Shamma, Shihab
The Institute for Systems Research
Brain and Behavior Institute
Shihab Shamma received his B.S. degree in 1976 from Imperial College, in London, U.K. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1977 and 1980, respectively. Dr. Shamma received his M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literature in 1980 from the same institution.
Dr. Shamma has been a member of the University of Maryland faculty since 1984, when he started as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department. He has been associated with the Institute for Systems Research since its inception in 1985, and received a joint appointment in 1990. He is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Dr. Shamma's research deals with issues in computational neuroscience, euromorphic engineering, and the development of microsensor systems for experimental research and neural prostheses. Primary focus has been on studying the computational principles underlying the processing and recognition of complex sounds (speech and music) in the auditory system, and the relationship between auditory and visual processing. Signal processing algorithms inspired by data from neurophysiological and psychoacoustical experiments are being developed and applied in a variety of systems such as speech and voice recognition and diagnostics in industrial manufacturing. Other research interests included (at various times) the development of photolithographic microelectrode arrays for recording and stimulation of neural signals, a VLSI implementations of auditory processing algorithms, and development of robotic systems for the detection and tracking of multiple sound sources.
Honors and awards
Fellow, Acoustical Society of America Fellow (2004)
Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2018)
ISR Outstanding Faculty Award (2007)
Representation of the acoustic signal at various levels in mammalian auditory systems. Ranges from theoretical models of auditory processing in early and central auditory stages, to neurophysiological investigations of the auditory cortex, to psychoacoustical experiments of human perception of acoustic spectral profiles
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The former student of John Baras won the SPS Claude Shannon-Harry Nyquist Technical Achievement Award, the Best Paper Award, and the Donald G. Fink Overview Paper Award.Training Can Improve Older Adults’ Ability to Discriminate Rapid Changes in Sound
Findings support subsequent studies on hearing loss-reversing interventionsMaryland Engineering Collaborates on Three MURIs
Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) awards support growth of newly emerging technologies.Creative Movement, 'On Display'
Human Sculpture Court Part of Workshop Exploring the Brain and DanceShamma joins former student Mounya Elhilali in new MURI soundscape project
The researchers will identify the nature and role of acoustic representations in guiding perception and behavior in humans, animals, and models.Internal predictive model characterizes brain's neural activity during listening and imagining music
Two "Music of Silence" papers by Shamma, Di Liberto and Marion have implications for computational models of sensory perception.The brain makes sense of math and language in different ways
Distinct regions in the brain use their own neural pathways and networks to process either spoken math or language.ECE Names 2020-2021 Distinguished Dissertation Fellows
The fellowships are awarded to outstanding students in the final stages of dissertation work in recognition of their research excellence.Nikolas Francis on the Neurophysiology of Listening
New Brain and Behavior Institute and Department of Biology faculty hire brings wide-ranging expertise to collaborative neuroscience endeavors at UMD.Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Fellow, 2018
- Fellow, 2004