Dr Sam Kirkham
Senior LecturerResearch Overview
I am senior lecturer in the , Department of Linguistics and English Language and Data Science Institute at 51福利. I am also associate editor at . I was awarded my PhD in 2014 from the .
My research investigates the dynamics of spoken language, such as how people coordinate movements of the tongue, lips and larynx to produce speech. I do experiments that monitor acoustic signals and vocal tract movements using and technology, and build computational models of the cognitive and physical mechanisms that underpin spoken language. I apply these insights to a range of longstanding scientific puzzles, such as the control of speech production, the mysteries of sound change, and how to improve the use of speech technologies in everyday life. In doing so, I draw upon theory and methods from linguistics, cognitive science, physics, and computer science.
I am currently working on the following projects:
- Interpretable acoustic-articulatory relations in speech production (, 2025-27)
- Modelling the dynamics of phonetic variation & phonological change ( fellowship, 2024-25)
- TARDIS: Targets and dynamics in speech (, 2019-23)
You can find my personal webpage , which contains more information.
Current Teaching
I am not teaching during the 2025/26 and 2026/27 academic years due to research grant commitments.
PhD Supervision Interests
I am interested in supervising students in the following areas: articulatory phonetics, vocal tract imaging, Articulatory Phonology / Task Dynamics, mathematical modelling of speech production and spoken language, computational speech processing, voice and robotics, bioacoustics.
01/10/2025 → 30/09/2027
Research
01/04/2024 → 30/12/2025
Research
01/10/2022 → …
Research
01/09/2019 → 31/08/2022
Research
01/07/2014 → 30/04/2016
Other
01/06/2014 → 31/12/2018
Other
01/10/2009 → 30/09/2012
Research
Participation in conference - Academic
Invited talk
Symposium
Invited talk
Invited talk
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Invited talk
Editorial activity
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Invited talk
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
- Phonetics Lab