Sound Fellow – major award for 3D sound expert

Head of the Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory Dr Hyunkook Lee has been awarded a Fellowship from the Audio Engineering Society

A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield lecturer’s contribution to the science of sound recording – including technology that gives listeners the full aural 3D experience – has led to the award of a Fellowship from the world’s most prestigious professional body in the field.

Dr Hyunkok Lee, who heads the University’s Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory (APL), has made breakthroughs that have been incorporated in some of the most advanced microphones now available, used for recording events such as the BBC Proms.  A major research focus is on the perception of height in sound, which is vital in creating the best possible sense of space and ambience in a recording.

Now, his work has been recognised by the Audio Engineering Society, the only professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology.  It was founded in the USA in 1948 and has 12,000 members around the world.

After his work in spatial audio psychoacoustics led to a nomination for Fellowship of the AES, Dr Lee was endorsed by five experts, and the organisation’s board awarded the distinction.

Dr Lee and members of his research group – the APL – have published dozens of papers in the journal of the AES and given large numbers of presentations at AES conventions.

For example, at the 2018 AES event in Milan, two research students at the University of Huddersfield’s APL gave presentations, and Dr Lee himself was involved in three presentations, conducted three workshop/tutorials and chaired one session.

Dr Lee, from South Korea, and the APL are based in a Critical Listening Room, part-funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).  Up to 24 speakers can be set up to cover all currently available 3D sound formats.

• An article about Dr Lee’s research and his work as a recording engineer appears in the Autumn 2018 edition of the University of Huddersfield’s Discover magazine.