Ph.D. Candidate
mtn5048@psu.edu
Matthew Neal is currently pursuing his Ph.D. as a member of SPRAL, doing research on subjective impression of concert halls using the AURAS facility. Matthew graduated with Bachelors of Architectural Engineering (BAE) from Penn State’s Department of Architectural Engineering in 2014, continuing on to finish up a MS in Acoustics in 2015 through The Graduate Program in Acoustics at Penn State as well. Matthew’s research interests include spherical array processing, virtual acoustics, psychoacoustics, room acoustic measurements, and room simulation techniques. Matthew’s MS work involved the design and construction of the AURAS facility, and he used this facility to conduct an initial test on the perception of listener envelopment in concert hall simulations.
For his Ph.D. work, Matthew will be conducting extensive measurements of concert halls throughout the US and Europe using the Eigenmike and SPRAL’s custom-built sound sources, creating a database of spatial room impulse response measurements. This database will allow for direct comparison on a wide range of concert halls objectively using beamforming techniques and subjectively using loudspeaker-based auralization and listening tests. The subjective testing will focus upon the perception of envelopment in concert halls and overall factors that influence a person’s overall room impression and preference. Outside of acoustics, Matthew can be found singing in choirs, baking bread, making cheese, and playing most sports that involve a racket!
Matthew’s Projects
- Predicting the Subjective Quality of Concert Halls using Spherical Microphone Array Measuremetns and 3D Auralization
- Understanding the subjective impression of Listener Envelopment: Contributing Factors and an Objective Metric
- Design and Construction the AUralization and Reproduction of Acoustic Sound fields (AURAS) facility
- Construction of an Omni-directional Sound Source for Concert Hall Acoustic Measurements
- Influence of Matched HRTFs on Subjective Ratings of Concert Hall Auralizations