About
The Studio for Research in Sound and Technology (SRST) at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) provides an environment for inquiry, technological innovation, and education in the sonic arts and sound design.
SRST serves as a hub for experimentation in design with and of sound, facilitating research in sonic interaction, experience, composition, and performance. The Studio hosts a selection of courses where sound or music technology factors as a central medium or subject of study and produces events that facilitate exchange among practitioners and the public.
Read our 2025 Studio Report here ︎︎︎
Founded in 2018, the Studio for Research in Sound and Technology (SRST) comprises two core instructional and production spaces. The Spatial Audio Studio features an acoustically treated room with a 25.4-channel loudspeaker array using Genelec speakers in a dome configuration, an adjacent seminar area, and a Serge modular synthesizer. Studio B houses a 10-foot immersive cube constructed from aluminum speed rail with a 17.2-channel loudspeaker system, a combined seminar and workspace area, and a WhisperRoom isolation booth for recording. Studio B also provides access to hardware synthesizers including a GRP A4, GRP V-22 vocoder, and an Expressive-E Osmose with the Haken sound engine, and serves as the primary site for equipment checkout. Together, these facilities support coursework, critique, and project development, and are reservable for use in associated courses.
As a site for research, the Studio supports faculty, staff, and student experimentation leading to peer-reviewed publications, conference and festival presentations, and other forms of scholarly and creative exposition. SRST hosts visiting lectures and workshops by designers, artists, and technologists, and supports concerts by visiting artists, serving as a platform for engagement with industry partners and cross-institutional research networks.
![Students listening to sounds their ears produce while experiencing Chechile’s work ︎︎︎]()
In Fall 2025, the Sound BFA program was launched alongside a sister BFA program in Art & Computation within the Computation, Technology, and Culture (CTC) Department.
SRST provides core facilities and technical resources for the Sound BFA and the Digital + Media MFA programs, while also serving students from across the college through elective coursework and class visits.
Read more about the Sound BFA program here ︎︎︎
Informational slideshow embedded below:
As a site for research, the Studio supports faculty, staff, and student experimentation leading to peer-reviewed publications, conference and festival presentations, and other forms of scholarly and creative exposition. SRST hosts visiting lectures and workshops by designers, artists, and technologists, and supports concerts by visiting artists, serving as a platform for engagement with industry partners and cross-institutional research networks.
In Fall 2025, the Sound BFA program was launched alongside a sister BFA program in Art & Computation within the Computation, Technology, and Culture (CTC) Department.
SRST provides core facilities and technical resources for the Sound BFA and the Digital + Media MFA programs, while also serving students from across the college through elective coursework and class visits.
Read more about the Sound BFA program here ︎︎︎
Informational slideshow embedded below: