About

My role is Programme Lead for the Acoustics provision here at the University of Derby as well as Senior Lecturer predominately working on the Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering degree. I teach across all levels of study and I thrive on finding ways to make complex information easy to follow.

For me, acoustics impacts everyday experiences, from communication between people to how we listen to musical events which makes it a fascinating area of study. I have a particular passion for acoustics in buildings which developed from my interest in how musical instruments and sound systems interact with spaces and the importance of the room to the listener's experience.

My professional interests and research have led to the study of the binaural reproduction of room acoustics. The auralisation tool known as WHAM is an example of a research outcome that utilises webcam head tracking to present spatial sound via binaural reproduction using headphones.

Teaching responsibilities

Programme Leader 

• IOA Diploma in Acoustics and Noise Control
• MSc Applied Acoustics

Lecturer 

• BSc Sound and Light and Live Event Engineering
• BSc/BEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Institute of Acoustics Diploma
• Institute of Acoustics Certificate of Competency

Module Leader

• Foundation Electrical and Electronic Principles
• Audio Technology
• Electroacoustics
• General Principles of Acoustics
• Building Acoustics
• Project

Module Tutor

• Electrical Circuits and Devices

Research interests

Previous projects have included studies into classroom acoustics and the application of regulations on further and higher education establishments. My current research in this area focuses on the impact of speech intelligibility when using lecture capture software.

I am currently studying towards a PhD in Sound Reproduction in Acoustically Small Rooms. This work brings together all my previous experience and supports the content I deliver as part of my teaching responsibilities.

Membership of professional bodies

• Institute of Acoustics
• Higher Education Academy

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Music Technology and Audio System Design
• PGCE in Post Compulsory Education
• IOA Diploma in Acoustics and Noise Control
• MSc Applied Acoustics

Recent conferences

• M.Dring, B. Wiggins, Browser-Based Webcam Head-Tracked Ambisonics, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), Bologna, Italy, 2023
• M. Dring, B. Wiggins, WHAM: To Asymmetry and Beyond!, Proc. Institute of Acoustics - Conference on Reproduced Sound, Bristol, UK. November 2021
• M. Dring, B. Wiggins, WHAM: Webcam Head-tracked Ambisonics, Proc. Institute of Acoustics - Conference on Reproduced Sound, Online. November 2020
• M. Dring, B. Wiggins, THE TRANSPARENCY OF BINAURAL AURALISATION USING VERY HIGH ORDER CIRCULAR HARMONICS, Proc. Institute of Acoustics - Conference on Reproduced Sound, Bristol, UK. November 2019
• M. Dring; C. Middlicott; B. Wiggins; Vilkaitis, A. Modelling the Performance of Speaker Arrays in Domestic Listening Environments. Proc. Institute of Acoustics - Conference on Reproduced Sound, Nottingham, UK. November 2017
• Vilkaitis, A; M. Dring; C. Middlicott; B. Wiggins; A.J. Hill. Room Acoustics and Virtual Reality: An implementation of auralisation and 360-degree image techniques to create virtual representations of spaces. Proc. Institute of Acoustics - Conference on Reproduced Sound, Southampton, UK. November 2016

Recent publications

Research publications can be located on my ResearchGate profile.

Courses

• Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering BSc (Hons)