Acoustics Research

Dr. Siu-Kit Lau (Eddie)

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Research Fellow /Associate /Assistant in Acoustics

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Job Description:

Proposed Input:

We are looking for a full-time (5 days a week, 8 hours) Research Fellow/Associate/Assistant for 12 months appointment to commence in September 2019 or as soon as possible.

Project: The research objective of this proposal is to prove the conjecture that the use of porous media with some novel structures can improve noise reduction at low frequencies. Emphasis will be placed on the acoustic characterisation of porous media and acoustic metamaterial.  The proposed study is based on the development of numerical models for the proposed design, and their validity will be confirmed by sound transmission and absorption experiments.

This project involves diverse theoretical as well as applied facets of porous materials and numerical prediction as well as acoustics.  The candidates are preferred to have prior hands-on experience with theoretical, numerical and/or experimental background in acoustics.  This position will also assist in and contribute to project management to ensure the successful completion of the proposed work.  Specifically, this position will be responsible for theoretical and experiment development in acoustics research, development of numerical models, data analysis and reporting to MOE.  S/he will assist in and contribute to other aspects of the research and dissemination of the results. S/he will contribute to the preparation of scientific manuscripts and/or other literature for publications.

Domain: Architecture, Urban planning, Acoustics, Engineering

The appointed RA will be involved in the following tasks:

  • Assist in and contribute to all the tasks related to publications in the domain.
  • Participate in research and writing of articles
  • Assist in and contribute to development, design, and setup of the experiments
  • Develop numerical modelling (using COMSOL) and experiment study
  • Analysis and collection of data, and graphical representation of information using suitable tools (such as MATLAB, etc.)

Job Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s (preferably Master’s) Degree in Architecture, Mechanical Engineering or another relevant engineering for research assistant and associate, respectively
  • Ph.D. Degree in Architecture, Acoustics or another relevant engineering for research fellow position
  • Knowledge of acoustics and its numerical simulations and experiments.
  • Experience in research work and writing
  • Skilled in FEM modelling and data analysis using COMSOL and MATLAB, respectively
  • Capacity to work independently
  • Management skills

Compulsory Information to be included.

Interested candidates should contact Siu-Kit (Eddie) LAU at slau@nus.edu.sg with the following:

  • Cover letter specifying your research interests and experience
  • CV (including GPA/CAP ranking), which should include names and contact of 3 referees
  • Most significant publications, if available (no more than two)
  • A copy of official transcripts (Bachelor degree and Master degree)

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and will be asked to complete and submit the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants to the contact person indicated in the advertisement. (P/S: please double-click on “NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants) and paste the URL (http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/potentialhires/applicationprocess/NUS-Personal-Data-Consent-for-Job-Applicants.pdf ) onto another new webpage to retrieve the document.

Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit additional documents for review, if necessary.

Opening Positions for One Research Fellow and One Research Assistant in Acoustics

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We are looking for a full-time (5 days a week, 8 hours) Research Fellow and a Research Assistant for 36 months appointment to commence in Jan/Feb 2019 or as soon as possible.

Project: The proposed study aims to develop sound quality assessment and provide an improvement scheme related to the sustainable city design. The study requires close collaborative efforts of a multi-disciplinary team whose expertise covers a broad range of fields such as acoustics, architecture, urban planning, social sciences, statistics and signal processing. It is expected to advance knowledge on human perception of sonic environments and urban city designs across a broadband range of realistic sound sources. This project focus on the prediction of acoustic comfort and the establishment of an effective experimental approach for investigation. The specific aims of the proposed project are the following:

  • Developing a novel scheme to better predict sound quality and human acoustic comfort for a given environment and the effects of environmental interventions;
  • Developing a comprehensive environmental noise categorisation scheme;
  • Acquiring a fundamental understanding of the intricate effects that visual scenery, mixed sounds and personal characteristics may have on acoustic comfort; and
  • Developing improved sound quality assessment metrics.

The new scheme is expected to predict sound quality better and improve human acoustic comfort in a given environment, whereby public health in the city affected by noise pollution could also be improved. This innovative approach is expected to arrive at a new methodology and provide tools that will help formulate strategies for maximizing the – likelihood of citizen’s acceptance of the built environment acoustics in the city as well as those related to the design of necessary interventions if required.

This proposed project involves diverse theoretical acoustics as well as experimental acoustics and human perception. This research fellow position will be responsible for the theoretical tasks, data analysis, laboratory-testing and field-testing. S/he will take care of the measurement/recording development and field-testing as well as the development of the sound quality assessment metrics. This research fellow would need extensive prior hands-on experience with the theoretical background as well as acoustic instrumentation and measurements.

This research assistant position will be responsible for the statistical analysis, and theoretical tasks as well as computer-testing, laboratory-testing and field-testing. This position will participate in the formulation of sound perception models for audio-visual settings.  S/he will also assist in other aspects of the research and dissemination of the results.  The candidates are preferred to register for research degree programme (e.g. PhD or Master by research).

Domain: Architecture, Acoustics, Social Science, Perception, Building Systems

The appointed RA will be involved in the following tasks:

  • Assist and take care of all the tasks related to publications in the domain.
  • Lead in research and writing of articles
  • Development, design, and setup of the experiments/surveys
  • Statistical analysis (MANOVA, Cluster Analysis)
  • Analysis and collection of data, and graphical representation of information using suitable tools (such as SPSS, Amos, R programme, MATLAB, etc.)

Job Requirements:

  • For research fellow, Ph.D. Degree (Res) in Architecture, Acoustics, Social Science, Statistics or another relevant engineering
  • For research assistant, Bachelor’s (preferably Master’s) Degree in Architecture, Acoustics, Social Science, Statistics or another relevant engineering
  • Knowledge of the scientific research and survey
  • Strong record and experience in research work and writing
  • Skilled in statistical analysis and/or acoustics measurement
  • Capacity to work independently
  • Management skills

Compulsory Information to be included.

Please visit the link below:

Research Fellow:

https://www.myskillsfuture.sg/content/portal/en/jobsbank/job-landing/job_directory/job-details.html?jobId=JOB-2018-0170444

 

Research Assistant:

https://www.myskillsfuture.sg/content/portal/en/jobsbank/job-landing/job_directory/job-details.html?jobId=JOB-2018-0170427   

https://www.mycareersfuture.sg/job/research-assistant-national-university-singapore-4ac51a9f6999f33959a63be0aff20fe8

 

Alternatively, interested candidates should contact Siu-Kit (Eddie) LAU at slau@nus.edu.sg with the following:

  1. Cover letter specifying your research interests and experience
  2. CV (including GPA/CAP ranking), which should include names and contact of 3 referees
  3. Most significant publications, if available (no more than two)
  4. A copy of official transcripts (Bachelor degree and Master degree)

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and will be asked to complete and submit the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants to the contact person indicated in the advertisement. (P/S: please double-click on “NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants) and paste the URL (http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/potentialhires/applicationprocess/NUS-Personal-Data-Consent-for-Job-Applicants.pdf ) onto another new webpage to retrieve the document.

Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit additional documents for review, if necessary.

Research Assistant/ Associate/ Fellow in Acoustics

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Job Description:

Proposed Input:

We are looking for a full-time (5 days a week, 8 hours) Research Assistant for 24 months appointment to commence in July to September 2018.

Project: The research objective of this proposal is to prove the conjecture that the use of porous media with some novel structures can improve noise reduction at low frequencies. Emphasis will be placed on the acoustic characterisation of porous media and acoustic metamaterial.  The proposed study is based on the development of numerical models for the proposed design, and their validity will be confirmed by sound transmission and absorption experiments.

This project involves diverse theoretical as well as applied facets of porous materials and numerical prediction as well as acoustics.  The candidates are preferred to have prior hands-on experience with theoretical and numerical background in acoustics.  This position will also assist in and contribute to project management to ensure the successful completion of the proposed work.  Specifically, this position will be responsible for theoretical and experiment development in acoustics research, development of numerical models, data analysis and reporting to MOE.  S/he will assist in and contribute to other aspects of the research and dissemination of the results. S/he will contribute to the preparation of scientific manuscripts and/or other literature for publications. Preferably, for Research Assistant/Associate, s/he is going to register for a part-time research degree (e.g. PhD or Master by research) with the project results.

Domain: Architecture, Urban planning, Acoustics, Engineering

The appointed RA will be involved in the following tasks:

  • Assist in and contribute to all the tasks related to publications in the domain.
  • Participate in research and writing of articles
  • Assist in and contribute to development, design, and setup of the experiments
  • Develop numerical modelling (using COMSOL)
  • Analysis and collection of data, and graphical representation of information using suitable tools (such as MATLAB, etc.)

Job Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s (preferably Master’s) Degree in Architecture, Mechanical Engineering or another relevant engineering
  • Knowledge of acoustics and its numerical simulations.
  • Experience in research work and writing
  • Skilled in FEM modelling and data analysis using COMSOL and MATLAB, respectively
  • Capacity to work independently
  • Management skills

Compulsory Information to be included.

Interested candidates should contact Siu-Kit (Eddie) LAU at slau@nus.edu.sg with the following:

  1. Cover letter specifying your research interests and experience
  2. CV (including GPA/CAP ranking), which should include names and contact of 3 referees
  3. Most significant publications, if available (no more than two)
  4. A copy of official transcripts (Bachelor degree and Master degree)

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and will be asked to complete and submit the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants to the contact person indicated in the advertisement. (P/S: please double-click on “NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants) and paste the URL (http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/potentialhires/applicationprocess/NUS-Personal-Data-Consent-for-Job-Applicants.pdf ) onto another new webpage to retrieve the document.

Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit additional documents for review, if necessary.

Compensation

Salary: S$2500 – S$4000 per month

Soundscapes – Acoustics in the Workplace (Panel Discussion)

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There is a panel discussion regarding the Acoustics in the Workplace in Singapore on 6th March 2017.  Please register via this link.

Soundscapes in the Workplace

Soundscapes in the Workplace

Opening position of Research Assistant & Equivalent in Building Acoustics

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Job Description:

We are looking for a full time (5 days a week, 8 hours) Research Assistant for 24 months appointment to commence in March 2017.

Project: The research tasks explore innovative ideas for the noise control in buildings. The study will involve the characterization of different sound fields indoor with respect to different functional activities.

Domain: Acoustics, Noise Control

The appointed RA will be involved in the following tasks:

  • Assist and take care of all the tasks related to publications related to the domain.
  • Participate in research and writing of articles
  • Assist in development, design, and setup of the acoustic experiments
  • Analysis and collection of data, and graphical representation of information using suitable tools (such as AutoCAD, MATLAB, etc.)

Job Requirements:

  • Master’s Degree (preferably) or Bachelor’s Degree of Mechanical Engineering, Architecture or other relevant discipline
  • Knowledge in the architectural acoustics and building noise control
  • Experience in research work and writing
  • Skilled in graphic design and representation
  • Capacity to work independently
  • Management skills

Compulsory Information to be included.

Interested candidates should contact LEE Siew Eang at bdgleese@nus.edu.sg or Eddie Siu-Kit LAU at slau@nus.edu.sg with the following:

  1. Cover letter specifying your research interests and experience
  2. CV (including GPA/CAP ranking), which should include names and contact of 3 referees
  3. Most significant publications, if available (no more than two)
  4. A copy of official transcripts (Bachelor degree and Master degree)

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and will be asked to complete and submit the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants to the contact person indicated in the advertisement. (P/S: plesase double-click on “NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants) and paste the url (http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/potentialhires/applicationprocess/NUS-Personal-Data-Consent-for-Job-Applicants.pdf ) onto another new webpage to retrieve the document.

Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit additional documents for review, if necessary.

Compensation

Salary: S$2500 – S$3700 per month

A numerical investigation on the sound insulation of ventilation windows

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We have a new article for a numerical investigation on the sound insulation of ventilation windows which has been published in the Applied Acoustics.  Please visit the journal website in this link.

Near-field/far-field array manifold of an acoustic vector-sensor near a reflecting boundary

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There is a new publication regarding the use of acoustic vector-sensor (a.k.a. the vector hydrophone) near a reflecting boundary.  The article is published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.  Please visit this link.

Classroom Acoustics Session at ASA meeting in Salt Lake City

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Dr Siu-Kit Lau and Prof Shiu-Keung Tang have chaired a session of Classroom Acoustics at the 171st Meeting of Acoustical Society of America in Salt Lake City on 23-27 May 2016.  During the meeting, Prof Tang and Dr Lau presented a paper entitled “Cantonese speech intelligibility tests in two Hong Kong primary school classrooms”.  Abstract of the presentation can be found at this link. A preliminary observation is that there is higher probability for the pupils to give wrong answers when the sound of a character lasts for relatively long duration, especially when there are abrupt temporal changes in the time-frequency spectra. Correct answers are usually given when the corresponding time-frequency spectral energy is more concentrated within a short duration.

Mad Scientist

Mad Scientist

Salt Lake City (Church)

Salt Lake City (Church)

Investigation of Chinese word recognition scores of children in primary school classroom with different speech sound pressure levels

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New article for an investigation of Chinese word recognition scores of children in primary school classroom has been published.  Please visit the journal website in this link.

Abstract:

Chinese word recognition (CWR) test was conducted by grades 3 and 5 children under the different conditions of reverberation time (RT), background noise level (BNL) and speech sound pressure level (SSPL) in three primary-school classrooms. The CWR scores and signal to noise ratios (SNRs) have been obtained at listening positions. Results show that the CWR score for grades 3 and 5 children increases with increase of SSPL, decrease of RT or increase of age, but it decreases with increase of BNL under the same conditions. For a mixed noise of 56 dBA (speech-spectrum-like noise and ambient noise), the CWR scores in the classroom for grades 3 and 5 children reach a peak at SNR of 15–20 dBA under the same RT and age of children condition. For the natural ambient noise, the CWR score for grades 3 and 5 children gradually increases with increase of the SNR. The high SSPL could not guarantee good CWR for children in classroom, which also depends on RT and BNL in classroom. When the classroom has long RT or high BNL, the increase of SSPL would not be necessarily to achieve better CWR. The novelty of the present study is to further evaluate and confirm the results under environments of real classrooms (not simulated room in laboratory).

Classroom of a school in China

Classroom of a school in China

An impedance-mobility model of acoustic metamaterials

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A fast prediction method for the performance of stacked membrane-type metamaterials has been developed using An impedance-mobility model.  Matthew Blevins of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln introduced the method and a Matlab platform regarding this approach at the Spring 2015 meeting of Acoustical Society of America.  The work is collaborated and supervised by Dr. Siu-Kit Lau and Dr. Lily Wang.  Metamaterials are man-made materials to have properties that have not yet been found in nature. Membrane-type acoustic metamaterials have been proven to exhibit high low-frequency transmission loss despite their small thickness and light weight.  The efficient model based on the impedance-mobility can be used to facilitate design and optimization of stacked membrane-type acoustic metamaterials.

Abstract (metamaterials) of the presentation in the ASA meeting spring 2015 in Pittsburgh, PA

Abstract (metamaterials) of the presentation in the ASA meeting spring 2015 in Pittsburgh, PA