"PhD Position Acoustic and Psychoacoustic Modelling for Sound Quality Assessment in Hospital PICUs"

Job Summary

Develop innovative technologies to improve soundscapes in Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs), enhancing patient safety and nurse wellbeing through acoustic solutions. This involves creating a digital platform for real-time soundscape analysis and a Sound Quality Index (SQI) that integrates acoustic, psychoacoustic, perceptual, and contextual data.

Responsibilities

• Model traditional acoustic metrics from hospital recordings.
• Employ psychoacoustic metrics like loudness, sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength, and tonality from listening experiments.
• Develop predictive tools for estimating perceived affective quality using statistical methods and ISO 12913-3 dimensions.
• Create an automatic sound event classification system using deep learning techniques like CRNNs.
• Incorporate contextual information to dynamically weight the SQI for real-time clinical implementation.
• Collaborate with experts in academia, hospitals, and industry to advance sound computing, machine learning, and healthcare research.

Qualifications and Requirements

• MSc Degree in Computer Science, Acoustics, Audio Engineering, or related fields.
• Strong background in physics, mathematics, sound computing, signal processing, and psychoacoustic modelling.
• Proficiency in scientific programming such as MATLAB, Python, or R.
• Experience in signal processing and machine learning for audio is advantageous.
• Ability to learn independently, strong communication skills in English, and a passion for research.
• Team player with an open mind, positive attitude, and interest in healthcare solutions.
• Previous research involvement is a plus.

What the Employer Offers

• A 4-year PhD position with an initial 1.5-year contract, followed by a 2.5-year extension based on performance.
• Salary from €3059 to €3881 per month, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Enrollment in the TU Delft Graduate School with access to research skills development.
• Customizable compensation package, health insurance discounts, and monthly work costs contribution.
• Support for relocation, including events and a Dual Career Programme.
• An inspiring, diverse, and inclusive work environment at TU Delft.