Dr. Catherine Guastavino of SIS awarded NSERC grant for research on auditory motion perception

Congratulations to Dr. Catherine Guastavino on her 5-year NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Discovery Grant for research on auditory motion perception.

One of the major challenges to the auditory system in everyday listening is to track moving sound sources to predict their future path, e.g. an approaching car or a buzzing mosquito. To date, auditory motion perception has been largely understudied due to the complications of laboratory setups. This program investigates the relative contribution of different perceptual mechanisms used to localize sounds as they move around the listener.

This research will benefit theory formation in cognitive science by refining auditory models. As well, it will have practical benefits for:

• Spatial sound reproduction: to determine the necessary and sufficient cues to recreate sound movements
• Multimodal installations: to enhance user immersion and engagement
• Auditory alarms: using motion to draw attention to specific sounds

Dr. Guastavino directs the Multimodal Interaction Laboratory (MIL), a research lab associated with SIS and CIRMMT (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media & Technology). She is Associate Professor at the School of Information Studies and a William Dawson Scholar.