Interning with AECOM (UK&I) in Acoustics Consulting

From September to December 2024, I spent three months with AECOM in London as an Acoustics Consultant Intern in the Environmental Acoustics team. The placement was a planned part of my PhD at the University of Bath and a chance to see acoustics from a new angle. My research normally deals with ultrasound testing in lithium-ion batteries, where small scale wave behaviour reveals what is happening inside a cell. At AECOM, I wanted to understand how acoustics is applied on a much larger scale, across buildings, infrastructure, and communities. The experience allowed me to connect the theory I use in the laboratory with real world noise and vibration challenges and to see how the same core principles operate in very different contexts.

At AECOM, I worked in the Environment business line on projects involving sound, noise, and vibration in the transport, infrastructure, and industrial sectors. I supported environmental impact assessments through noise modelling, data review, and technical reporting. I learned to use software such as CadnaA and SoundPLAN to predict noise, check compliance with standards, and explore mitigation options. I also helped colleagues with building acoustics, including sound insulation, reverberation control, and internal acoustic design. These tasks gave me a chance to interpret acoustic data, understand boundary conditions, and see how materials and environmental factors influence sound. I consider these skills directly transferable to my research at AAPS.

There are clear links between environmental acoustics and my PhD research. Both rely on understanding how sound interacts with different media, reflects from boundaries, and reduces with distance or frequency. In environmental work, we model how sound moves through air and around terrain and buildings. In battery acoustics, I study how ultrasound travels through layered electrode materials and interfaces. In both areas, signal quality, data detail, and interpretation are important. My experience with ultrasound helped formulate how I approached environmental sound modelling, especially in recognising how sensitive acoustic measurements are to small changes in material properties and boundary conditions.

Working in consulting gave me a clear understanding of how acoustical principles shape decisions and regulatory requirements. Environmental acoustics requires clear communication of complex ideas to clients, planners, and local authorities. During the placement, I helped prepare technical documents that presented model results and outlined mitigation measures in an accessible way, improving my ability to translate analysis into practical guidance, which also supports how I communicate my PhD work to academic and industrial partners. The collaborative team environment emphasised the importance of high-quality work, adaptability, teamwork, and clear communication, which I see as essential in experimental research and technology development.

The placement showed how acoustics contributes to sustainability, from designing quieter and more comfortable spaces to my PhD work on safer and more efficient energy systems using ultrasonic battery diagnostics. It revealed connections between physical and environmental acoustics and gave me a broader view of sound across materials and contexts, helping me connect scientific work with practical applications. I am grateful to Dr Matthew Muirhead and Dr Yoyou Liu for their mentorship, to colleagues at AECOM for their expertise and teamwork, and to Jess Ohren and Yvonne Ascott for coordinating the placement, making the experience both educational and rewarding.