Biography

Andrew Mitchell is a Research Fellow in urban soundscape modelling at University College London (UCL). His research interests include soundscape analysis and visualisation, machine learning, and human perception of complex sounds. Andrew has been awarded two PhD and one Post-doctoral Enrichment Awards from The Alan Turing Institute and spent a month in early 2022 as a visiting research fellow at Stockholm University. His ongoing projects include the Soundscape Indices (SSID) Horizon 2020 project, Soundscapy, Deep Learning Techniques for noise Annoyance detection (DeLTA), AI for Urban Soundscape Enhancement (AI USE), the Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI), and the Soundscape Attributes Translation Project (SATP).

Andrew is also the host of The Rest is Just Noise, a monthly podcast exploring the relationship between sound and our cities. Each episode, Andrew and his co-hosts and colleagues Dr Francesco Aletta and Dr Tin Oberman speak with researchers and experts from a wide range of backgrounds about their work in urban sounds and sound perception.

Download my CV.

Interests

  • Urban Soundscape
  • Machine Learning
  • Environmental Acoustics
  • Musical Acoustics

Education

  • PhD in Environmental Design (ongoing), 2022

    UCL

  • BSc. Physics & Music, 2015

    Cardiff University

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Research Fellow

Institute for Environmental Design & Engineering (UCL)

Jul 2022 – Present London, UK

As part of the Soundscape Indices (SSID) research team, I am primarily responsible for the development of machine learning models, data management and publication, and industry collaborations. My projects and appointments include:

  • A generalisable prediction model for urban soundscape perception
  • Soundscapy an open-source Python package for soundscape data analysis and visualisation
  • Collaborations with The Alan Turing Institute and industrial partners
  • Maintain the International Soundscape Database (ISD), the Soundscape Attributes Translation Database, and the DeLTA Database
 
 
 
 
 

Senior Post-graduate Teaching Assistant

University College London (UCL)

Sep 2019 – Present London, UK

Provide tuition & marking support, content development, and instruct students for the following courses:

  • BENV0119 Machine Learning in Smart Buildings w. Dr Phil Symonds (syllabus development, lecture and tutorial writing, ML and Python support)
  • BARC0161 Design Practice 2 w. Prof Dejan Mumovic (Environmental Tutor in HVAC acoustics, lecture and tutorial writing, building design guidance)
  • BACE1002 Building Physics & Environment w. Dr Samuel Stamp
  • BENV0098 Urban Physics w. Dr Jon Taylor
  • BENV0032 Methods of Environmental Analysis w. Dr Nici Zimmermann (statistics tutorials)
  • BENV0086 Building Systems Modelling w. Dr Valentina Marincioni (general Python programming support)
 
 
 
 
 

Soundscape Consultant / Acoustics Engineer

Hoare Lea

Jul 2019 – Apr 2020 London, UK

As part of an extensive industry collaboration, my role was to provide leading edge insights from modern research on soundscapes and sound perception to better inform the design of the built environment. I also lead the development of a unique and innovative method for assessing the sound experience of building occupants and worked toward designing a comprehensive soundscape rating metric. This project required:

  • Management of a suite of environmental quality meters
  • Development of a bespoke occupant survey app
  • Development of custom acoustic analysis tools and software
  • Independent project management and technical service package development
 
 
 
 
 

Doctoral Researcher (PhD student)

Institute for Environmental Design & Engineering (UCL)

Sep 2018 – Jul 2022 London, UK

Primary research responsibility is to investigate machine learning and regression modelling of soundscapes based on acoustical and non-acoustical factors. As a team member on the SSID project group, practical responsibilities include:

  • Coordinate collaboration with industrial and research partners to promote the implementation of Soundscape in practice
  • Design and implement a methodology framework for conducting soundscape assessments for use in research across the world
  • Conduct soundscape recordings (comprising spatial audio, 360 degree video, sound level meter measurements, and in-depth questionnaires) at 40+ locations around the UK, US and Europe
  • Developed the database and data structure for the storage and publication of a large-scale soundscape recording database.
 
 
 
 
 

Acoustical Consultant

Newson Brown Acoustics

Jun 2016 – Sep 2018 Santa Monica, CA
  • Provided comprehensive technical reports on over 50 projects to architects, engineers, and contractors detailing acoustical recommendations throughout the process of building design
  • Conducted extensive environmental noise surveys and performed detailed building envelope noise intrusion calculations
  • Reviewed architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings to identify and address potential noise issues

Grants & Awards

Turing Post-Doctoral Enrichment Award

The PDEA programme offers small awards to facilitate postdoctoral activity throughout the UK with the aim of building the foundations for an engaged postdoctoral community working on topics related to data science and AI. The Turing’s PDEA scheme is designed to provide development opportunities in three key areas: learning new skills, collaboration, and developing research independence.

Turing PhD Enrichment / Engagement Scheme

A 9 month placement within the UK’s prestigious national institute for data science. During this period I will focus on developing a Bayesian hierarchical approach to modelling urban soundscape perception.

Turing PhD Enrichment Scheme

A second 6 month placement within the UK’s prestigious national institute for data science.

Research Capital Investment Fund (RCIF)

I was a contributing author on a successful grant application for £50,480 to purchase professional-level equipment for remote acoustic and environmental monitors.

Best Paper Award

Awarded by the Noise interest group for Making cities smarter with new soundscape indices presented at the 178th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in San Diego, CA.

PhD Studentship

Fully funded 3-year PhD as part of the ERC Advanced Grant no. 740696: Soundscape Indices - SSID

Recent Publications

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.
(2021). Psychological well-being and demographic factors can mediate soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness: A large sample study. Journal of Environmental Psychology.

DOI

(2021). Introducing a Method for Intervals Correction on Multiple Likert Scales: A Case Study on an Urban Soundscape Data Collection Instrument. Frontiers in Psychology.

PDF Project DOI

(2021). Multilevel Annoyance Modelling of Short Environmental Sound Recordings. Sustainability.

PDF DOI

(2021). The 'sound of silence' in Granada during the COVID-19 lockdown. Noise Mapping.

PDF DOI

(2020). The Soundscape Indices (SSID) Protocol: A Method for Urban Soundscape Surveys—Questionnaires with Acoustical and Contextual Information. Applied Sciences.

PDF Project DOI

Contact