Dr. Duncan Williams

School of Science, Engineering and Environment

Photo of Dr. Duncan Williams

Contact Details

Newton Building - Room 111

Please email for an appointment.

ORCID

Current positions

Lecturer in Acoustics and Audio Engineering

Biography

I joined the University of Salford in August 2019 as Lecturer in Acoustics and Audio Engineering.

Prior to Salford, I worked at the University of York, the University of Plymouth, and Oxford University, having completed a PhD in Digital Signal Processing (Psychoacoustics) at Surrey University in 2009. I have also taught at the Beijing Vocational College of Electrical Engineering in China, and the SFA University of Texas, USA, am a member of ESCOM, AES, PRS/MCPS, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

In industry I am the co-founder of WaveTrace, a psychoacoustic consultancy with IP in biometric tracking of human responses to sound and music stimuli, and have consulted for the London Electric Vehicle Co., Honda Automotive, the UK Go Ultra Low car campaign, and StubHub (eBay Inc).

My music (most of which is not particularly easy listening!) has been published by EMI, Sony/ATV, and DeWolfe and appeared in many bizarre and unlikely contexts. You can read all about that stuff on my website where I try to keep a semi-active blog.

Areas of research

Psychoacoustics, Video-game sound, Biophysiological response to sound, Audio perception

Teaching

I teach Digital Signal Processing to year 2 students in Acoustical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, and Audio Systems to students in year 1 of the Acoustics, Sound Recording Technology, and Professional Sound and Video Technology programmes.

Research Interests

Research interests include sound recording, sound for VR and video games, psychoacoustics, human computer interaction (particularly brain-computer interfacing) and digital signal processing.

Qualifications and Memberships

Qualifications 

  • PGCAP (Plymouth, 2015)
  • PhD (Surrey, 2009)
  • PGCFHE (Surrey, 2004)

Memberships

  • Member of the European Society for the Cognitive Science of Music
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2015-)
  • Member of the Audio Engineering Society (2006-2019)