Institute of Acoustics Announces Recipients of Rayleigh and Tyndall Medals for 2026

Each year, the Institute of Acoustics recognises exceptional achievement and service to the science and application of acoustics through its Medals and Awards programme. Spanning academic excellence, engineering innovation, education and professional leadership, the programme celebrates individuals whose work has advanced both the discipline and its real-world impact.

Among the Institute’s honours, two medals stand as its most prestigious: the Rayleigh Medal, the Institute’s premier award for lifetime achievement in acoustics, and the Tyndall Medal, awarded biennially to an outstanding UK acoustician, typically under the age of 40, whose contributions have already had significant influence. This year’s recipients exemplify excellence across generations, from foundational advances in acoustic materials and modelling to cutting-edge innovations in active sound and vibration control.

Rayleigh Medal: Professor John Stuart Bolton

The Rayleigh Medal is awarded to Professor John Stuart Bolton, in recognition of his internationally renowned and sustained contributions to acoustics and noise control.

Professor Bolton’s work has fundamentally shaped the way acoustical materials are modelled, tested and applied in practice. Over several decades, he has led major advances in the understanding of porous and poro-elastic materials, developing theoretical, numerical and experimental tools that are now standard across industry and academia. His pioneering finite-element formulations of Biot theory enabled accurate prediction of sound absorption and transmission in complex materials and geometries, capabilities that are now embedded in widely used commercial acoustic simulation software.

Professor Bolton has also made influential contributions to sound field visualisation, acoustic holography, wave propagation and tyre–road sound, providing industry with practical methods to identify, analyse and reduce dominant sound sources. His research has been widely adopted by sectors including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics and manufacturing, supported by extensive collaboration with global companies and research agencies.

Equally significant is his impact as an educator and mentor. Having supervised more than 100 graduate students and taught generations of engineers and acousticians, Professor Bolton’s influence extends through the many professionals now leading innovation across industry and academia. The Rayleigh Medal recognises not only the depth and breadth of his scientific achievements, but also his enduring contribution to the profession as a whole.

Professor Bolton will be presenting his work in person at our Acoustics 2026 conference later this year.

Tyndall Medal: Professor Jordan Cheer

The Tyndall Medal is awarded to Professor Jordan Cheer, in recognition of his exceptional achievements in acoustics at an early stage of his career.

Professor Cheer is internationally recognised for his leadership in the active control of sound and vibration, with research that bridges fundamental theory and real-world application. His work addresses one of the central challenges in modern engineering: achieving high-performance noise and vibration control without the weight and bulk of traditional treatments. By integrating active control with advanced passive approaches such as acoustic metamaterials and acoustic black holes, he has demonstrated lightweight solutions with transformative performance gains.

His research has delivered major advances in areas including active acoustic cloaking, head-tracked active noise control in vehicles, and personal sound zones within car cabins. These developments have influenced global research directions and have attracted significant industrial engagement, particularly in the automotive, aerospace, defence and consumer electronics sectors. Professor Cheer is named inventor on numerous patent applications and has built long-standing partnerships that ensure rapid translation of research into practice.

Alongside his research achievements, Professor Cheer has made strong contributions to education, supervision and service to the acoustics community. As a dedicated teacher, mentor and committee member, he has played an active role in shaping the next generation of acousticians and promoting acoustics research nationally and internationally.

This announcement celebrates two outstanding individuals whose work highlights both the enduring foundations of acoustics and its exciting future.

More information on the full range of Institute of Acoustics medals and awards can be found by going to our Medals and Awards web page.