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Hi, I am Bogdan

Bogdan Bacila

PhD, BSc
Research Fellow at University of Southampton.

Nothing is impossible…Or at least that’s what I keep thinking every time I start a new project - and that is how I always end up with quite a few projects on my plate… - But sometimes, one crazy project comes to life. Like that time I decided to build a guitar from scratch, without having any experience in guitar building or woodworking, in a student accommodation room, with tools and materials sourced only from local hardware stores. Or the time I said “Oh yeah I’ll start a PhD, what can go wrong?…”

Problem Solving
Communication
Adaptability
Efficient Working
Teamwork
Leadership

Experience

1
Research Fellow
Institute of Sound and Vibration Research

Aug - 2023 - Present, Southampton, Uk

The Institute of Sound and Vibration Research is a world renowned research centre dedicated to research, consultancy and education in all aspects of sound and vibration. We cover topics from fundamental theoretical research to many areas that directly impact on human health and wellbeing. With a 60 year history in delivering high impact research, client focussed consultancy and several dedicated undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, we offer a vibrant environment with nationally leading facilities.

Responsibilities:
  • Conduct research in the area of subjective perception of spatial audio in an automotive context.
Research Assistant
Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory

Jan 2022 - Jul 2022, Huddersfield, Uk

APL specialises in the study of auditory perception and its practical applications in audio engineering and music technology. They conduct fundamental psychoacoustic research to provide theoretical solutions for audio engineering problems, and also develop intelligent and perceptually motivated algorithms and user-interfaces for next-generation audio and music technology applications.

Responsibilities:
  • Develop and implement a head tracking system to be used with the a newly developed audio plugin. (More details here)
  • Responsibilities included developing both the hardware head tracker and software OSC bridge.
2
3
Fraunhofer IIS

Aug 2016 - Dec 2019, Erlangen, Germany

Fraunhofer IIS, based in Erlangen, Germany, is the largest institute within Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe’s leading application-oriented research organization. Their systems and tools help create, transmit and provide excellent audio and video content as well as enable high-quality real-time communication

Part-time Quality Assurance Engineer

Dec 2018 - Dec 2019

  • Testing of the MPEG-H Authoring Plugin.
  • Develop and implement automatic testing procedures for the plugin.
  • Manual testing for each platform and DAW.
  • General development of the plugin.
Intern

Aug 2016 - Aug 2017

  • Manual Testing of Cingo Composer plugin
  • Build and deployment of the plugin for all the platforms and DAWs
  • Development of the plugin’s GUI.

Projects

APL Head Tracker
APL Head Tracker
Developer January 2022 - Jul 2022

Inexpensive open-source head tracker for audio applications.

professional
Star
APL OSC Bridge - *public release coming soon*
APL OSC Bridge - *public release coming soon*
Developer February 2022 - Jul 2022

OSC Bridge for the APL head tracker.

professional
DIY guitar
DIY guitar
Builder Aug - Oct 2020

Building an entire guitar from scratch with limited tools and space using only materials found in local hardware stores.

diy guitar hobby woodworking
Details
DIY u-Bass
DIY u-Bass
Builder Apr - May 2021

Building a tiny u-bass out of the leftover materials from the previous guitar build.

diy guitar hobby woodworking bass
Details
Open Pickup Winder
Open Pickup Winder
Developer/Builder Jul 2021 - present

Open-source guitar pickup winder

diy hobby pickup pickup-research guitar
Details
Archery Timing System
Archery Timing System
Developer/Builder Jan 20220 - May 2023

Visual timing system used for Archery competitions.

diy hobby archery
Details

Skills

Python

We all know it. You need something then and there and you’ve got to get it done. Python will always save the situation. From complex audio analysis, to statistics, plots, a quick and dirty head-tracker OSC bridge? There will always be a library for it.

3D Modelling and printing

This must be hands down one of the most valuable skills acquired over the last 6 years. Having a 3D printer and the skills to model parts specifically for the task at hand unlocked parts of my imagination which I never I knew I had.

Max MSP

Again, whether you need a quick prototype or a complex signal precessing framework, you can do it in Max. All of the listening tests carried out during my PhD were implemeted in Max. This included a good user interface, but more importantly, it was able to handle head-tracked audio bianuralised in real time. It honestly felt like cheating.

Vs Code

Unless you have mad VIM skills, VS Code will always be there to save the day. Cross-platform and open-source, there will be a plugin for everything one would need. I more or less do everything nowadays in this editor. Pair it with Foam (plugin for markdown editing) and Git and you get a very cool note repository with pretty cool built-in auto-generated mind maps. Put a LaTeX plugin and you can write your PhD thesis in there. Python? - Got it covered!. Want a quick and easy static website? - Pair it with HUGO and you’re up and running in no time!

Git

If anyone tells you that they master Git… well, they might be lying. No really, you always think that you’ve got the sitation under control until it’s not and then you panic - What if I’ve just deleted the whole repo? - Luckily, you haven’t, and that’s because you were using Git in the first place. Absolutely all my work (thesis, notes, scripts, etc.) gets stored in Git nowadays, it really seems to be the most secure place on the planet.

Matlab

One of the foundation stones in signal processing and audio analysis. Tried and tested, it will never fail you. I mean apart from the times you forget that the index is starting from 1…

R

If all you’re after is statistics done crazy fast… this might just be it. (Also, if you don’t use it everyday, you will always have to go back and google how to intialise an array - but then again that’s all prgramming is about)

C++

We all started here: Once someone knows the absolute basics of programming in a strict language, all the other languages are just slightly different and less complex variations of it. Also, let’s make things clear here: I’m not a C++ programmer, not in the slightest. I’m a C++ programming language user.

Google

Lol - well this is not necessarily a joke entry, but if there’s something I need to learn, there’s only one way to do it - Just Google that! Maybe this is indeed the most valuable skill, the ability to start from nothing and after some time to have learned how to use a new tool for the purposes of the project at hand.

Education

University of Huddersfield
2018 - 2023
Ph.D in Psychoacoustics
Publications
University of Huddersfield
2014-2018
B.Sc.(Hons) in Music Technology and Audio Systems
First Class: 77 out of 100
HCC National College
2010-2014
Mathematics and informatics
Romanian Baccalaureate: 9.23 out of 10

Recent Posts

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Guitar Pickup Research

Initial thoughts about guitar pickups Since their conception, there was not much progress in the development of guitar pickups. Of course, efforts have been made, and we now have various methods of construction, for instance, the Fishman Fluence use a PCB “winding core” or the Lace Alumatone which uses an entirely different paradigm. There are, however, a few questions left unanswered. What does actually matter for the players, the people who use them on a daily basis?

May 9, 2023 Read
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Open-source Guitar Pickup Winder [WIP]

Description This project aims to develop an open-source guitar pickup winder which could be build relatively easily, using a set of 3D printed mounting hardware. The physical structure is built out of 2020 aluminium extrusion which is readily available online since it’s extensively used for DIY 3D printers. One may be able to source all the pieces from offcuts and scarps. Design requirements A set on initial requirements for the pickup winder are as follows:

March 4, 2023 Read
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Building a U-bass from leftover wood

In my previous post, I showed how I managed to build an entire guitar from scratch, using very few resources, and only using materials sourced from local hardware stores. Sometimes you miscalculate how much wood you need for such a build, or you just buy an extra piece just in case anything goes wrong. Things usually do go wrong, but during the previous build it was all smooth sailing (yay!). And I’m now left with an extra piece of beech, which I can’t store indefinitely in my student accommodation room.

February 28, 2023 Read