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Re: [AUDITORY] Sad news

Dear All,

 

I was shocked to hear of Armins passing, when we last spoke he was enjoying his (semi)-retirement and we were discussing finally meeting for dinner after covid restrictions thwarted previous efforts. Working with him at Philips and sharing an office for a number of years he was always a pleasure to speak to, quick of mind and a wealth of knowledge. I don’t think he would have ever fully retired from academia, and will be deeply missed by his friends but also by the wider scientific community.

 

For those that wish to, there is  an online book of remembrance at https://www.memori.nl/gedenkplaats/armin-kohlrausch/.

 

Best Wishes

Sam.

 

From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Pierre Divenyi
Sent: 31 March 2022 13:54
To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Sad news

 

Caution: This e-mail originated from outside of Philips, be careful for phishing.

 

Dear colleagues,

This piece of news is indeed terrible. Although I haven't been attending many meetings lately, I remember many where Armin was present. He was indeed a powerhouse of knowledge and fresh ideas, and he was also a very nice colleague. As someone quite a bit older than he was, I find his passing not only sad but also offensive. Why he?

All best wishes, stay healthy and active,

Pierre (Divenyi)

On 3/31/22 10:48, Prof. Dr. Steven van de Par wrote:

Dear colleagues,

Last Friday, our dear colleague and friend Armin Kohlrausch passed away unexpectedly. In the days prior, he had been attending the DAGA (German Acoustical Society) meeting in good spirit and full of energy until the moment he passed away suddenly.

Many of us will remember Armin for his warm heartedness, his deep scientific insight, and his many scientific contributions to the field of hearing research and beyond. One key component of his work was in the computational modelling of auditory detection and discrimination phenomena, where together with his students he developed new types of models which function as an artificial observer and in this way are very generally applicable. His contributions to models of amplitude modulation processing and perception were essential and inspired numerous investigations on the effects of envelope statistics and the auditory system’s modulation frequency selective properties on complex sound perception. The insights developed through the modelling of binaural detection phenomena later proved important for the development of a new type of audio coding algorithm that captures the spatial properties of audio in a parametric representation. Armin also made important contributions to auditory-visual synchrony perception, identifying factors that influence perceived synchrony, such as the causal relationship between the auditory and visual event. His scientific curiosity extended far; among his papers are various contributions to the perception of room acoustics, the irrelevant speech effect, the analysis of soundscapes in an intensive care unit, on music information retrieval, and on the history of psychoacoustics.

To have Armin as a PhD supervisor and mentor was a delight. His sharp intellect, extensive knowledge of the literature, his ability to get to the core of a matter, and question basic assumptions helped all those who worked with him to advance so much further. Beyond that purely scientific aspect, Armin was also a huge supporter of young students, helping them to gain confidence and find their way in science.

We will greatly miss Armin, as a fantastic colleague and friend, and would like to express our deep gratitude for the many years that we could enjoy his ever present encouragement, compassion, and keen judgement in hearing research.

Torsten Dau and Steven van de Par

 


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