LSBU student wins prize for ROH sound engineering project
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Eric Ballestero, a PhD student from London South Bank University (LSBU), and been praised for a project commissioned by the Royal Opera House.
Photo: Luke Hayes
Ballestero was awarded the Young Person’s Award for Innovation in Acoustical Engineering 2021 for his research ‘Acoustic conditions in orchestra pits: are metadiffusers a potential solution?’, which was commissioned by the Royal Opera House (ROH) to identify noise issues in the ROH orchestra pit and provide a technical solution, and create an acoustical improvement to work in the pit’s physical space.
As part of his research, Ballestero has created the world's first broadband metamaterial to diffuse sound, using ultra-thin diffuser designs.
Stephen Dance, professor of Acoustics at LSBU, said: 'Eric Ballestero’s Young Person’s award for Innovation in Acoustical Engineering is testament to the hard work and creativity produced by students in LSBU’s Acoustics department.
'This world-first research project has achieved results that will help to protect the hearing of musicians performing in the ROH orchestra pit. It will also go a long way towards protecting the hearing of future generations of musicians performing in venues around the world.'