Rate My Professor Sebastian Oberst

Sebastian Oberst is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, within the Faculty of Engineering and IT. He serves as Acting Director of the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration (CAAV). Oberst leads research in biogenic dynamics, spanning bioacoustics, complex dynamics, vibro-acoustics, and biogenic materials. A leading researcher in this area, his work features a strong interdisciplinary focus that bridges engineering and biology. He coordinates the UTS Bioacoustics Laboratory. Expertise encompasses bioacoustics, vibroacoustic metamaterials, acoustic mechatronics, signal processing techniques such as time series analysis and pattern recognition, and physical computation for animal communication and acoustic systems. Oberst applies vibration and acoustics numerically and experimentally, with emphasis on mechanical characterisation, vibration and noise control, and microvibrations especially of insects.

Oberst obtained his PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2011, with the dissertation Analysis of Brake Squeal Noise in the Department of Engineering and Information Technology. His career trajectory includes an adjunct associate professor role at UNSW Canberra School of Engineering and Technology, service on the Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering research committee, and membership in the MME executive team. Notable publications comprise Statistical analysis of brake squeal noise by S. Oberst and J.C.S. Lai (Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2011), Development of coupled FE/BE models to investigate the structural and acoustic responses of a submerged vessel by S. Merz and S. Oberst (International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2007), Submillimetre mechanistic designs of termite-built structures by S. Oberst et al. (Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2021), Termite Vibration Sensing: The Chordotonal Organs and Their Role in Subterranean Perception (2025), and Recurrence Rate spectrograms for the classification of modulated signals in structural health monitoring by T. Hertrampf and S. Oberst (Physica Scripta, 2024). He co-edited the book Vibration Engineering for a Sustainable Future (2021). Awards include the Australia Award/Endeavour Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2015). As Chief Investigator, he secured Australian Research Council grants LE180100041, DP200100358, and LE250100091. Oberst's studies on termites' hyper-sensitivity to vibrations contribute to advancements in pest control and robotics. He serves as an Editor at PeerJ.