AI in Multidisciplinary Fields: Enhancing Acoustics Education
AI in Multidisciplinary Fields: Enhancing Acoustics Education
The field of acoustics sits at the intersection of science, engineering, perception, and creativity, influencing everything from environmental soundscapes to audio technology, musical performance, and hearing health. As a multidisciplinary domain, acoustics offers rich educational opportunities, but it also presents complex challenges for learners due to its multidisciplinary nature, abstract physical principles, mathematical modelling, and often inaccessible technical language or tools.
We will begin by introducing the field of acoustics, which spans a wide range of interconnected areas. The field unites aspects as diverse as aerodynamics, architectural acoustics, building acoustics, electroacoustics, engineering dynamics, noise and vibration, hearing, speech, underwater acoustics, together with a variety of
environmental aspects including bio- and eco-acoustics. This diversity makes acoustics a profoundly interdisciplinary field that is both intellectually rich and practically vital—but often difficult to teach and learn in an inclusive, engaging way.
We will then introduce the Institute of Acoustics (IOA), the UK’s professional body dedicated to the science and practice of acoustics. With a mission to promote education, training, and research, the IOA supports a community as diverse as its field. The Institute serves learners and practitioners at all levels, from students to senior professionals, making the need for accessible, inclusive, and equitable education especially pressing.
Case studies will include the following for improving accessibility, inclusion and openness: AI for (1) improving recorded lecture audio for hybrid/flexible learning, (2) developing low-cost digital sound level meters to measure and manage noise, (3) simulating and visualising acoustic phenomena such as sound wave propagation, and (4) preparing open-source tools, datasets and associated tutorials for speech technology.
By aligning technological innovation with human-centred educational values, we can create a future in acoustics where every learner has the opportunity to listen, learn, and lead.
View the presentation in full here:
Graetzer, S., & Newton, M.-J. (2025, September 17). AI in Multidisciplinary Fields: Enhancing Acoustics Education. AIEOU Inaugural Conference, University of Oxford. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17538036
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