Garth Paine

Garth Paine is a Professor of Digital Sound and Interactive Media in the School of Arts, Media and Engineering and Professor of Composition in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University. He is also affiliated with the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Humanities for the Environment Global Network, and serves as a Senior Global Futures Scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

Dr. Paine earned his Ph.D. from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in 2003, with a dissertation titled "Unencumbered Human Movement in Interactive Immersive Environments." He also holds a Graduate Certificate in IT (Software Engineering) from Swinburne University of Technology (2002) and a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Flute) from the Conservatorium of Tasmania, University of Tasmania (1985).

Professor Paine's research centers on acoustic ecology and the exploration of sound as our lived context, including the application of VR in health. He crosses art-science boundaries with his community-embedded work on environmental listening and creative place-making. His passion for sound as an exhibitable object has given rise to interactive environments where the sonic landscape is generated through gesture, presence, and behavior. He co-directs the Acoustic Ecology Lab (AELab@ASU) with Professor Sabine Feisst, which he established in 2016. His current research includes the Listen(n) Project, an acoustic ecology initiative focusing on field recording and community building. Dr. Paine's work spans from composing musical works from field recordings to developing interactive environments using real-time video tracking and bio-sensing.

Dr. Paine's publications and creative works demonstrate a consistent focus on the intersection of sound, technology, and environmental awareness. His research spans acoustic ecology, interactive performance systems, new musical instrument design, and environmental sound studies. A recurring theme across his work is the exploration of how sound can create meaningful connections between humans and their environments, particularly through innovative technological approaches. His "Future Perfect" project explores the seam between virtual reality as a documentation format for environmental research and the notion that 'nature' as we know it may only exist in virtual reality archives.

Among his notable achievements are:

• Green Room Award for Outstanding Creativity, for Escape Velocity (Company in Space)
• Finalist for the Best new Musical Score for Dance, 2014
• Keynote speaker at NIME2016 (International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression)
• Editorial Board Member, Organised Sound Journal, Cambridge University Press

Professor Paine has directed significant research projects including the Taxonomy of Interfaces/Instruments for Electronic Music performance (TIEM) with McGill University and the Electronic Music Foundation, resulting in an online database of current practice. He has also served as interim-director (2012-13) and associate director (2013-14) of the School of Arts, Media and Engineering, and as undergraduate chair for the Digital Culture program (2011-2014). His artistic research residency at IRCAM (Centre Pompidou) in Paris focused on developing interactive crowd mapping using smart phone beacons and interactive spatialization techniques for his "Future Perfect" project.

At Arizona State University, Dr. Paine co-directs the Acoustic Ecology Lab (AELab@ASU), which focuses on community-based acoustic ecology projects, field recording, and environmental sound studies. The lab serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research connecting music, environmental science, and digital media. His work has been performed internationally across Australia, Europe, Japan, USA, South America, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Korea, Macedonia, and the UK, demonstrating the global impact of his research and artistic practice.