VITA

SHORT BIO

Matías Zañartu is a Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Valparaíso, Chile, and Deputy Director of the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the same institution, where he also leads the biomedical engineering research and development. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA, and his B.S. in acoustical engineering from Universidad Tecnológica Vicente Pérez Rosales, Santiago, Chile. His interests are centered on the development of digital signal processing, system modeling, and biomedical engineering tools that involve speech, hearing, and acoustics. His research efforts have revolved around developing quantitative models of human voice production and applying these physiological descriptions for the development of clinical technologies. He is an Associate Editor of JASA Express Letter and was Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, a Fulbright fellow, and IEEE Senior Member. Dr. Zañartu is also co-founder of Lanek SpA, a startup company dedicated to the development of biomedical devices that has received various awards (CORFO, AIE, Avonni), and public and private funding in Chile.

Download full VITA here.

DEGREES

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, USA, August 2010. Concentration area: Biomedical imaging and sensing. Research topic: Speech production. GPA:4.0/4.0.
  • Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, USA, May 2006. Concentration area: signal processing. GPA:4.0/4.0
  • Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Professional Title (C.E.) in Acoustical Engineering, Universidad Vicente Perez Rosales, Chile, 1996 and 1999.

ACADEMIC HONORS

  • Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, 2024, being the first Chilean to hold this position.
  • IEEE-AIE outstanding engineer of the year award, Dec 2023.
  • First Chilean researcher funded in Chile through an NIH P50 program
  • PI and board member of the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (AC3E)
  • Member of the FONDECYT Study Group in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (known as Engineering 2) from CONICYT
  • AHETEMS Dissertation Scholarship, Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math and Science Foundation, August 2010.
  • Best Student Paper Award in Speech Communication at the Acoustical Society of America Meeting in Portland, 2009. link
  • Co-author of first place poster in Laryngology/Bronchoesophagology at the Eastern Section Meeting of the Triological Society in Boston, January 2009.
  • SHPE AHETEMS Scholarship recipient, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Inc. 2008.
  • Qualcomm “Q award of Excellence” recipient, Qualcomm Inc. 2007-2008.
  • Outstanding student presentation, Latino Scholars Forum, sponsored by the College of Engineering, Purdue University, September 2007.
  • Fulbright Grantee, sponsored by the Department of State and administrated by the International Institute of Education (IIE), 2004-2006.
  • IIE-BARSA scholarship, International Institute of Education, 2004-2006.
  • Graduation with honors: Unanimous distinction. Universidad Vicente Perez Rosales, 1999.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

  • Acoustical Society of America, ASA. (link)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE . (link)
  • International Speech Communication Association, ISCA. (link)
  • The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA. (link)

RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS

2017 – Present: Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaiso, Chile. More details here. 2014 – 2017: Assistant Professor, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaiso, Chile. 2011 – 2014: Academic Research Associate, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaiso, Chile. 2010 – 2011: Post Doctoral Research Associate, School of Mechanical Engineering and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, USA. Tasks: Study and develop speech enhancement tools for automatic speech recognition. Research project: “Audio distortion compensation & noise reduction methods”. Funded by Intel Corporation, USA.(link) 2007 – 2010: Graduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Acoustics Research Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, USA. Develop and conduct acoustical experiments and numerical models for the research projects: “Relationships between speech sounds and the subglottal airways” and “Engineering Issues in Understanding Human Speech”. Funded by Purdue University and the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA.(link) 2009: Graduate Intern Technical, Physical Technologies Lab, Intel Labs, Intel Corporation, Portland, OR. Task: Design and implement advanced non linear filtering techniques to improve the performance of voice command and speech recognition, especially for mobile devices with limited keyboard functionality. Funded by Intel Corporation. (link) 2008: Visiting Researcher, Center for Laryngeal Surgery & Voice Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Task: Acquire further understanding of the skin acceleration signal used in the Ambulatory Phonation Monitor system for normal and pathological cases. Funded by Purdue University. (link). 2004 – 2007: Graduate Research Assistant, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, USA. Research Projects: “Aerodynamic and Acoustic Models of Phonation” and “Fluid-Structure Interactions within the Human Larynx”. Funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, USA. (link) 2003-2004: Research Collaborator, School of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Universidad Mayor, Chile. Research Projects: “Identification of voice pathologies using sound spectra”, “Phonetic database of 300 Chilean voices” and _Phonetic acoustic study of different languages”, funded by Universidad Mayor (download paper in pdf). 2001-2003: Principal Investigator, Department of Acoustics, Universidad Viciente Perez Rosales, Chile. Research Projects: “Design of a Noise control System for a Specific Urban Bus Model” (download final report in pdf), and “Design of new Teaching Activities for the Laboratory of Acoustics” (download final report in pdf), both funded by Universidad Vicente Perez Rosales.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2009:Graduate Intern Technical, Physical Technologies Lab, Intel Labs, Intel Corporation, Portland, OR. Task: Design and implement advanced non linear filtering techniques to improve the performance of voice command and speech recognition, especially for mobile devices with limited keyboard functionality. 2002 – 2004:Acoustical Engineer, Control Acústico Ltda, Chilean company that offers consulting and solution services in noise control in Chile, such as noise and vibration monitoring and control, environmental noise assessment, noise product certification, building acoustics, noise modelation (SoundPlan, CadP2, Insul, etc.). 2001: Environmental consultant, contracted directly by CONAMA (Chilean Environmental Protection Agency) for the General Analysis of the Economic and Social Impact of the Pre-Project on Noise Emission Norm of Buses belonging to the Urban and Rural Transport Service. Download the final report in pdf 1998-2002: Acoustical Engineer, Ambiente Consultores Ltda, Chilean company that offers consulting services on environmental topics in Chile, especially on environmental regulations.