Retrospective: University of Waterloo Audio Research Group
Honouring the Work of the Highly Respected University of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group (ARG)
The university of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group is an important legacy of Drs John Vanderkooy and Stanley Lipshitz, out of which resulted significant research and graduates who now hold leading positions in prominent audio companies of the world.
On June 12, 2014, the Toronto AES profiled the work of this important educational force in our audio society and the impact it had on its alumni and their careers.
The Special Event
Thursday, 12 June 2014
7:00 PM
Ryerson University
RCC 204, Eaton Theatre,
Communications Building
80 Gould Street, Toronto, ON
Presentation
The Toronto AES presented a special meeting to honour the work of an important education force in our audio society, the highly respected University of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group (ARG).
For over 30 years, the group has conducted research in audio, electro-acoustics and acoustics. It is associated with the Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute. Adjunct emeritus faculty members John Vanderkooy of Physics and Stanley Lipshitz of Applied Mathematics supervise mainly Masters but also Doctoral studies.
In addition to generating numerous papers that received publication in the AES Journal, alumni have gone on to hold prominent positions in some of the world’s leading audio companies and organizations, eg Dolby, Harman, Paradigm, Engineering Harmonics, National Research Council… as well as some non-audio industry companies and institutes.
John Vanderkooy (with input from Stan Lipshitz) spoke about the history of how the group came to be and the significant accomplishments it made, eg papers and research.
Alumni from the program who are now involved professionally (or significantly otherwise) in the audio field spoke about how the group impacted their own professional careers and interests.
Interviews
As part of the Toronto AES’s Audio Research Group Retrospective on June 12, 2014, Professors John Vanderkooy and Stanley Lipshitz, University of Waterloo chatted with alumni from the Audio Research Group program about their experiences as students, and what they took away from that time.
Alumni Stories
The Audio Research Group is well-known for its impact on the development of professional audio around the world.
But, what was it really like to work in the Audiolab with Professors John Vanderkooy and Stan Lipshitz?
Audiolab Tour
The Audio Research Group is well-known for its impact on the development of professional audio around the world.
John Vanderkooy, Professor Emeritus, Physics, University of Waterloo, presents a guide to the Audio Research Group’s Audiolab, where for over 30 years, alumni worked on Masters and Doctoral research in the audio field. The University of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group Audiolab, Room 205, Physics Building.
Watch this fascinating walk through the history of professional audio.
University of Waterloo Audio Research Group
Enjoy full biographies of each of the ARG Faculty and Alumni.
Faculty
Stanley P. Lipshitz
Professor Emeritus
John Vanderkooy
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Alumni
Perren Baker
Perren Baker was a student of John Vanderkooy's "Science of Hi Fidelity and became involved with the ARG through John and Stanley's work on the University of Waterloo’s CKMS transmitter and Stan's weekly classical radio show. Perren was a "friend of the Lab from 1981...
Jeff Bamford
Jeff Bamford is a consultant and project manager at Engineering Harmonics. Drawing on many years of professional experience, he also heads our IT group serving our three offices. Holding a Master’s degree in physics, Jeff brings a strong analytical and scientific mind...
Paul Bauman
Paul Bauman (MSc Physics, University of Waterloo 1985; MEE, McMaster University 1991) is Associate Director, Tour Sound with JBL Professional and has been with the company since 2006. He is responsible for product conception, design, and technical support for the...
Ron Kessel
Ronald Kessel, PhD, holds degrees in Engineering and Physics. He has over 18 years’ experience in maritime defence science and technology—including 6 years at Defence R&D Canada and, most recently, over 8 years at the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and...
Ewan Macpherson
Ewan Macpherson hails from St. John's, Newfoundland. He completed a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics (Queen's) and an M.Sc. in Physics (Waterloo), during which he developed both a computational model of sound localization and a desire to study spatial hearing in real...
Ryan Matheson
Ryan Matheson was born and raised in Thundery Bay, Ontario. He left Thunder Bay after high school to attend the University of Guelph in 2002, where he obtained his Honours Degree in Physics. After graduating from Guelph in 2007 Ryan then moved on to the University of...
Scott Norcross
Scott Norcross received his B.Sc. in Physics from McGill University in Montreal. He received his M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Waterloo, under the supervision of Professors John Vanderkooy and Stanley Lipshitz, while being a member of the Audio Research...
Mark Pocock
Mark Pocock (MASc EE, University of Waterloo 1983; BSc Honours Chemistry, UBC, 1978) is the principal of Suncoast Audio, providing audio design services to the consumer electronics industry. Recent and current projects included the development of a waterproof...
Janelle Resch
I have been in the Audio Research Group (ARG) at the University of Waterloo since 2010 when I began my applied mathematics master’s degree with John Vanderkooy and Lilia Krivodonova. My main (current) research interests are in gasdynamics (compressible fluid dynamics)...
Chris Roehrig
I was at Audio Research Group from September 1989 - August 1991. I think my only paper at ARG was my Master's thesis: Phase Cancellation in Overlap-Add Signal Reconstruction for the Pitch Shifting of Audio Signals, M.Math thesis, University of Waterloo 1991. (It...
Peter Schuck
Peter Schuck received a B. Math degree in 1981 from the University of Waterloo. He remained at Waterloo joining the Audio Research Group and investigating computer optimized loudspeaker crossover design until 1983 when he obtained a M. Phil. Degree in Applied...
Rob Stevens
Robert is Principal of HGC Engineering, a consulting engineering firm specializing exclusively in noise, vibration and acoustics. He received his Bachelor and Master degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo. Over the past twenty-three years he...
Robert Wannamaker
As part of the Audio Research Group, Robert Wannamaker completed an M.Sc. in Physics (1991) with John Vanderkooy, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics (1997) with Stanley P. Lipshitz. His research concerned the theory of dithered quantization and the design of...
With Thanks to Our Sponsors
The Toronto AES gratefully acknowledges the support of the following companies, who have helped make the University of Waterloo Audio Research Group Retrospective and Toronto Masters of Audio video possible.
