Christian Ritz

Professor Christian Ritz serves as Director of SMART and Professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences at the University of Wollongong. He has held his professorship since 2017 and served as Associate Dean (Research) in 2022 and Associate Dean (International) from 2016-2021.

Professor Ritz's research focuses on signal processing for speech, audio, acoustics and visual information. His current projects include microphone array signal processing for enhancing sound recorded in classrooms, sound scene classification for dementia care environments, spatial audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality, and undersea surveillance. His work spans multiple technical domains including signal processing, audio engineering, computer vision, and communications engineering.

His recent publication trends show a strong focus on neural network applications for audio processing, particularly for classroom monitoring and spatial audio reproduction. His work integrates deep learning with traditional signal processing techniques to address challenges in spatial audio synthesis, room impulse response generation, and directional audio reproduction. He has also contributed to applications in mining automation, public safety surveillance, and positioning systems.

Professor Ritz is a member of the Centre for Signal and Information Processing (CSIP), part of the Signals, Information and Communications Research Institute (SICOM) at the University of Wollongong. His research is funded by the ARC, overseas research institutes, and defense organizations.

His grant portfolio is extensive, including projects such as AI/IoT-powered Airborne System for Monitoring Water Level and Tidal Floods, Multi-Modal Satellite-based Vessel Surveillance, Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program, Smart Eye: Airborne and AI-Driven Assessment Solution of Sugarcane, and numerous projects related to spatial audio and underwater surveillance. He has secured funding from diverse sources including the Australian Research Council, defense organizations, and international collaborations.

Professor Ritz maintains an active research laboratory environment focused on signal and information processing. His work spans multiple application domains from classroom monitoring to underwater mine detection, with strong connections to both academic and industry partners. His research group appears to focus on practical applications of signal processing techniques to solve real-world problems across various domains.