Architectural Sciences (Concentration in Architectural Acoustics) Ph.D.

Advanced study in Architectural Acoustics represents a unique opportunity for students to combine existing coursework with research in an educational experience that integrates scientific, computational, cognitive, and psychological research with experimental applications. The work is both multidisciplinary in scope but also application-oriented, relating closely to design and to the needs of practitioners and industry.

Architectural Acoustics is an interdisciplinary field of science tied intimately to the design and optimization of interior spaces, wherein the physical sound field of a space and its corresponding aural quality are primarily determined by architectural parameters such as shape, volume, and surface properties. The acoustical quality of a space is relevant not only for cultural venues but also for any environment that values human health, performance, and productivity. Architectural Acoustics is necessary for the accurate and realistic simulation of virtual spaces of prototyping, education, training, and design, as well as for experimental research with non-physical sound fields.  in addition, advanced acoutic modedling leads to new developments of “sonic architecture” and time-variant sound-scapes.

Architectural Acoustics thus encompasses and links many traditionally disparate disciplines to that of design: physics, hearing perception, mathematics, computer modeling, engineering, music, psychological and physiological acoustics, cognitive science, and electro-acoustics. Thus the Ph.D. in Architectural Acoustics can also involve communication acoustics in its widest sense.

Examples of research topics of current interest are:

• Architectural acoustics, Acoustics in performing arts spaces
• Musical acoustics associated with acoustics in performing art spaces
• Room-acoustics modeling, numerical predictions of room-acoustics properties
• Architectural acoustics measurement techniques
• Physical acoustics
• Communication acoustics