Live Lab

Helena is Co-Director of CoSTAR Live Lab and a Professor of Music Science and Technology at the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology at the University of York. She leads interdisciplinary research that develops new solutions to tangible challenges facing society around accessing and measuring the benefits of musical activities. She has a particular expertise in the human voice and group singing, drawing on her own experiences as a professional singer and teacher. She has worked with partners across health, creative and tech sectors, including Age UK, Opera North, and the BBC, to improve access to musical experiences. 

Gavin Kearney is Co-Director of CoSTAR Live Lab and a Professor of Audio Engineering at the School of Physics Engineering and Technology at the University of York. He is an active researcher, technologist and sound designer for immersive technologies. He graduated from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2002 with an honors degree in Electronic Engineering and has since obtained both MSc and PhD degrees in Audio Signal Processing from Trinity College Dublin. He joined the University of York in January 2011. 

Damian is Professor in Sound and Music Computing at the AudioLab in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology at the University of York, UK, where his research focuses on the development and creative application of immersive audio and virtual acoustic modelling. He is an active sound artist, and the Director of the XR Stories Creative Industries R&D Partnership and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council XR Network+ project, both exploring the next generation of convergent immersive and interactive media technologies for the UK’s creative industries and wider digital economy.

Jon is a Professor of Interactive Media in the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies. He is CoSTAR Live Lab’s UX Lead and Access Programme Lead. His research is in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and explores the design, development and human experience of new interactive media content forms and tools to support their creation. He has a particular interest in how new forms of responsive and immersive media content can be applied to address societal challenges.

Dar’ya Guarnera is the CoSTAR Live Lab VR Worldbuilding Lead and an EDI Champion. She is a Lecturer in Creative AI at the School of Arts and Creative Technologies, University of York, where she leads the MSc in AI for Creative Industries programme.

Her areas of expertise include the application of AI in computer graphics, with a focus on incorporating knowledge of human perception of material appearance to improve rendering quality and 3D visualisation. Dar’ya obtained her PhD in Computer Science from Loughborough University and gained significant expertise in human perception as a Guest Researcher in the Department of Psychology at the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany.

Phil Adlam is an accomplished Managing Director, CTO, and thought leader in live experience technology. Holding a Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering, with 20yrs+ developing advanced technologies used worldwide, from LED displays to arena-scale audio systems, founding many successful businesses. CTO of Production Park and Head of XPLOR, Adlam is driving innovation with the Cannes award winning XPLOR virtual production studio, real-time volumetric capture, event data acquisition and applied AI. Passionate about bridging academia and industry, Adlam co-founded XPLOR Research Community and is currently CTO of CoStar Live LAB.

Glen oversees the operational delivery of the CoSTAR Live Lab programme from our brand-new facility in West Yorkshire. With a track record of leading award-winning projects across diverse industries, he was recently named by the APM as one of 2024’s global emerging project professionals. Glen holds a first class degree in Business Management and is a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner.

Jacob is a Technical Specialist in Immersive Audio at CoSTAR Live Lab. He graduated from the University of York, UK with an MSc in Audio & Music Technology in 2022 and joined Professor Gavin Kearney’s research team. His expertise is in immersive audio for Extended Reality (XR) experiences using Ambsonics and audiovisual workflows for the production of immersive content.

Jack is the Technical Specialist in Creative Technologies for CoSTAR Live Lab, where he manages the day-to-day running and technical implementation of Live Lab’s state-of-the-art facilities. His research interests include motion capture, biometric analysis of musical experiences, interactive music systems, and AI for real-time music generation. He holds an MPhil in Music, Communication & Technology from the University of Oslo, Norway and a BA in Music Composition & Technology from Carleton College in Minnesota, USA.

Alan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at CoSTAR Live Lab, specializing in Machine Learning (ML) for enhancing live audience experiences. His PhD research focused on applying ML to enrich storytelling in broadcasts, developing end-to-end solutions for real-world challenges. With three years of industry experience and five years of dedicated research experience, Alan brings a deep understanding of applied ML. His work aims to create solutions that leave a lasting and meaningful impact across live entertainment and interactive media.

Joe is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at CoSTAR Live Lab. Having graduated with a First Class MEng degree in Electronic Engineering with Music Technology Systems from the University of York in 2019, Joe spent a year working as an Embedded Systems Engineer, before returning to York to start his PhD in 2020. During his PhD, Joe explored the influence of spatial sound design on film-viewing experiences through analyses of questionnaires, open-response comments, and innovative camera-sourced physiological features.

Tyler is a full-stack software engineer with over 7 years of experience developing bespoke software solutions and tooling across the live events sector. After graduating from the Academy of Live Technology, Tyler joined the XPLOR team as an Innovator, where he has gone on to lead the design and development of specialist software platforms, data collection tools and analytics platforms to provide the industry with new information that improves the safety, sustainability and observability of live events all across the globe.