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 
Lecturer
Dr. Dang Quang VinhVinh graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Vietnam National University – Hanoi in 2009. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from Université de Lorraine in 2018, completing his thesis under the supervision of Prof. François Charoy and Dr. Claudia Ignat at Inria Nancy Grand-Est, France. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree […]
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 […]
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Giovanni MerolaRaised and educated in Rome, Italy, Giovanni completed a double major Bachelor degree in Statistics and Economics from the university La Sapienza in Rome. He completed his Masters and Ph.D. in Statistics at the University of Waterloo in 1994 and 1998, respectively. He was associate professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya in Spain, then […]
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President
Professor Rick BennettRaised and educated in London, Rick completed undergraduate studies in the Fine Arts before working for 7 years within the UK film & television industry specialising in TV commercials and music video production. After emigrating to Australia in 1990, Rick worked at the University of New South Wales (in Sydney) where for 24 years he […]
Lecturer
Programme Lead - International Business Management
Raised and educated in Chennai, INDIA, Varun completed a bachelor’s degree in Defense & Strategic studies from University of Madras. Following graduation in 2003, he completed a master’s degree in Mass communication & Journalism in 2005. He started his career as a Lecturer from Chennai. Varun completed National Eligibility Test in 2012 to become certified […]
Teaching Practitioner
Nhu Huong TraTra Nhu is an illustrator and printmaker creating welcoming and inclusive visual solutions. As an art coordinator and educator, Tra organizes workshops, fairs and community events in Vietnam and the UK. Tra earned a Bachelor of Professional Communication from RMIT University and recently graduated with a MA Illustration from University of the Arts London. From […]
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Valentina VidutoDr Valentina Viduto is a UK-based cybersecurity academic, researcher, and digital risk strategist with over 15 years of experience advancing the security and resilience of complex systems. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Bedfordshire, specialising in cyber risk modelling and decision analytics. Her interdisciplinary portfolio includes leading projects across cybersecurity, […]
Teaching Fellow
Tran Phuong Thao NgocTran Phuong Thao Ngoc is a design educator and graphic designer specialising in branding and website design. Born in Hue, Vietnam, she earned a full scholarship to British University Vietnam and graduated with first-class honours in Contemporary Creative Practice: Graphic Design in 2021. After discovering her passion for design education and academia, Ngoc remained at […]
Lecturer
Dr. Chris KirraneChris, originally from the UK, has built a distinguished career abroad, specializing in economics, international political economy, and education. He holds a Ph.D. focused on the Asian Currency Crisis, along with a Master’s in International Political Economy, a PGCE in Tertiary Education (Economics), and a B.A. (Hons.) in Politics and Economics. With extensive experience in […]
Lecturer
Dr. SasikumarRaised and educated in India, Sasi completed a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University. Following graduation, in 2011, he completed a Master of Technology in Information Technology. He completed his PhD in 2023, titled “A Novel Machine Learning Paradigm for Pattern Extraction from Multivariate Data Sources Using Big Data Analytics” in […]
