Associate ProfessorDensil Cabrera

Dr Cabrera's research expertise is in architectural acoustics (especially room acoustics), psychological acoustics (especially spatial hearing and loudness) and related areas. His research focusses on the quality of acoustic environments for musicians (e.g., stage acoustics), for speaking and listening, for ameliorating distraction from unwanted speech by others (e.g. in open-plan offices), and reducing transmission of sound between spaces. Approaches to these areas include studies of measurement and analysis methods (novel techniques, increasing robustness and managing uncertainty), auralization systems (especially for one's own voice in rooms), design of architectural surfaces to control reflections, and studies involving human participants.

Some particular topics of expertise include:
* Using psychoacoustic models to understand room acoustics
* Effects of room acoustics on the sound of one’s own voice, and on speaking level
* Speech distraction in multi-talker environments
* Auditorium stage acoustics for musicians
* Multimodal perception in rooms
* Robust algorithms for room acoustic measurements, including reverberation time, speech transmission index, and distraction distance
* Acoustic design, performance and effects of retroreflective surfaces in the built environment
* Spatial hearing (e.g. auditory vertical localization, dynamic auditory localization, listening to rooms)
* Auditory display systems (e.g. for air traffic control human-computer interfaces; for acoustics education)
* Auralization systems for experimental research
* Airborne sound insulation of vacuum insulated glazing