AES News

The AES Milan Convention, being held 23–26 May at the NH Hotel Milano Congress Centre in Milan, Italy, will feature Malcolm Hawksford – Emeritus Professor within the School of Computing Science and Electronic Engineering at Essex University, Colchester, and a recent AES Gold Medal Winner – as presenter of the 38th Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture, speaking on the topic “Understanding High Quality Audio – A Personal Journey.” Taking place on Thursday, 24 May at 6:30pm, The Heyser Lecture is part of the 144th Audio Engineering Society International Convention Special Events schedule, open to all convention attendees. Register now for best pricing on All Access badges through 1 May, or opt for a complimentary Exhibits-Plus badge by using the code AES144NOW at checkout.

Established in 1999 by the AES Technical Council and the Board of Governors in conjunction with the Richard Heyser Scholarship fund, the Heyser Lecture series, featured at each AES Convention, brings eminent individuals in audio engineering and related fields to speak on a relevant topic of choice. Hawksford’s presentation at the AES Milan Convention will offer insight on his longstanding career of research and innovation. The abstract for his lecture, “Understanding High Quality Audio – A Personal Journey,” is as follows:

Audio engineering is bound by theoretical principles that ultimately establish what can be achieved in practical terms. The mapping of theory into a practical realization is inevitably moderated by system-specific approximations and increasing entropy as information travels through an audio system. While the theory may be deceptively simple, the means of implementation can embrace diverse concepts and ingenious design techniques. My career as an academic and researcher mirrors this diversity, which has witnessed remarkable transformations as the industry has adapted from analogue to digital (and back again!). Highly talented students worked with me on research projects principally motivated by an underlying ambition to extend the horizons of sound reproduction. Alongside personal reflections about factors critical to high-quality sound reproduction, my lecture will concentrate on important circuit and system factors, both analogue and digital. A new means of down-sample rate conversion will be demonstrated too.   

On behalf of the AES, Francis Ramsey stated, “As chair of the Technical Council, I am delighted that Malcolm has agreed to speak in Milan. His recent AES Gold Medal is a testament to his outstanding career in audio research and teaching, and the engineering of high-audio quality is one of his favourite topics. Everyone has something to learn here.”

Malcolm O. J. Hawksford was educated at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, where he received his B.Sc. with first-class honors in 1968, Ph.D. in 1972 and D.Sc. in 2008. He is now Emeritus Professor within the School of Computing Science and Electronic Engineering at Essex University, Colchester, UK. Early research embraced delta- and sigma-delta modulation (SDM) applied to color TV coding that, under the award of a BBC Research Scholarship, led to a method of luminance and chrominance multiplexing exploiting digital time-compression, a forerunner of MAC/DMAC. Hawksford’s principal interests include audio engineering, electronic circuit design, error correction in amplifiers and signal processing focusing on loudspeakers, SDM, PWM linearization, spatial audio and telepresence. He is recipient of the AES Publications Award for the best contribution by an author of any age for JAES (volumes 45 and 46) and holds the AES Silver Medal awarded 2006 for major contributions to engineering research in the advancement of audio reproduction. Additionally, in 2014 he was awarded the Peter Barnett Memorial Award by the Institute of Acoustics, UK, for his contributions in the field of electroacoustics extending over four decades. He is a chartered engineer and fellow of the AES, IET and IOA and has been formative chair of the AES Technical Committee on High-Resolution Audio and was a founding member of Acoustic Renaissance for Audio (ARA).

Themed “The Power of Sound,” the 144th International AES Convention will bring together audio professionals, students, enthusiasts and advanced audio technologies from around the world for four days of audio immersion, experiences and networking. Register now at for AES Milan at aeseurope.com for Advance Registration rates through 1 May, including additional discounts pricing for AES Member and students. Complimentary Exhibits-Plus badges are also available by using code AES144NOW at checkout.