معرفی
Sandra Pauletto is a Professor in Media Technology specializing in Media Production and a Docent in Sound and Music Computing at the Division of Media Technology and Interaction Design (MID), School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She joined KTH in 2019 after positions at the University of York and University of Huddersfield in the UK. Her work bridges the gap between artistic sound practices and technological innovation in the field of sonic interaction design.
Pauletto holds a Physics degree (MPhys(Hons)) from Manchester and a Music degree in Classical Guitar from Conservatorio "G.Tartini" in Trieste, Italy. She completed her MSc and PhD in Music Technology at the University of York, UK, where her doctoral thesis focused on "Interactive non-speech auditory display of multivariate data." Her interdisciplinary background informs her approach to sound and media research.
Her primary research interests focus on sound and music computing, media production, sound design, sonic interaction design, and sonification. She investigates how sound communicates both functional information (e.g., a car door shutting) and aesthetic qualities (e.g., the type of car) in interactive contexts. Her current projects apply these principles to sustainability challenges like energy consumption monitoring and environmental awareness, as well as health communication applications. She has developed methods that combine historical sound design practices with contemporary computing techniques to create more effective sonic interfaces.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward applying sound design to address societal challenges, particularly through projects like SonicFunc (developing sound design methods for everyday life) and SoniHED (Sonification of Health and Environmental Data). Her work increasingly incorporates interdisciplinary approaches, collaborating with experts in astronomy, environmental science, and public health to develop effective sonic interfaces for complex data.
She has received funding for significant research projects including:
- The SonicFunc project (Principal Investigator), developing new sound design methods for the digital society
- The SCORe Project (Principal Investigator), using sonification to communicate public health risk data
- SoniHED: Conference on Sonification of Health and Environmental Data (funded by Wellcome Trust)
- Chronic health issues of adolescents project (funded by Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders)
As an educator and mentor, Pauletto has served as Principal Supervisor for 5 completed PhD students and is currently Associate Supervisor for 1 PhD student. She has extensive teaching experience across all academic levels and has held management roles including Deputy Head of the MID Division at KTH and Programme Director for the MA/MSc in Postproduction with specialisation in Sound Design. She has also been a member of the Peer Review College for the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and an expert reviewer for EU FP7 and H2020 programmes.
She leads the SonicFunc research group which investigates sound function, aesthetics, and interaction in media production to create effective sonic interaction design for everyday life. Her team includes postdoctoral researchers like Rod Selfridge and PhD students working on projects related to sustainability, health communication, and innovative sound design methodologies. She has also organized multiple conferences including the SoniHED conference series and guest edited special journal issues on data sonification and sound design.
