Sebastian Oberst

A/Prof Sebastian Oberst is an Associate Professor and Acting Director of the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He holds positions in the School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, coordinating the 'Embedded Mechatronic Systems' course. His research focuses on biogenic dynamics, bioacoustics, nonlinear dynamics, and acoustic metamaterials, with applications in vibration control, structural health monitoring, and termite communication mechanisms.

Education: PhD in Mechanical Engineering (UNSW, 2011). Professional roles include Chief Investigator on multiple ARC-funded projects, including 'Unlocking the mechanisms of vibro-acoustic communication in termites' (2024-2028) and 'Meta-Lattice Composites for Satellite Survivability' (2022-2025). He has received prestigious awards such as the EASD Junior Research Prize (2017) and the JSPS Fellowship (2016).

Research interests span bioacoustics, metamaterials, and nonlinear dynamics. Notable contributions include studies on termite vibrational communication, acoustic radiation force manipulation, and structural dynamics modeling. He has supervised multiple PhD theses on topics ranging from laser Doppler vibrometry to uncertainty analysis in mechanical systems.

Service roles include editorial positions in journals like Frontiers in Acoustics and PeerJ - Life and Environment, and chair roles in international conferences such as the Asia-Pacific Vibration Conference (2019). His work bridges fundamental research and industrial applications, advancing sustainable vibration control and acoustic engineering.