Bozeman Magazine

Montana State University Wonderlust will host an online presentation about forensic analysis from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 25. Rob Maher, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, will present “Stop! What’s That Sound? Audio Forensics in 2020.”

Audio forensics is the scientific acquisition, evaluation and interpretation of audio evidence that is likely to end up in a court of law or some other official venue. Many law enforcement officers routinely carry recording equipment while working, including body cameras, memo recorders and dashboard systems in police cruisers. Emergency 911 call centers and police dispatching radio systems also have audio recording systems. Increasingly, audio evidence may include mobile phone recordings made by bystanders or recordings from security systems in private homes and businesses.

Maher will describe the methods used to assess the authenticity of forensic audio recordings and the techniques applied in several case studies involving audio forensic interpretation and research. Topics and questions that would be highlighted include whether audio from a mobile phone video can be used to identify someone making threats of violence; whether a subtle creak on an airplane’s cockpit voice recorder could signal a malfunction in the plane’s airframe; and whether a gunshot heard near the boundary of Yellowstone National Park was made by a poacher who encroached in the park or by a legal hunter in the forest outside of it.

Maher’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of digital audio signal processing, audio forensic analysis, digital music synthesis and acoustics. He is the author of “Principles of Forensics Audio Analysis” and occasionally serves as an expert witness in criminal and civil court cases.

The lecture is free and open to the public, but participants must register by June 24 at www.montana.edu/wonderlust/. After registration, participants will receive an email with the Webex link and instructions to join the program.

The presentation will be recorded and available online. Interested individuals can sign up for Wonderlust’s mailing list at www.montana.edu/wonderlust/newsletter/ to be notified when it is accessible. 

For more information, contact Bobbi Geise at 406-994-6550 or bobbi.geise@montana.edu.

Wonderlust is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach at MSU. ATO works across the university to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.