Carl Hopkins

Biography

Carl Hopkins is a Professor in Acoustics and Head of the Acoustics Research Unit at the University of Liverpool. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics and in 2012 was awarded the Tyndall Medal for his achievements and services in the field of acoustics. His research primarily focuses on the measurement and prediction of sound and structure-borne sound (vibration) in the built environment with applications to building, automotive, aeronautic, or marine structures. He has published a sole-author monograph on sound transmission that is referenced in British, European and International Standards. Recent research on using vibrotactile stimuli to facilitate interactive performance between musicians with hearing impairments was shortlisted for the 2013 THE award 'Research project of the year'. Previously, Carl worked at the Building Research Establishment where he was an advisor on acoustics to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Education and Skills.

Qualifications

  • PhD from Heriot-Watt University (2000)
  • BEng with Honours in Electro-Acoustics (First class) from the University of Salford (1992)

Honours & Awards

Tyndall Medal from the UK Institute of Acoustics in 2012. The Tyndall Medal is awarded biannually to a UK acoustician, preferably under the age of 40, for achievement and services in the field of acoustics.

Professional Activities

Professional Societies

  • Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics (FIOA) since 2005, Member (MIOA) since 1996
  • Chartered Engineer (CEng) since 1997
  • Member of the Audio Engineering Society (MAES) since 2008
  • Member of the Acoustical Society of America (MASA) since 2011
  • Member of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (MIIAV) since 2012

Editorships / Editorial Boards

  • Member of the Editorial Board – Journal of Applied Acoustics (since 2009)
  • Member of the Editorial Board – Journal of Building Acoustics (2001 to 2009)
  • Manuscript reviewer – Journal of Applied Acoustics (since 1994)
  • Manuscript reviewer – Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (since 2008)
  • Manuscript reviewer – Journal of Sound and Vibration (since 1998)
  • Manuscript reviewer – Journal, Acta Acustica united with Acustica (since 2009)

 External Roles 

  • Chairman – British Standards (BSi) committee EH/1/6 on Standardization in Building Acoustics, (Since 2009)
  • Convenor – International Standards Organisation (ISO). Three project groups: TC43/SC2/WG18 PG 5, 6, 7 on the measurement of sound insulation for building acoustics applications (Since 2009)
  • Convenor – International Standards Organisation (ISO).  One working group: ISO TC43/SC2/WG17 on the measurement of flanking transmission for building acoustics applications (Since 2009)
  • Committee member – European Committees for Standardisation (CEN). Five working Groups: CEN TC126 WG 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 on the measurement and prediction of sound insulation for building acoustics applications (Since 1994)
  • Committee member – International Standards Organisation (ISO). Two working groups: ISO TC43 SC2 WG 17 and 18 on the measurement of flanking transmission and sound insulation for building acoustics applications (Since 1994)
  • Grant Assessor for Swedish Research Council – Applied Mechanics Committee, (Since 2013)
  • Grant Assessor for Hong Kong Research Grants Council, (Since 2008)
  • Grant Assessor for Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, (Since 2008)
  • Member – Building Acoustics Group, Institute of Acoustics (UK) (Since 2008)

 Teaching Areas

  • Architectural Acoustics
  • Engineering Acoustics
  • Vibroacoustics

Research Interests

  • Engineering acoustics
    • o   sound fields, sound radiation, structure-borne sound, vibration and dynamics, vibro-acoustics, statistical energy analysis, finite element methods, boundary element methods
  • Architectural acoustics
    • o   room acoustics, building acoustics, structure-borne sound transmission in buildings, sound fields in rooms

Selected Publications

  1. Robinson M and Hopkins C (2014) Prediction of maximum time-weighted sound and vibration levels using Transient Statistical Energy Analysis. Part 1: Theory and numerical implementation. Acta Acustica united with Acustica 100, 46-56. Part 2: Experimental validation. Acta Acustica united with Acustica 100, 57-66.
  2. Robinson M and Hopkins C (2014) Signal processing errors associated with the measurement of maximum sound pressure levels. Applied Acoustics 77, 11-19.
  3. Yin J and Hopkins C (2013) Prediction of high-frequency vibration transmission across coupled, periodic ribbed plates by incorporating tunnelling mechanisms. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 133(4), 2069-2081.
  4. Hopkins C and Robinson M (2013) On the evaluation of decay curves to determine structural reverberation times for building elements. Acta Acustica united with Acustica 99, 226-244.
  5. Hopkins C (2011) On the efficacy of spatial sampling using manual scanning paths to determine the spatial average sound pressure level in rooms. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 129(5), 3027-3034.
  6. Hopkins C and Lam Y (2009) Sound fields near building facades – comparison of finite and semi-infinite reflectors on a rigid ground plane. Applied Acoustics 70(2), 300-308.
  7. Hopkins C (2007) Sound Insulation. Elsevier / Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-6526-1. 622 pages.
  8. Hopkins C and Turner P (2005) Field measurement of airborne sound insulation between rooms with non-diffuse sound fields at low frequencies. Applied Acoustics 66, 1339-1382.
  9. Hopkins C (2003) Vibration transmission between coupled plates using finite element methods and statistical energy analysis. Part 1: Comparison of measured and predicted data for masonry walls with and without apertures. Applied Acoustics 64(10), 955-973. Part 2: The effect of window apertures in masonry flanking walls. Applied Acoustics 64(10), 975-997.
  10. Hopkins C (2002) Statistical energy analysis of coupled plate systems with low modal density and low modal overlap. Journal of Sound and Vibration 251(2), 193-214.