Brian Moore (scientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brian C.J. Moore
FRS FMedSci
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Brian Moore in 2017
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| Born | February 10, 1946 London, England
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| Education | St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
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Brian C.J. Moore (born 10 February 1946) is a famous professor who studies how we hear. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge. This means he used to teach there and is now retired, but still connected to the university.
Professor Moore's main work is in psychoacoustics, which is the study of how people hear and understand sounds. He also works in audiology, which deals with hearing and balance problems. A big part of his research helps improve hearing aids. He is a member of many important groups, like the Royal Society, because of his amazing contributions to science. He has written many books and over 750 scientific papers.
Contents
About Brian Moore
Early Life and Education
Brian Moore was born in London, England, on February 10, 1946. He went to St Catharine's College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. In 1968, he earned his first degree.
In 1971, he completed his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. His special topic was how we hear different musical notes, also known as pitch perception.
His Career Journey
Professor Moore started his teaching career at the University of Reading in 1971. He taught psychology there for six years. During this time, he also spent a year teaching in New York City.
In 1977, he moved to the University of Cambridge. He became a lecturer in Experimental Psychology. Over the years, he became a Reader in 1989 and then a full Professor in 1995. He retired from teaching in 2014, becoming an Emeritus Professor. He is also an Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
Professor Moore has also helped edit many important science journals. These include the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and Hearing Research. He was also the president of a group for hearing healthcare professionals in the UK for many years.
How We Hear: Brian Moore's Research
Professor Moore's research has greatly helped us understand how human hearing works. He has also found ways to use this knowledge to help people with hearing loss.
Understanding Loudness and Pitch
In the early part of his career, Professor Moore studied how we hear loudness and pitch. Pitch is what makes a sound high or low, like a flute versus a tuba. He also looked at how some sounds can make it harder to hear other sounds, which is called masking.
His work led to a new way to measure loudness. This method became an international standard, meaning scientists and engineers all over the world use it. He also worked with companies like Nokia to improve the sound quality in mobile phones.
How We Hear Pitch
Professor Moore was one of the first scientists to show how important "phase locking" is for hearing pitch. Imagine sound waves as tiny vibrations. Phase locking is when our ear nerves fire at the same time as these vibrations.
He showed that our ears are very good at noticing small changes in how fast sounds vibrate, especially for lower sounds. This ability gets a bit worse for higher sounds. This research helped explain how our ears use different ways to hear pitch depending on the sound's frequency.
Loudness Perception and Models
Professor Moore and his team created a model to predict how loud sounds seem to us. This model built on earlier ideas and became an ISO standard. This means it's a widely accepted way to measure and understand loudness.
This loudness model has been updated to help predict loudness for people with hearing loss. This is very useful for designing and fitting hearing aids so they work best for each person.
Improving Hearing Aids
Professor Moore has worked a lot on designing and testing hearing aids. He helped develop special hearing aids that can adjust sound levels automatically. This helps people with hearing loss hear sounds more comfortably.
He and his team created a system called "dual-time-constant automatic gain control." This system is now used in many hearing aids and even in cochlear implants, which are devices that help people with severe hearing loss.
Tests for Hearing Problems
Professor Moore and his colleagues developed a test called the "Threshold Equalizing Noise (TEN) test." This test helps doctors find "dead regions" in the inner ear. These are areas where the tiny cells that help us hear are not working.
Knowing about these dead regions helps doctors fit hearing aids or cochlear implants better. This test is now used in many hearing test machines around the world. He also helped create other tests to check how well people hear the fine details of sounds.
Hearing Loss and Age
Professor Moore has studied how hearing loss and getting older affect how well people understand speech. His research shows that it can be harder to understand speech if your ear has trouble processing the tiny, fast changes in sounds.
He found that even if older people have normal hearing test results, they might still have trouble with these fine sound details. This can make it harder for them to understand conversations, especially in noisy places.
Awards and Honors
Professor Moore has received many awards for his important work:
- 1983: Thomas Simm Littler prize for his book "An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing."
- 1997: Made an Honorary Member of the Belgian Society of Audiology.
- 1999: Made an Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists.
- 2001: Elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).
- 2002: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS).
- 2003: Silver Medal from the Acoustical Society of America.
- 2004: International Award in Hearing from the American Academy of Audiology.
- 2006: Thomas Simm Littler prize for his academic work in audiology.
- 2008: Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
- 2008: Hugh Knowles Prize for Distinguished Achievement.
- 2013: Thomas Simm Littler lectureship.
- 2014: Gold Medal from the Acoustical Society of America for his leadership in hearing research.
- 2015: Awarded an honorary doctorate from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland.
- 2016: Elected a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society.
- 2019: Appointed a Principal Fellow of the British Society of Audiology.
- 2021: Received the Life Achievement Award of the American Auditory Society.
See also
- Equivalent rectangular bandwidth
- Equal-loudness contour
- Temporal envelope and fine structure
