The conference will be held over two days, with sessions organised by the Specialist Groups, and including the Rayleigh Medal 2026 Keynote Lecture by Prof John Stuart Bolton. An exhibition will form an integral part of the conference, providing easy networking access to all attendees. You are encouraged to submit an abstract maximum 250 words on any of the following or related topics, please indicate which group session it is intended for and whether you prefer oral or poster presentation.

Buildings Acoustics – Sound insulation, design, measurement, sound transmission in buildings; but with greater consideration on papers covering Noise and health in buildings, Innovative sustainable building design, Internal soundscaping, DfMA or Modular Sound Insulation, Building movement noise and vibration.

• Environmental Sound – Changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and associated guidance, assessing environmental noise impacts externally and internally, airport noise management, AI in environmental noise assessment and research.
• Measurement and Instrumentation – Measuring STIPA. Reverberation time and its application, Using sound cameras in practice, Applications and limitations, Findings from the one-day meeting on ground borne vibration, measurement and instrumentationn.
• Musical Acoustics – Instruments, Performers, and Performance Spaces. Topics related to hearing, instruments, machine learning, simulation, architecture and performance science.
• Noise and Vibration Engineering – Engineering noise and vibration control, assessment of workplace noise and vibration, low noise design, noise source mechanisms, measurement methods for source identification, and noise and vibration prediction methods.
• Physical Acoustics – Theoretical acoustics. Guided waves in fluids and solids. Ultrasonic imaging. Smart acoustic materials, metamaterials and phononic crystals. Nonlinear acoustics and vibration phenomena. New physical principles for acoustic sensing. Transducer physics and acousto-optics. Modelling and simulation for acoustics and vibration. Thermoacoustics and acoustoelastic effects. Structural vibration and vibroacoustic transmission. Underwater acoustics including cavitation and bubble dynamics. Biomedical acoustics.
• Regulation, Governance and Guidance – Noise regulation (EHOs, planners, Environment Agency, HSE and other regulators), noise enforcement (case studies, enforcement notices, nuisance and prosecutions), noise control best practice, and any developments in national level guidance and regulation.
• Sound, Noise and Health – Human health (non-auditory) effects associated with noise exposure, non-acoustic factors and soundscapes. Health assessments in EIA/HIAs. Design of and results from socio-acoustic surveys, experimental and epidemiological studies.
  Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to protect and improve health and health related quality of life (HRQoL). Translating evidence into regulation and guidance.
• Speech and Hearing – Speech, (Human or Animal) Hearing or Bio-Acoustics, Aural Diversity.
• Early Careers Group – Novel implementation of sound, Noise at Work, Environmental Acoustics, Building Acoustics, British / International Standards, Industrial Noise control.
• Renewable Energy Advisory Group – Air Source Heat Pumps – and the use of the new guidance. BESS and Solar – implementation of new guidance Wind Turbines – the new ETSU-R-97, and implementation of a new IOAGPG. Other emerging renewable energy issues.

Please include title, author(s) and affiliations(s) and submit your abstract by email to sheema.ali@ioa.org.uk by Tuesday 05 May 2026. Authors will be notified of acceptance in May 2026.

Full papers will be required by Monday 17 August 2026. All oral and poster presenters will be invited to submit a paper for the proceedings.

IOA Acoustics 2026 Call for Papers

The post Acoustics 2026 – Call for papers appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

The Noise Network Plus are pleased to be sponsoring the Micro-Acoustics and Noise Symposium hosted by Northumbria University. This symposium aims to explore the latest advances in key areas of acoustics, sensors, acoustofluidics, ultrasonics, vibration, noise. It also aims to discuss the grand noise challenges in the UK, with a focus on potential opportunities and solutions facilitated by micro-acoustic sensors/actuators and other innovative technologies. The applications will be focused on engineering, healthcare, and sustainability, with participants and audience from academics, researchers, students, industry and other stakeholders. Sessions will include keynote talks, technical presentations and demonstrations, and poster sessions, with great opportunities for networking and collaboration, as well as practical experience.

For more details and to register please see the event page.

The post NNP sponsors Micro-Acoustics and Noise Symposium appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

The Noise Network Plus General Assembly took place in Manchester on Tuesday 31 March 2026.

This was a key opportunity for members to help shape the Network’s missions and future delivery, building on the insights gathered through our extensive horizon scanning exercise.

If you are not a member already, please sign up here via our mailing list and join us!

What to Expect

The General Assembly will bring Network members together to:

• Share an update on progress to date, including announcements of projects funded through the first Network call
• Review the findings of our collective horizon scanning exercise
• Discuss the development of the Network’s missions and agree next steps

Event Details

Date: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Time: 10:00–16:00
(Followed by a social gathering at 17:00)

Venue:
INNSiDE Manchester Hotel
1 First Street
Manchester
M15 4RP

Registration Closed

In-person places are limited and registration will close once capacity is reached.

Please register by Friday 13 March 2026 via the link below:

Noise Network Plus General Assembly – Fill in form

Travel Grants

Early career researchers can apply for travel support through the Noise Network Plus Travel Grant

Travel Directions – Google Maps

Distance from Piccadilly Railway Station, the hotel is located 0.8 miles from Piccadilly Mainline Railway Station approximately 18 minute walk or 5 minutes by car – Piccadilly Station, Manchester to 1 First St, Manchester M15 4RP – Google Maps

Car Parking – INNSiDE Manchester Melia Hotel collaborates with the Q-Park First Street car park. Therefore, all INNSiDE Manchester Melia Hotel guests can enjoy a 25% discount in this car park –  Activity Q-Park at INNSiDE Manchester | Melia.com 

The postcode is M15 4FN and there are 700 spaces including 28 disabled spaces. The entrance height is 2.3m.

They will require any users of the car park to pre-book with the following details;
Car Park – First Street

The post Noise Network Plus General Assembly appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

Register here

This session will focus on the Sustainable Aviation Noise Roadmap, and what Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is doing to facilitate a positive relationship with our local airport communities on noise through community engagement.

The Sustainable Aviation Noise Roadmap sets out the collective efforts of the UK’s aviation industry to minimise noise impacts, including:

• Optimising flight paths
• Managing descent profiles
• Sharing operational best practice
• Supporting the continued development of new technology so that noise gains can continue in the long term

It also highlights the vital role that mitigations on the ground will play to support local communities, and the ongoing importance of managing factors outside of industry’s control — not least the growth of housing under flight paths.

At Manchester Airports Group, our three airports each have very different and unique operational characteristics. How we facilitate effective communication and maintain positive relationships with our local communities on noise and airport operations is tailored specifically to each airport:

• Manchester Airport
• London Stansted Airport
• East Midlands Airport

Meet the Speakers

Danielle Marvin

Flight Evaluation Advisor, Manchester Airports Group

Danielle monitors and reports on noise performance across all three MAG airports and supports community engagement on noise. She is Chair of the Sustainable Aviation Quieter Group, leading development of the UK aviation industry’s position on aircraft noise.

Previously, she worked at Airbus in Environmental Marketing and contributed to environmental certification standards through working groups at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Sue Thomas

Head of Noise and Community Engagement Strategy, Manchester Airports Group

Sue leads noise management and community engagement strategy across MAG’s three airports.

Her previous experience includes serving as Noise Lead for the Thames Tideway and managing the Noise & Health workstream at Heathrow Airport during the third runway project (pre-2020).

Since joining MAG in January 2025, Sue has focused on balancing operational needs with long-term community wellbeing.

Who Should Attend?

• Aviation and airport professionals
• Environmental and sustainability specialists
• Community engagement practitioners
• Local authority representatives
• Policy and regulatory stakeholders
• Members of the Noise Network Plus and others with a professional or research interest in noise

Secure your place to gain insight into how industry collaboration and community engagement are shaping the future of aviation noise management.

Register here

The post Webinar: Sustainable Aviation Noise Roadmap appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

Join us for the Inaugural Professorial Lecture of Professor Antonio Torija Martinez

This lecture will take you on Antonio’s journey to becoming a leading voice in acoustics and why noise pollution matters more than we think. Noise isn’t just an annoyance—it is a frequently neglected pollutant with profound impacts on health, society, and the environment.

We are about to experience the biggest shift in soundscapes in living memory, driven by the transition to electric vehicles and the decarbonisation of heating and cooling. These changes bring new noise challenges—but also exciting opportunities to create healthier, more sustainable environments. Antonio will share how his research puts people at the heart of decision-making, using an innovative perception-driven approach to embed noise solutions into engineering design and policy.

This is an outstanding opportunity to hear directly from one of the world-leading experts in acoustics about how his research is transforming the way noise is managed, creating healthier, more sustainable soundscapes for the future.

Professor Antonio Torija Martinez – Biography

Prof. Antonio J. Torija Martinez is a world-leading expert in environmental acoustics and pioneer of Perception-Driven Engineering, placing human noise perception at the centre of design for sustainable mobility and decarbonisation. His expertise has earned him international recognition and invitations such as providing evidence to the UK House of Lords on noise and health. He has led major EU, UKRI, and industry-funded projects, following a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, and received multiple awards for excellence in acoustics. Widely published in top journals including Nature and Scientific Reports, he contributes to key international groups on aircraft and UAS noise (NASA, NATO, ISO, IEA). He serves as the UK’s Responsible National Expert on heat pump acoustics and chairs the Quiet Drones international conference series, being recognised as the world’s most influential author on drone noise.

The post Lecture: Engineering a Quieter Future appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

On 7th October 2025, several members of the Noise Network Plus Executive Board attended the launch of the UK Acoustics Sound Economics Report 2025 at Prince Philip House, London. The event was organised by The UK Acoustics Network Plus (UKAN+) and featured contributions from Professors Kirill Horoshenkov and Richard Craster, John Lincoln, Joanna Watts, and Abigail Bristow. We are proud to have contributed to producing the report, together with UKAN+, the Institute of Acoustics and the Association of Noise Consultants (ANC). Many thanks to everyone involved.

This report provides evidence of the growing economic and societal importance of acoustics as an enabling technology that underpins many sectors central to the UK’s prosperity, including healthcare, defence, energy, and construction and the built environment. In 2025, the UK acoustics industry produced goods and services worth £5.2 billion and employed 20,000 people across over 780 companies.

The report provides five recommendations:
1. Support a leadership body to convene industry, government and academia to spread awareness of industrial demand and advances in acoustics.
2. Work with the Department for Business and Trade to increase international awareness of UK acoustics capability as a national asset.
3. Conduct a review of UK acoustics capital infrastructure and access to key resources vital for expansion, e.g., in AI and machine learning.
4. Develop stronger collaboration between the professional bodies to which acoustics professionals affiliate, e.g., Institute of Acoustics, Institute of Physics, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Audio Engineering Society, to ensure that acoustics is entrenched in design.
5. Provide broader opportunities for up-skilling of the acoustics workforce across all career stages and education levels.

You can read the report in full here: https://lnkd.in/e8GRqiDV.
The original 2019 report is available here: https://lnkd.in/eQV5YF2U.

The post Launch of UK Acoustics Sound Economics Report 2025 appeared first on Noise Network Plus.

The Noise Network⁺ launched at Prince Philip House with over 100 people joining in person and online to discuss the challenges around noise pollution and how the network can come together to help solve some of them.

The post Noise Network Plus Launch at Prince Philip House appeared first on Noise Network Plus.