Music Professor Looks Forward to Exploring 3D Sound in Cutting-Edge Space on Campus

Prof. Zachary Goldberg, M.S. is especially excited for the University’s Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation to open. A lecturer in the University’s Music Department, he’s looking forward to the hands-on opportunities he and his students will have to explore and manipulate sound.

The Center, scheduled to open in August, will have a theater space outfitted with Dolby Atmos, a playback sound system that, Goldberg says, is the “gold standard immersive surround sound format.”

“I am very excited to experiment with Dolby Atmos in a classroom setting,” he said. “Previously, I have only been able to show students YouTube videos explaining the setup, but now I will be able to let them gain experience with the system directly.”

Goldberg’s students will be working with 3D sound – the placement of sound sources for media, such as music, film, television, and video games, that encompass sound anywhere in a three-dimensional space, including behind, below, and above the listener.

Students in his "Audio Post Production for Media" course, a special topics course focused on the process of working on the sound for all types of media, will be manipulating 3D sound in the Bergami Center’s theater space. They will discuss the art and technology of manipulating sound, building soundtracks consisting of dialog, sound effects, and music using the program Pro Tools. Prof. Goldberg plans to have his students play it back in the theater room as part of their final projects and presentations.

"This will provide the class the opportunity to compare and contrast these different mix formats while seated in the same room," said Prof. Goldberg, who believes the space will also help him with his own work with 3D mixes.

The theater is one of the many cutting-edge spaces that will be available to faculty members and students in the new Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation. The facility will also feature a makerspace, state-of-the-art science classrooms, communications studios, and advanced "smart" classrooms.

Prof. Goldberg will be working in the Bergami Center with students in his “Film Music” class as well. They will use the Dolby Atmos playback system to listen to film soundtracks in the theater space, enabling them to listen much like they would in a movie theater. He believes this will create meaningful learning opportunities for students at the University – and beyond.

“I strongly believe that having exposure to this will be a huge plus for students when entering the job market,” he said. “It is my understanding that very few universities can offer this experience at this time.”