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Professor Keith Attenborough
Professional biography
Keith Attenborough is Research Professor of Acoustics at the Open University. He was Head of Engineering at the University of Hull between July 1999 and April 2002 and research profesor in Engineering between 2002 and 2007. Previously he held a Personal Chair in Acoustics at the Open University where he worked from 1970 to 1999. He has carried out theoretical and experimental studies on linear and nonlinear acoustical characteristics of porous surfaces, acoustical methods for surveying soils, sound propagation through suspensions and emulsions and on outdoor sound propagation. These activities have been supported by sixteen Research Council Grants (3 SERC, 10 EPSRC, 2 AFRC and 1 BBSRC) and fifteen grants or contracts from other sources (including Ferranti International, Thorn -EMI, TRL, BRE, DOE, T&N Technology, ESDU International, MOD (QINETIQ), EC, DSTL, AEA Technology and the US Army). This research has resulted in twenty one Ph.D. theses, 130 papers in refereed journals and over 160 international conference presentations (including 12 invited). An important output of previous SERC and US Army-funded research on outdoor sound propagation and acoustic-to-seismic coupling, has been the development of a numerical Fast-Field propagation prediction code FFLAGS which has been used in research for Thorn -EMI (now TME) and by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Other numerical outdoor sound prediction codes developed at the OU for predicting outdoor sound propagation have been used by ESDU International plc. Recent research experience includes projects on sonic crystal noise barriers and non-invasive acoustic-seismic monitoring of soils supported by EPSRC and a project ‘Holistic and Sustainable Actions against Noise by combinations of Natural and Artificial means’ (HOSANNA) supported by EC FP7. Recent EPSRC-supported research concerned acoustic metamaterials and surfaces which, as a result of periodically-spaced inclusions have properties not met in existing noise abatement materials. In 1996 Keith was awarded the Rayleigh Medal for contributions to acoustics by the (UK) Institute of Acoustics and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute in 2011. In 2012 Keith was awarded the Silver Medal (Noise) of the Acoustical Society of America for contributions to the acoustics of porous materials and to outdoor sound propagation. In April 2014 he received the 2013 'medialle etrangere' of the French Acoustical Society for contributions to acousttics and collaborations with French acousticians.
Research interests
Current research concerns acoustic metamaterials which, as a result of periodically-spaced inclusions, have properties not met in existing noise abatement materials. He is also supervising work on the exploitation of audio-frequency surface waves for enhancing signals received by perimeter security sensors.
Teaching interests
Although not involved in teaching at the Open University, Keith works as (part time) Education Manager for the Institute of Acoustics which offers a Diploma in Acoustics and Noise Control as well as five short courses in various aspects of professional practice in acoustics and noise control includiung workplace noise risk assessment, measurement of environmental noise, management of occupational exposure to hand-arm vibration, builkding acoustics measurements and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (Scotland).
Research Activity
Research groups
| Name | Type | Parent Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Acoustics Research Group | Group | Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology |
Publications
Journal articles
Attenborough, Keith
Applied Acoustics, 145 (pp. 349-357)
Correspondence between sound propagation in discrete and continuous random media with application to forest acoustics (2018-02)
Ostashev, Vladimir E.; Wilson, D. Keith; Muhlestein, Michael B. and Attenborough, Keith
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 143(2) (pp. 1194-1205)
Microstructures for lowering the quarter wavelength resonance frequency of a hard-backed rigid-porous layer (2018-01-15)
Attenborough, Keith
Applied Acoustics, 130 (pp. 188-194)
Non-invasive estimation of the depth profile of soil strength with acoustic-to-seismic coupling measurement in the presence of crops (2017-09)
Shin, H. -C.; Watts, C. W.; Whalley, W. R.; Attenborough, K. and Taherzadeh, S.
European Journal of Soil Science, 68(5) (pp. 758-768)
Meteorological effects on the noise reducing performance of a low parallel wall structure (2017-06)
Van Renterghem, Timothy; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Hornikx, Maarten and Attenborough, Keith
Applied Acoustics, 121 (pp. 74-81)
On the theory of Brutsaert about elastic wave speeds in unsaturated soils (2016-03)
Shin, H.-C.; Whalley, W. R.; Attenborough, K. and Taherzadeh, S.
Soil and Tillage Research, 156 (pp. 155-165)
Exploiting ground effects for surface transport noise abatement (2016-02-22)
Attenborough, Keith; Bashir, Imran and Taherzadeh, Shahram
Noise Mapping, 3, Article 1(1)
On the inadvisability of using single parameter impedance models for representing the acoustical properties of ground surfaces (2015-10-23)
Dragna, Didier; Attenborough, Keith and Blanc-Benon, Philippe
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(4) (pp. 2399-2413)
Using natural means to reduce surface transport noise during propagation outdoors (2015-05)
Van Renterghem, Timothy; Forssén, Jens; Attenborough, Keith; Jean, Philippe; Defrance, Jérôme; Hornikx, Maarten and Kang, Jian
Applied Acoustics, 92 (pp. 86-101)
Sound propagation over soft ground without and with crops and potential for surface transport noise attenuation (2015-01-01)
Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Shin, Ho-Chul and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 137(1) (pp. 154-164)
Reduction of surface transport noise by ground roughness (2014-09)
Bashir, I.; Hill, T.; Taherzadeh, S.; Attenborough, K. and hornix, M.
Applied Acoustics, 83(1) (pp. 1-15)
Measured light vehicle noise reduction by hedges (2014-04)
van Renterghem, Timothy; Attenborough, Keith; Maennel, Manuel; Defrance, Jerome; Horoshenkov, Kirill; Kang, Jian; Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Altreuther, Beate; Khan, Amir; Smyrnova, Julia and Yang, Hong-Seok
Applied Acoustics, 78 (pp. 19-27)
Surface waves over periodically-spaced strips (2013-12)
Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134(6) (pp. 4691-4697)
Ground vibrations produced by surface and near-surface explosions (2013-11)
Albert, Donald G.; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Attenborough, Keith; Boulanger, Patrice and Decato, Stephen N.
Applied Acoustics, 74(11) (pp. 1279-1296)
Non-invasive characterization of pore-related and elastic properties of soils in linear Biot–Stoll theory using acoustic-to-seismic coupling (2013-06)
Shin, H.-C.; Taherzadeh, S.; Attenborough, K.; Whalley, W. R. and Watts, C. W.
European Journal of Soil Science, 64(3) (pp. 308-323)
Estimating penetrometer resistance and matric potential from the velocities of shear and compression waves (2013-05)
Gao, W.; Watts, W. R.; Ren, T.; Shin, H.; Taherzadeh, S.; Attenborough, K.; Jenkins, M. and Whalley, W. R.
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 77(3) (pp. 721-728)
Diffraction assisted rough ground effect: models and data (2013-03)
Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 133(3) (pp. 1281-1292)
Analytical approximations for low frequency band gaps in periodic arrays of elastic shells (2013-02)
Krynkin, Anton; Umnova, Olga; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 133(2) (pp. 781-791)
Aperiodicity effects on sound transmission through arrays of identical cylinders perpendicular to the ground (2012-10)
Taherzadeh, Shahram; Bashir, Imran and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 132(4) (EL323-EL328)
The velocity of shear waves in unsaturated soil (2012-09)
Whalley, W. R.; Jenkins, M. and Attenborough, K.
Soil and Tillage Research, 125 (pp. 30-37)
Mathematics summer schools for acoustics research training (2012-03)
Attenborough, Keith; Wright, Matthew and Umnova, Olga
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 131(3) (pp. 2532-2538)
The velocity of shear waves in saturated soil (2011-10)
Whalley, W. R.; Jenkins, M. and Attenborough, K.
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 75(5) (pp. 1652-1657)
Wave propagation in stereo-lithographical (STL) bone replicas at oblique incidence (2011-06)
Aygun, Haydar; Attenborough, Keith; Lauriks, Walter; Rubini, Philip A. and Langton, Christian M.
Applied Acoustics, 72(7) (pp. 458-463)
Outdoor ground impedance models (2011-05)
Attenborough, Keith; Bashir, Imran and Taherzadeh, Shahram
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 129(5) (pp. 2806-2819)
Deduction of static surface roughness from complex excess attenuation (2011-03)
Nichols, Andrew; Attenborough, Keith and Taherzadeh, Shahram
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 129(3) (EL89-EL93)
Acoustic insertion loss due to two dimensional periodic arrays of circular cylinders parallel to a nearby surface (2011)
Krynkin, Anton; Umnova, Olga; Sánchez-Pérez, Juan; Chong, Yung; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 130(6) (pp. 3736-3745)
Scattering by coupled resonating elements in air (2011)
Krynkin, Anton; Umnova, Olga; Chong, Alvin Y. B.; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 44 (pp. 125501-125513)
Predictions and measurements of sound transmission througha periodic array of elastic shells in air (2010-12)
Krynkin, Anton; Umnova, Olga; Chong, Alvin Yung Boon; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 128(6) (pp. 3496-3506)
Ultrasonic wave propagation in stereo-lithographical bone replicas (2010-06)
Aygün, Haydar; Attenborough, Keith; Lauriks, Walter and Langton, Christian M.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(6) (pp. 3781-3789)
Predictions of angle dependent tortuosity and elasticity effects on sound propagation in cancellous bone (2009)
Aygu?n, Haydar; Attenborough, Keith; Postema, Michiel; Lauriks, Walter and Langton, Christian M.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 126(6) (pp. 3286-3290)
Authored books
Zapoozhets, Oleksandr; Tokarev, Vadim and Attenborough, Keith
ISBN : 978-0-415-24066-6 | Publisher : Spon Press (Taylor and Francis) | Published : London, UK and New York, USA
Conference items
Stronach, Alexander; Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Attenborough, Keith
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics 2016 (5-6 Sep 2016, Kenilworth, Warwickshire) (pp. 108-113)
Sound propagation through forests and tree belts (2016-09-05)
Attenborough, Keith and Taherzadeh, Shahram
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics 2016 (5-6 Sep 2016, Kenilworth, Warwickshire) (pp. 114-125)
Acoustic propagation over periodic and quasi-periodic rough surfaces (2016-09-05)
Berry, David; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Stronach, Alexander and Attenborough, Keith
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics 2016 (5-6 Sep 2016, Kenilworth, Warwickshire) (pp. 126-132)
Models for acoustical properties of green roof materials (2011-06-27)
Attenborough, Keith; Bashir, Imran; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Hill, Toby
In : Forum Acusticum 2011 (26 Jun - 01 Jul 2011, Aalborg, Denmark)
Effects of source side roughness on the acoustical performance of a traffic noise berm (2011-06-27)
Hill, Toby; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Bashir, Imran and Attenborough, Keith
In : Forum Acusticum 2011 (26 Jun - 01 Jul 2011, Aalborg, Denmark)
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