The newly instituted Master of Science in Audio Engineering degree conducted the program’s inaugural hooding ceremony on Thursday, August 9. Owen Bolig, Morgan Matyjevich and Paul Mayo were presented with their Master’s hoods by Drs. Wesley Bulla and Eric Tarr.
Bolig’s thesis, “The Effects of Multiple Parameters in Equalizer Processors on Decision-Making,” studied how equipment design influences audio engineer decision making. Bolig designed and coded his own software equalizers for use in the study. Matyjevich’s thesis, “Listener Detection and Categorization of Microtiming Deviation Around the Central Musical Pulse,” studied how time shifts in musical instruments affect listeners sense of “groove.” Based on the famous Muscle Shoals back-beat rhythm, she altered the instruments in a segment of Wilson Picket’s “Mustang Sally” to see how listeners would react.
Mayo’s thesis, “A Perceptual Comparison Of ‘Black Box’ Modeling Algorithms for Non-Linear Audio Systems,” investigated software modeling of audio hardware. Bolig and Matyjevich are pursuing careers in R&D and production respectively while Mayo was awarded a Ph.D. research assistantship at University of Maryland’s Hearing Science program for Fall 2018.
The first graduate program housed in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, the Master of Science in Audio Engineering is designed to prepare individuals for advanced professional work in sound recording, music production, acoustics and signal processing and for continued academic study in a doctoral degree program. After two years of development, the degree’s first cohort enrolled in the Fall 2016 semester, and expects to double the number of students in Fall 2018.
Featured Photo: (Back Row L to R) Mr. Michael Janas, Dr. Eric Tarr, Dr. Wesley Bulla, Dr. Doyuen Ko and Dean Doug Howard; (Front Row L to R) Paul Mayo, Owen Bolig and Morgan Matyjevich
