Woon-Seng Gan is a Professor of Audio Engineering and Director of the Smart Nation TRANS (national) Lab in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received his BEng (1st Class Hons) and Ph.D. degrees, both in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, the UK in 1989 and 1993, respectively. He has held several leadership positions at Nanyang Technological University, including serving as the Head of the Information Engineering Division from 2011 to 2014, and as the Director of the Centre for Info-comm Technology from 2016 to 2019. Through his involvement in the Smart Nation TRANS lab, he led the university effort to translate AI research into real-world deployment.

 

Prof. Gan’s research has been concerned with the connections between the physical world, signal processing, and sound control, which resulted in the practical demonstration and licensing of spatial audio algorithms, directional sound beams, and active noise control for headphones and open windows. He has published more than 400 international refereed journals and conference papers and has translated his research into eight granted patents. He had co-authored three books on Subband Adaptive Filtering: Theory and Implementation (John Wiley, 2009); Embedded Signal Processing with the Micro Signal Architecture, (Wiley-IEEE, 2007); and Digital Signal Processors: Architectures, Implementations, and Applications (Prentice Hall, 2005). Recognized for his contributions to the research community, Prof. Gan has been invited to deliver keynote speeches and distinguished lectures at prestigious conferences organized by IEEE, AES, and APSIPA. His insights and expertise have inspired researchers and practitioners in the domain of audio and signal processing. In 2023, he is also named the 2023 IEEE Signal Processing Society Distinguished Lecturer. He was also a recipient of the  DCASE 2021 Challenge Judges’ Award for Sound Event Localization and Detection with Direction Interference in DCASE 2021 Challenge, and the 2017 APSIPA Sadaoki Furui Prize Paper Award.

 

Prof. Gan is a highly distinguished researcher and academic with numerous prestigious affiliations and editorial roles. His expertise and contributions have earned him fellowships in esteemed organizations, including the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), where he holds the status of a Senior Member. He has served as an Associate Editor for the IEEE/ACM Transaction on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing (TASLP) from 2012 to 2015. His dedication to the journal's excellence was rewarded with the Outstanding IEEE TASLP Editorial Board Service Award in 2016, a testament to his contributions and leadership in scholarly publishing. Currently, Prof. Gan holds significant editorial responsibilities as a Senior Area Editor for the IEEE Signal Processing Letters (SPL) since 2019, contributing to the publication's high-quality content and its impact on the signal processing community. Additionally, he has served as an Associate Technical Editor for the Journal of Audio Engineering Society (JAES) since 2013, and Senior Editorial member of the Asia Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association Transaction on Signal and Information Processing since 2011, ensuring the dissemination of cutting-edge research in audio engineering. He has been featured among the "World's Top 2% Scientist 2021" by Stanford University, solidifying his place as one of the most influential researchers in the field of Acoustics.

Recently, he has been elected as the President-elect (2023-2024) of the Asia Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association (APSIPA), which stands as the largest association promoting diverse research and educational activities in signal and information processing in the region. His active involvement in the IEEE Signal Processing Industry DSP committee and the IEEE IoT special interest group demonstrates his engagement in cutting-edge industry developments and his interest in advancing the application of signal processing in real-world scenarios. Prof. Gan's commitment to the IEEE Signal Processing Society is evident in his longstanding service on various committees. He served as a valuable member of the IEEE Signal Processing Design and Implementation of Signal Processing System from 2012 to 2015, contributing to the advancement of efficient signal processing systems. Additionally, he has been actively involved in the Applied Signal Processing System committee since 2019, showcasing his dedication to staying at the forefront of applied signal processing research and innovations. Furthermore, Prof. Gan's contributions extended to shaping the landscape of international conferences. He took on the role of Technical Program Chair for the first hybrid IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) held in Singapore in May 2022. This significant event showcased his dedication to driving innovation and excellence in signal processing research, even in the challenging times of hybrid conferences.

 

Prof. Gan and his work have been covered in several press articles, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, New Scientist Magazine, Naver(S. Korea); and featured in media interviews, like CBS Innovation Nation (USA), CNN Tech for Good (USA), Nas Daily (Singapore), Galileo TV(Germany), and Channel News Asia (Singapore). 

 He also served as a member of the Committee of Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise from April 2022 to March 2024 by advising government agencies on noise sensing, measurements, and implementation.