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Welcome to our March newsletter, a range of news from across our network reflecting and informing our community.
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UKAN+ Annual Conference 2023 -Sheffield
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The 2023 Annual Conference will be held in Sheffield on the 14th September. Due to venue challenges we have moved this from July. This face to face event will be a fabulous opportunity to meet fellow UKAN+ Members as well as hear from some inspiring speakers.
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We are currently outlining the programme and would love to hear from you if you would like to help arrange sessions or speak at the event. Email z.hunter@acoustics.ac.uk
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UKAN+ Funding call 1 Knowledge Transfer Project
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A team of leading researchers have published guidelines for the use of long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in collaboration with Baker Consultants Ltd and Manchester Metropolitan University, funded by the UK Acoustics Network Plus.
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Passive acoustic monitoring for assessing biodiversity, habitat health and environmental change is now firmly established as a powerful tool for ecologists. Backed by a large body of peer reviewed literature, the application of these techniques is partly driven by the increasing availability of cheap recording technology and more sophisticated analysis techniques. To fully exploit the benefits that these tools can offer, a set of guidelines has now been compiled to bring consistency and good-practice to how ecologists and environmental managers can apply these methods.
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Based on the peer reviewed literature, this guidance will enable a crossover between academia and the practical use of bioacoustics in areas such as agri-environment monitoring, Biodiversity Net Gain, habitat creation, rewilding and species conservation. The benefits of ecoacoustics are significant and they have the advantage of being objective, eliminating surveyor bias, being easily repeatable and the equipment and data is inexpensive.
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The co-production of these guidelines follows a UK Acoustics Network (UKAN+) ecoacoustics symposium, which was held at Manchester Metropolitan University in June 2022, and attended by over 160 people, both online and in-person.
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Oliver Metcalf (PhD) Postdoctoral Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University said: “This document is a product of a knowledge transfer partnership between the University and Carlos Abrahams at Baker Consultants, funded by a grant from the UK Acoustics Network. It takes the available research out of the academic field and into real life practice. We’re hoping it will allow ecologists, conservation practitioners, land managers, farmers, and rewilders to use the latest developments in acoustic monitoring to survey the biodiversity on their land and monitor changes. This guidance is clearly very timely, given the recent announcements about grants for farmers to manage their land for wildlife, the requirements to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain and of course the increasing popularity of rewilding solutions.”
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The guidelines are focussed on the use of ecoacoustic monitoring of audible sounds within terrestrial, temperate ecosystems typical of the UK and elsewhere in Europe. They deliberately do not cover the ultrasonic frequencies of bats, or the marine environment, as these protocols exist elsewhere.
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Carlos Abrahams, Director of Bioacoustics at Baker Consultants has been researching technical applications of these methods for over ten years and last year he was awarded his PhD by Publication, for a series of peer-reviewed papers on bioacoustics. As a practising ecologist he has always focused on the real-world application of these technologies in the field, to ensure that the methods are reliable and repeatable when applied in a commercial environment.
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Art of Being a Consultant/Acoustician
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The IOA ECG has joined up with UKAN+ EC SIG to create a special two-day conference; if you register to attend The Art of Being a Consultant you can attend FREE The Art of Being an Acoustician on Friday 21 April by ticking the box on the registration form.
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The Art of Being a Consultant is aimed at future acousticians looking to join, or who have recently joined the acoustic consultancy world. The day will explore what being an acoustic consultant is, how you do the job and the rules around consultancy. The Art of Being an Acoustician is aimed at acousticians remaining in acoustic academia, research and policy making.
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For information on the Art of Being a Consultant event, click here.
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Early Career Acoustic Champion roles
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We are seeking new candidates for our Early Career Acoustic Champion roles, which cover the themes Wellbeing, AI, Manufacturing and Transport, and Sustainability (Net-Zero). If appointed, you will have the power to shape Acoustics research in the UK, working with the Acoustic Champion(s) for your theme and the other members of the Early Career Executive Board.
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The current early career champions will provide mentoring to ease your transition into the role.
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Basic Auditory Science 2023
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Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London
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21st and 22nd of September 2023
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This conference is of interest to anyone in the UK and the world who has an interest in the science of Hearing, Acoustics and Audiology. The ethos of the meeting is to facilitate the friendly exchange of work and ideas, while providing an excellent value for money.
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The plan is for a two-day meeting, with presentations grouped in a number of sessions (these will run as plenary, as we are not planning to arrange parallel sessions), and with posters always on display in a separate space.
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Further details to follow and will be update here
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UKAN+ to support 2 UKAN+ members to attend WES Annual Conference
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The WES Annual Conference brings together women and allies from across all disciplines for a two day conference. The event will showcase the inspiring role models and demonstrate how organisations are striving to improve diversity and empower women in engineering
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UKAN+ will fund conference fees and travel arrangements for 2 UKAN+ members. Successful applicants will be expected to provide a short blog as to their experience at the event for the UKAN+ newsletter.
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Email z.hunter@acoustics.ac.uk to note your expression of interest. In the event of oversubscription we will write to the interested parties, inviting them to express why they should represent UKAN+.
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Acoustics expert appointed to leadership role at trade association
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Russell Richardson has been elected as Chairman of ANC the Association of Noise Consultants.
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Bringing decades of consultancy and academic experience to the leadership role, Russell has been appointed to serve for the next two years.
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A graduate in electroacoustics at the University of Salford, Russell’s career began in acoustics consultancy followed by further work in academia researching the subjective response of audiences in concert halls at London South Bank University.
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He then went on to co-found RBA Acoustics, now one of the largest independent consultancies in the UK.
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As a Director, Russell leads a team working from offices in London and Manchester, from where RBA Acoustics operates nationally and across the globe.
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Throughout his career, Russell has played an extensive role in the wider acoustics sector. This has included several years as Hon. Secretary of the Institute of Acoustics, as well as a visiting lecturer on the Environmental and Architectural Acoustics MSc course at London South Bank University.
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He is also a member of industrial advisory boards at both LSBU and Birmingham City University and a student mentor at the University of Salford.
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Russell first joined the ANC Board in 2006, with previous roles including Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer.
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He is a member of ANC’s Certification Committee and is the Senior Examiner for the Association’s ADvANCE Registration Scheme for sound insulation testing, where he’s played a pivotal role in driving high standards of governance and professionalism.
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Launched in 2004, to provide independent verification of pre-completion sound compliance testing in the housebuilding sector, to date 528,000 tests have been recorded under the ADvANCE Registration Scheme, with more than 300 ANC-registered testers, all qualified in acoustics, able to deliver the programme across the UK.
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Russell was elected at the ANC’s recent annual general meeting and takes over from previous Chair, Paul Shields. Graham Parry, President of the ANC, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Russell to the role of Chair of the ANC. “He brings a wealth of experience to the role and we look forward to working together closely throughout his term of office. “The Board would also like to thank Paul Shields for his hard work in the role of Chair and commitment to the ANC.”
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Aeroacoustics SIG webinar:
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We aim to keep you informed and promote any new funding among our members. If you are aware of a grant we have missed, please do drop us a line.
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If you have any news for our April newsletter do drop us an email before the 26th of March. We are interested to hear a range of news, perhaps you have a recent publication, or you would like to offer a blog for our community or maybe you know of some industry news we could share.
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