Interdisciplinary Sonification

The project is using a range of methodology to achieve this overaching goal. This includes:

• Working with internal and external partners from a variety of disciplines to design and develop sonification for applications covering research and artistic ouputs.

• Developing and delivering sonification workshops for use in primary schools.

• Working with Orbyts to conduct sonification-based research projects in secondary schools.

• Conducting ethnographic and self-reflective methods to explore and understand how we are working as an interdisciplinary team both internally and with our external partners. The goal is to identify where any barriers are forming when wokring across disciplines and how to overcome these. 

In September 2021 and 2022 I chaired workshops, "Audio Universe" and "Audio Universe 2", along with Anita Zanella, on the topic of sonification of astronomical data. These meetings brought together experts in sound design, sound perception, science communication and accessibility with astronomers interested in using sonification. We reviewed the current attempts to use sonification in astronomy and discussed how we could draw on the expertise in sound design/perception to make progress. A special set of publications in Nature Astronomy have come from a result of this collaboration, including meeting report, a review, a Q&A on accessibility in astronomy and a perspective/suggestions from the sound expert community. These workshops led to multiple new astronomy sonification projects, a more rigorous approach to evaluation and publishing of astronomy sonification projects. 

You can see an evolving collection of sonification projects on: https://sonification.design/ and searching for 'astronomy'. You are encouraged to add your own projects.

The video below includes reflections from those who attended the 2022 Audible Universe workshop.