John McGowan

Dr. John McGowan is a Lecturer at the School of Computing Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University. His work bridges Music Therapy, Interaction Design, and Assistive Technologies for autistic individuals.

Research Focus: Development of the CymaSense application—a real-time 3D audio-visual tool for augmenting music therapy sessions. This research explores how interactive cymatics (sound visualization) can improve communication and social interaction for people on the autism spectrum.

Research Trends: His publications emphasize multi-sensory environments, therapeutic software systems, and user-centered design for neurodiverse populations. Recent work addresses stress triggers in autistic adults using augmented reality and mobile technologies.

Supervision: Co-supervised PhD projects on topics including auditory selective attention in mixed reality and adaptive sound design for video games.

Grants: Secured funding from Edinburgh Napier University and Arts & Humanities Research Council (Audio Mostly 2023 conference).

• £5,000 grant (AHRC) for embodied music interaction research

Labs: Affiliated with the Centre for Interaction Design, contributing to interdisciplinary projects in health technology and creative arts.