Trevor Cox is an English academic and science communicator. He was a Senior Media fellow for
EPSRC
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...
, and is a past-President of the
Institute of Acoustics.
Academia
Cox holds a degree in Physics and a PhD in
Acoustics
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
. He entered the field of acoustics because of an interest in music and his science background. He has been an academic in
Acoustics Department at the
University of Salford
, caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford
, mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things"
, established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...
since 1995 and currently holds the position of Professor of Acoustic Engineering.
Cox is fascinated by room acoustics, and how places can be designed for intelligible speech (for example, classrooms) and beautiful music (for example, auditoria). His acoustic designs can be found in rooms worldwide and he has co-authored a research book on absorbers and diffusers which is now in its third edition.
He was an associate editor for an international journal of acoustics (Acta Acustica united with Acustica).
He uses both qualitative methods (focus groups, interviews, sound-walks) and quantitative methods (perceptual testing in laboratories and over the Internet) to explore responses to sounds from products (such as washing machines), in outdoor spaces (such as cities) and various sound types (such as horrible sounds). He was director of ‘A Noisy Future?’, an ‘Ideas Factory’ research programme run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. He was award the
Institute of Acoustics's Tyndall Medal in 2004.
Popular science books
*''Sonic Wonderland'' (Bodley Head, UK 2014)
*''The Sound Book'' (W.W.Norton, US 2014)
*''Now You're Talking'' (UK: Bodley Head, US: Counterpoint press 2018)
Broadcasting
Cox has presented a range of popular science documentaries for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
,
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
and
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
, including Sounds of Science, Aural Architecture, Life’s Soundtrack, Science vs Strad, The Pleasure of Noise, World Musical Instruments, Dragon's Lab, Biomimicry and Save our Sounds. He was co-originator and judge of BBC Radio 4’ ‘So You Want To Be A Scientist?’, a competition to find Britain’s best amateur scientist. He has appeared on
Inside Science
''Inside Science'' is a science programme broadcast on BBC Radio Four. It is normally broadcast from 4:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, and is repeated 9 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. It is normally presented by Adam Rutherford, but may occasionally be ...
.
He is host of th
Inventive Podcast mixing Engineering Fact and Fiction.
Media coverage
Since the 1990s, Cox has been communicating acoustic engineering to the public working on projects worth over £1 million. He was given the
Institute of Acoustics award for promoting acoustics to the public in 2009. He was a finalist at Famelab, a ‘Pop Idol’-style competition to find science communicators for television. He has been involved in projects to produce teaching resources for pupils, the last having reached more than a quarter of a million pupils. He has developed and presented science shows seen by 17,000 pupils, including appearances in London at the Royal Albert Hall, the Purcell Rooms at the South Bank Centre and the Royal Institution. At one stage, he held the
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the world’s largest whoopee cushion, based on a stage prop used at the "Beautiful Music – Horrible Sounds" show.
He set the Guinness World Record for the 'Longest echo' in the
Inchindown oil tanks
The Inchindown oil tanks is a disused underground oil depot in Invergordon, Ross-shire, Scotland. The tanks hold the record for the longest reverberation in any man-made structure, surpassing the Hamilton Mausoleum in 2014.
History
The secr ...
.
He has gained worldwide news coverage for stories such as "Does a duck quack echo?"
and "The Worst Sound in the World".
He has also investigated the World's scariest scream.
In addition, he has appeared in features on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
,
Teachers TV
Teachers TV was a UK government–funded website and former free-to-air distance education television channel which operated from 2005–2011. The website provided video and support materials for those who work in education, including teachers ...
,
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
and
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
channels, and as an expert in news items on a variety of television and radio channels.
References
External links
University of Salford profileBlogRoyal Institute of Great Britain profileCurrent and past senior media fellows EPSRC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Trevor
Living people
Academics of the University of Salford
British acoustical engineers
British audio engineers
British broadcasters
Year of birth missing (living people)