appraisal of the environmental effects of transport with a particularly the impacts and mitigation of noise and climate change. Her work on the valuation of transportation noise nuisance has explored aviation and road transport noise using both revealed and stated preference techniques across a range of cities across the world. She chaired the Research Coordination Committee of the Institute of Acoustics (2016-2020) and a Board member of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (2007-2011) and a REF Sub-Panel Member in 2014 Civil and Construction Engineering and in 2021 Engineering.
UKAN+ Lead for UKRI and Government Engagement
Professor of Acoustics in the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton.
Philip has personal research interests in the fields of acoustics, vibrations, signal processing, control systems and fluid dynamics. He served from 2005-2013 as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, with particular responsibility for Research and Enterprise. From 2014-2018 he served as Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 New Year Honours for his services to UK Engineering and Science.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Reader in Underwater and Bio Acoustics, Loughborough University,
Paul has nearly 30 years’ experience of studies in physical and biological aspects of underwater acoustics. He received his Ph.D. in 2000 from Loughborough University in Parametric Sonar development. From 2000-2002 he was a visiting Scientist at Scripps Institute, UCSD, San Diego, returning to Wolfson School in 2002 to his current role as head of underwater research. He has over 200 published papers in the area of underwater acoustics and bioacoustics. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Deputy Associate Dean of Enterprise for Wolfson School, Vice-President – International for the Institute of Acoustics (UK) and General Secretary of the European Acoustics Association (EAA). He has been on the organizing committees on numerous national and international conferences including ECUA (2012), OCEANOISE (2015), Effects of Aquatic Noise AN2019 (2019/2022), INTERNOISE (2022), etc, and has chaired / co-chaired various international conferences in areas of underwater acoustics, bioacoustics and underwater noise.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Senior Lecturer at the University of Bath.
Prior to joining Bath, Alan was a Defence Scientist in the underwater acoustics group at TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) in the Hague. His research interests are in underwater acoustics, signal processing and imaging, machine learning, and autonomous systems; he has published over 50 conference and journal papers in these areas. He is also an Adjust Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo and an Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.
UKAN+ Chair of the Early Career Executive Board and Acting Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Senior Research Fellow, University of Salford.
Simone leads the Early Career SIG in UKAN+ and represents UKAN’s early career members on the Executive Board. She is also the Acting Lead for of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She was the Early Career Acoustic Champion in Wellbeing from 2023 to 2024. Outside of UKAN+, she is a Senior Research Fellow working on the Clarity (EP/S031324/1) and Cadenza (EP/W019434/1) projects and the Innovate UK funded Future Homes project at the Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford. She primarily works in the areas of Speech Acoustics and Psychoacoustics. Simone is a member of the Institute of Acoustics and the Acoustical Society of America and is on the UK Speech Committee and the European Acoustics Association (EAA) Technical Committee for Audio Signal Processing.
UKAN+ Acoustic Champion
Professor of Acoustics at London South Bank University (LSBU).
Stephen is the Co-lead for the Special Interest Group Room Acoustics and Communication. His research interests lie at the intersection of computer simulation, education, speech intelligibility, and hearing to create a better environment for classical musicians. Since 2007, Stephen has been the Director of the Acoustics Group at LSBU. His work has been published in leading scientific journals and has been recognised with awards from the Institute of Acoustics, Acoustical Society of America, and the Higher Education Academy. Stephen has a long track record working as PI on projects with Foster and Partners, Royal Opera House, Marconi, Brookfield Europe, Siemens, and the Royal Academy of Music.
UKAN+ Lead for Outreach and Public Engagement
Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford
Trevor carries out research and teaching focussing on architectural acoustics, signal processing and audio perception. Trevor was an EPSRC Senior Media Fellow and has presented 25 science documentaries on BBC Radio, authored 3 features for New Scientist and written two popular science books (Sonic Wonderland and Now You’re Talking). He was given the IOA award for promoting acoustics to the public in 2009 and an ASA award for Science Writing in 2015. He has developed and presented science shows including at the Royal Albert Hall, Purcell Rooms and the Royal Institution.
UKAN+ Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Professor of Applied Mathematics (part-time), University of Reading
Simon’s research interests span computational and mathematical acoustics. At Reading he has held leadership positions including a job-share as the inaugural Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, in which role he co-chaired work on gender and LGBT+ equality which led to a first Athena SWAN Silver award at institutional level in March 2020, and to Stonewall Top 100 Employer status in 2019 and 2020. Awarded the Institute of Acoustics’ Tyndall Medal in 1996, Simon is part of their Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality Working Group.
Previous Early Career Acoustic Champions
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Sustainability
(Sonar) DSP Engineer, Drumgrange Ltd, UK. EC member SIGUA.
Nikhil is a marine acoustician and has worked in commercial and academic settings. His interests include signal processing, modelling, experimental studies, interdisciplinary solutions. Currently he works in sonar signal processing and related algorithms. He was previously at Seiche Ltd working on impact assessment of anthropogenic noise on marine life. Previously a visiting research fellow at University of Bath, he worked on marine mammal detection using opportunistic signals. Nikhil was awarded: an MSc and a Ph.D. from University of Southampton – on ultrasonic cavitation; and an M.Tech from IIT Delhi in Mechanical Design – working for Tata Motors. His other interests include training, outreach, and amateur astronomy.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Wellbeing
MRC Fellow and Senior Research Associate, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge.
Tobias holds an MRC Career Development Award at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge. As an Engineer originally from Germany, he transitioned into medical hearing research by obtaining his PhD at the University of Southampton. Tobias recently started his own research lab (www.deephearinglab.com) as part of the Cambridge Hearing Group and focuses on the speech transmission process with hearing devices (cochlear implants, hearing aids and hearables) using techniques from auditory neuroscience, engineering and deep learning. An integral part is to measure listening benefits and perceptual effects by people that have hearing difficulties.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Manufacturing and Transport
Reader in Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford, Visiting Fellow at the University of Southampton.
Dr Antonio Torija Martinez is now a Reader in Acoustical Engineering at the University, and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Southampton.
After obtaining his PhD in Environmental Acoustics (2010), Dr Antonio Torija Martinez received a prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship (2012). Antonio is an internationally recognised researcher with an excellent track record in the modelling of transportation noise (from road traffic to novel aircraft) and the assessment and management of community noise impact. He has published more than 31 papers in world-leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Energy, and 1 patent (WO/2014/020213). He has participated in several research projects funded by EPSRC, Innovate UK and industry. He has received five awards for his excellent contributions to Acoustics, including the Andres Lara Award from the Spanish Society of Acoustics. Dr Torija Martinez is a Human Response and Metrics expert in the NASA Urban Air Mobility Noise Working Group and an expert contributor to the NASA white paper on, Urban Air Mobility Noise: Current Practice, Gaps, and Recommendations.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in AI
Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London.
Lin research interest spans acoustic signal processing, machine learning, and robotic perception. Recently, he focused on developing microphone array techniques for sound enhancement, source localization and separation; combining audio-visual signal processing techniques for acoustic sensing from ground and flying robots; and applying machine learning techniques to human activity and context recognition from multimodal wearable sensors, including sound, image, motion, and GPS.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Sustainability
Associate Professor of Architecture, Iowa State University
Dr Merate Barakat is a computational architect specialising in integrating social and perceptual factors into computational models. Her research focuses on sound perception, ecological impact, social response, spatial habitation, and designers’ intuition. Her work promotes social cohesion, community heritage preservation, and climate change resilience. Dr Barakat introduced Computational Design into the curriculum at the University of Utah and established the MSc in Computational Architecture at UWE Bristol. She is an active member of several professional organisations committed to advancing computational design in architecture and urban planning.
UKAN+ Early Career Acoustic Champion in Manufacturing and Transport
Research Associate at the University of Bristol
Dr Xudong Niu is a research associate at the University of Bristol’s Ultrasonics and Non-destructive Testing (UNDT) group. With expertise in finite element modelling and a background in civil engineering, his research focuses on permanent/robotic non-destructive testing for pipelines. He is currently working on the ‘Pipebots’ project, funded by EPSRC, which aims to develop robotic systems for pipeline inspection. Xudong’s specific research area involves short-range acoustic sensing techniques using robots to locate and characterise features inside pipes. His work contributes to improving pipeline inspection efficiency and accuracy, ensuring reliable and cost-effective maintenance of pipeline infrastructure.