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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ph.D. Scholarship at University of Southampton - Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR)

Overview

The Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton is offering a full-time Ph.D. scholarship (3 years). The research objective is described below. The project is undertaken in collaboration with Meridian Audio (UK based company operating in the high-quality audio industry). The research student will carry out his/her research activity in close collaboration with Meridian Audio R&D research team.

The successful applicant will have an MSc or equivalent degree in Physics, Mathematics or Engineering, with a strong background in physics, mathematics and signal processing. A good knowledge of acoustics and computational skills (Matlab) are also required. The research student will work full-time at the ISVR in Southampton. Part of the research work will be carried out at Meridian Audio in Huntingdon (Cambridgeshire - UK). The student stipend allowance is £13,700 per annum (EPSRC levels for guidance - information on costs of living in Southampton can be found at http://www.soton.ac.uk/postgraduate/feesandfunding/postgradfeesfunding.html).

Information on the University of Southampton and ISVR can be found at the following links.

www.soton.ac.uk

www.isvr.soton.ac.uk

www.isvr.soton.ac.uk/fdag/vap/index.htm

The interested candidates are encouraged to apply by sending their Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter to Dr. Filippo Fazi ( ff1@isvr.soton.ac.uk ). There is no deadline for the application, but candidates are requested to present their applications by mid October (the scholarship will be appointed as soon as a suitable applicant is identified).


Project description

Recent work undertaken in ISVR (Park et al Acustica 94, (2008), 825-839) has led to the development of auditory signal processing models that give remarkable accuracy in the prediction of human localisation of acoustic sources. The models are based as far as possible on the known behaviour of the human auditory periphery (outer and inner ears, cochlea, inner hair cells, auditory nerve), a physiologically plausible model of binaural processing, and a central processor based on a pattern matching hypothesis. The binaural pattern matching approach is based on the earlier work of Breebaart et al (J.Acoust. Soc. Amer. 110 2001 1074-1088) that uses excitation-inhibition (EI) cells to form the basis of the pattern matching process. The net result is a model that can be used with confidence by audio engineering designers for the prediction of source localisation, given a prediction of the acoustic signals arriving at the outer ears.

The primary aim of this research project is to expand the localisation model from the purely horizontal plane to 3D space. In addition to predicting localization of sources the aim is to understand localisation blur and the control of images in the vertical and horizontal planes. The work proposed would in the first instance address these areas.

Beyond that the aim is to extend the models in order to deal with other auditory signal processing tasks. One such task is the "cocktail party processor" that enables the separation of multiple sources by the human auditory system. It is conceivable that the EI cell pattern matching approach could be used to identify the spatial locations of individual sources and thus influence the binaural processing system in the extraction of individual source signals.

The work is clearly challenging and will require the student to work across disciplines (acoustics, signal processing, neurophysiology, psychology) but offers huge scope for making progress in a technologically important field. The model would find application in the design of novel multimedia/auditory displays and multichannel audio rendering techniques.

The closing date for applications is 22 October 2010.


Please kindly mention Scholarization.blogspot.com when applying for this scholarship


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Scholarship Team: Ph.D Scholar Krisstofferson Joniel Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Vitom Chea Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Rebecca T. Dalisay Scholarship Adviser, Ph.D Student Jiao Wang Scholarship Coordinator, MSc Student Dennise Maricel Scholarship Coordinator
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Scholarship Team: Ph.D Scholar Krisstofferson Joniel Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Chea Vitom Scholarship Adviser and Senior Lecturer, PhD Scholar Rebecca T. Dalisay Scholarship Adviser, Ph.D Student Jiao Wang Scholarship Coordinator, MSc Student Dennise Maricel Scholarship Coordinator