Dr. Alaa Algargoosh

Alaa Algargoosh is fascinated by the relationship between design and sound. Her previous work includes patented sound diffusers inspired by the cymatics phenomenon, and her current work is focused on advancing technologies that allow for analyzing the impact of acoustic environments on human experience, emotions, and well-being.

Algargoosh received her Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Michigan in addition to many prestigious awards, including the Innovators Under 35 Award by MIT Technology Review, MIT Research Slam, Dow Sustainability Fellowship, Barbour Scholarship, ArtsEngine Grant, Humanities Institute Fellowship, the Mellon Foundation Grant, and the ARCC King Medal for Excellence in Architectural and Environmental Research. Her projects were featured at International Innovation Exhibitions, including a sustainable sound-absorbing biomaterial—highlighted as one of the most promising inventions in the ArtScience workshop in Paris, and she has been invited to more than 20 guest lectures at Stanford, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University, and other international institutions.

Furthermore, Algargoosh is a founding member of the Architectural Acoustics Society in Saudi Arabia. She has been named an advisor on the WELL Sound Concept Advisory, working with experts and leaders worldwide to identify strategies to help shape the future of buildings that enhance health and well-being. Algargoosh joined the MIT Media Lab as a research fellow at Opera of the Future Group in 2022 and is currently working with the Affective Computing Group.

The impact of music in enhancing well-being through stimulating positive affect has been widely studied, and researchers have established links between musical characteristics and affect. Acoustic environments can manipulate the characteristics of the original sound by working as sound filters. Thus, utilizing the way acoustic environments (real and virtual) modify the frequency domain of sounds can evoke positive affects to enhance well-being and thus create restorative acoustic environments. Hence, by creating multiple scenarios of acoustic environments, my proposed project aims to analyze how the acoustic environment can alter sound and create a restorative and stimulating environment that enhances positive emotions.

Please go to https://www.alaa-algargoosh.com/awards

Kaufman Teaching Certificate

Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU)

Please go to https://www.alaa-algargoosh.com/cv

KACST