Charlie House MEng Acoustical Engineering 2017
Current Phd student
The engineering facilities at Southampton are incredible. For our Group Design Project, we have made significant use of both large and small laser cutters, and high-quality 3D Powder Printers, in addition to the specialist acoustic facilities, including two anechoic chambers, reverberant chambers, and audio laboratories.
What made you choose to come and study at Southampton?
Maths and Physics were my strongest subjects throughout sixth form, therefore I was drawn towards an engineering-based degree. Having always been interested in sound (and working as a semi-professional sound engineer), when I discovered Acoustical Engineering at Southampton it seemed perfect.
What is it like studying here?
I think any engineering degree will be time consuming, but the work is very enjoyable. The campus is lovely, with plenty of green spaces to get some fresh air between lectures. The lecturers are very supportive, and are always willing to discuss your work, even if it isn’t their specific module.
How do you rate study facilities at the University, such as the Library? Have you found the Library, its content and the study spaces available within it useful?
The engineering facilities are incredible. For our Group Design Project, we have made significant use of both large and small laser cutters, and high-quality 3D Powder Printers. We have also submitted jobs to the Engineering Design and Manufacturing Centre (EDMC), who have access to industry standard machining tools such as CNC machines, lathes, etc. These, coupled with the specialist acoustic facilities such as two anechoic chambers, reverberant chambers, audio laboratories, and acoustic laboratories, have made it easy to be creative with our design and not having to worry so much about being able to realise it in practice.
What have been your Southampton ‘highlights’ so far?
The project work has been my favourite throughout my four years here. In first year, we designed and built a small structure, and in second year we designed, built and programmed a small robot. The acoustic stream were tasked with designing and building a loudspeaker (which we then tested in the anechoic chambers), before starting the Individual Project (third year) and Group Design Project (final year).
Throughout all of these projects, we were given access to huge amounts of facilities, and I learnt an awful lot from them, as well as having fun!
What other activities have you taken advantage of while at University?
I have been on the committee for Showstoppers, the Musical Theatre Society for two years, building them a website from scratch and assisting them with design and publicity. I also work at the Student Union as a sound engineer, and am a semi-professional photographer and videographer in the Southampton area for student societies.
Have you had any exposure to employer involvement or research-led learning during your course? How did this help you grow academically or personally?
I was lucky enough to publish a conference paper after my third year Individual Project, and presenting my work at an international conference was a definite highlight. This introduced me to the world of academia, and I very much enjoyed it. Since then I have attended three further conferences, and have been offered a fully funded PhD place at the University of Southampton.
