Dr. Ross Adrian Williams
Born in Perth, Western Australia, composer and sound designer Ross Adrian Williams has written music and designed sound across a range of styles for theatre, film, animation, dance, museum installation, 360° video and VR. His work for award winning abstract, documentary, animated and narrative films have been shown in festivals, and installations around the world including the Venice Biennale and Busan International Short Film Festival.
His interdisciplinary research collaborations have led to novel research in diverse areas, combining various scientific disciplines. These include the exploration of volcanic infrasound to improve the detection of volcanic events and gaining deeper insights into the cognitive and perceptual mechanisms underlying the impact of sound on visual memory formation in narrative fiction film.
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Doctor of Musical Arts (1999 – 2002)
Rice University, Houston, U.S.A - Master of Music (1996 -1999)
Rice University, Houston, U.S.A - Bachelor of Music (Hons) (1991-1995)
University of Western Australia
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
- British University Vietnam (BUV)
Senior Lecturer (2025 – Current) - Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Assistant Professor (2014 – 2025) - Art Institute of New York City, U.S.A
Senior lead Instructor (2003 – 2014)
RESEARCH AREAS / FIELDS
- Sound, Memory and Image: How sound effects image memory in narrative in 2D and VR films
- Pedagogy of sound in screen media
- Aesthetics of sound design for fiction narrative, experimental and documentary film.
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
- Williams, R.A. (2024)
Voice in the Machine: AI Voice Cloning in Film.
Art Style, Art & Culture International Magazine, v. 13, no. 129-143,
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10443451 - Williams, R.A., Perttu, A. & Taisne, B. (2020)
Processing of volcano infrasound using film sound audio post-production techniques to improve signal detection via array processing.
Geoscience Letters. 7, 9 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-020-00158-4 # - Williams, R.A, (2019)
“Sound As Equal Partner in Film Production: Can Academic Instruction Change Industry Practice”
Ars et Praxis, No. VI, Sept, pp. 183-189.
RESEARCH & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS / EXHIBITIONS
- Williams R.A. (2025)
Bird Sounds (short film, writer, director)
Busan International Short Film Festival (film screening)
Busan, South Korea - Williams R.A (2023)
Sound and Visual Memory in Narrative Film
The Society of Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference
University of North Carolina Wilmington. U.S.A - Williams R.A (2019)
Where is the Sound? Challenges and Strategies in Enhancing the Status of Sound in Media Pedagogy
3rd Music and Sound Design in Film and New Media Conference. (Keynote Address)
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania. - Williams R.A (2019)
Academy Practice = Industry Practice: Sound in Media Pedagogy,
Sightlines: Screen Production and the Academy Conference,
RMIT Melbourne, Australia - Williams R.A (2018)
Processing of volcano Infrasound using film Sound Audio Post Production Techniques to Improve Signal Detection via Array Processing
European Geosciences Union, General Assembly,
Vienna, Austria (2018).
RESEARCH GRANTS
- Williams R.A (2019)
Unheard, Unseen: Sound and Memory in Sound Design for Narrative Film in 2D and VR
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($53 736) - Reinhuber, E, Seide B & Williams R.A (2016)
Tangible/Intangible: Exploring the possibilities of capturing multi-sensory impressions to create immersive Virtual Reality environments, exemplified with the forking path structure of the Yunnan Garden at NTU.
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($97 000) - Taisne, B, Williams R.A (2016)
Real time spatial sonification of Nature’s furies using infrasound sensors installed at NTU
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($50 186)
AWARDS & HONOURS
- Vertical Movie Award Winner – New Normal 2021
4th Vertical Movie Festival, Rome, Italy
As composer, sound designer/mixer (written and directed by Chul Heo) - Grand Jury Prize, Best Short Film – Little Fiel 2019
Boulder International Film Festival, U.S.A.
As Sound Designer/Mixer (written and directed by Irina Patkanian) - Best Art Award (Group) – Gone Garden 2018
ZKM Beyond Festival, Art exhibition
ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany.
As Co-director, Composer, Sound Designer/Mixer - Faculty Excellence Award 2005
Art Institute of New York City, U.S.A - J. Hodges Awards for Outstanding Composition Student 1995
University of Western Australia, Australia
- Share
Read more 
Teaching Fellow
Head of Pathways
Raised and educated in the North-East of England, Michael completed a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising & Media from Northumbria University, Newcastle. Following graduation in 2012, he was employed for 5 years in the UK music events & hospitality industry as a Marketing & Events Manager. During this time, Michael continued to pursue his passion for […]
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Viju PrakashRaised and educated in India, Viju Prakash completed a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University. Following graduation, in 2005, he completed a Master of Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University. He later completed his PhD titled, “A Power Aware Routing Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks” in Computer Science and Engineering. […]
Associate Lecturer
Darius PostmaRaised in South Africa, Darius emigrated to the UK in 2003, working in various hospitality management roles. He completed a BTEC Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership through Brighton School of Business and Management in 2014. In 2015 he relocated to Vietnam to manage a 5* Luxury Cruise Boat in Ha Long […]
Teaching Fellow
Sandra SchneidermanSandra is Student Success Lead and a Teaching Instructor. She liaises with faculty and students to develop individualised success lessons and learning plans. Raised in New Zealand and educated in Australia, Sandra received her Bachelor of Education and Master of Education at The University of Melbourne. She also has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Gifted Education […]
Teaching Fellow
Shruthi Thaiveppil GopiBorn and raised in Kochi, India. Shruthi graduated from TKM Institute in Kerala with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. She earned a Master’s degree in Product Design from the Indian Institute of Information Technology after graduating in 2017, and she was researching Design Interventions in Marine jetty that adhered to Indian design codes at […]
Vice Chancellor and President
Professor Raymond GordonProfessor Dr. Raymond Gordon is an experienced academic leader, teacher and researcher holding positions at universities throughout the world including the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Sydney, University of Warwick (UK), Reitaku University Japan, New Mexico State University (USA), Copenhagen Business School Denmark and others. He has an esteemed research and publication […]
Senior Teaching Fellow
Discipline Lead - Business (University of London)
Born in Canada, raised and educated in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Mark completed a B.Sc. (Econ) at the University of Buckingham, England. Following graduation in 1984, he worked with an Economics Consultancy for a year before returning to Buckingham as a tutor. While completing his Master’s degree, he worked his way up to Lecturer before leaving […]
Head of School, School of Computing & Innovative Technologies
Assoc. Prof. Ali Al-DulaimiAn instructor with a Ph.D. and around 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience, with a long list of skills and certificates. Throughout his international career, Assoc. Prof. Al-Dulaimi held different roles: teacher, lead teacher, head of department, lead instructor, research team leader, and Quality & Project manager. Using his solid academic foundations and extensive professional experience, […]
Lecturer
Dr. Daphne LauBefore joining BUV, Daphne served as a Research Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (AACSB and EQUIS accredited). She holds a Ph.D. in Accountancy from the City University of Hong Kong (AACSB and EQUIS accredited). Daphne was awarded a Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special […]
Distinguished Visiting Professor (Art & Design)
Professor Paul GoughAn academic leader with over 40 years’ experience in higher education in UK, Europe and Australasia. Professor Paul Gough is a painter, author and broadcaster who has exhibited his paintings and drawings globally, and has authored over 10 books and 100 research papers on art history and cultural memory. With extensive experience in higher education […]
