Shamma, Shihab
The Institute for Systems Research
Brain and Behavior Institute
Shihab Shamma received his B.S. degree in 1976 from Imperial College, in London, U.K. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1977 and 1980, respectively. Dr. Shamma received his M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literature in 1980 from the same institution.
Dr. Shamma has been a member of the University of Maryland faculty since 1984, when he started as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department. He has been associated with the Institute for Systems Research since its inception in 1985, and received a joint appointment in 1990. He is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Dr. Shamma's research deals with issues in computational neuroscience, euromorphic engineering, and the development of microsensor systems for experimental research and neural prostheses. Primary focus has been on studying the computational principles underlying the processing and recognition of complex sounds (speech and music) in the auditory system, and the relationship between auditory and visual processing. Signal processing algorithms inspired by data from neurophysiological and psychoacoustical experiments are being developed and applied in a variety of systems such as speech and voice recognition and diagnostics in industrial manufacturing. Other research interests included (at various times) the development of photolithographic microelectrode arrays for recording and stimulation of neural signals, a VLSI implementations of auditory processing algorithms, and development of robotic systems for the detection and tracking of multiple sound sources.
Honors and awards
Fellow, Acoustical Society of America Fellow (2004)
Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2018)
ISR Outstanding Faculty Award (2007)
Representation of the acoustic signal at various levels in mammalian auditory systems. Ranges from theoretical models of auditory processing in early and central auditory stages, to neurophysiological investigations of the auditory cortex, to psychoacoustical experiments of human perception of acoustic spectral profiles
Six Clark School Faculty Receive 2024 DURIP Awards
DURIP awards support university research in technical areas of interest to the Department of Defense.Neural and computational mechanisms underlying musical enculturation
Shihab Shamma will combine computational and brain research techniques to elucidate the mechanisms behind enculturation.Training Can Improve Older Adults’ Ability to Discriminate Rapid Changes in Sound
Findings support subsequent studies on hearing loss-reversing interventionsMaryland Engineering Collaborates on Three MURIs
Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) awards support growth of newly emerging technologies.Creative Movement, 'On Display'
Human Sculpture Court Part of Workshop Exploring the Brain and DanceShamma joins former student Mounya Elhilali in new MURI soundscape project
The researchers will identify the nature and role of acoustic representations in guiding perception and behavior in humans, animals, and models.Internal predictive model characterizes brain's neural activity during listening and imagining music
Two "Music of Silence" papers by Shamma, Di Liberto and Marion have implications for computational models of sensory perception.The brain makes sense of math and language in different ways
Distinct regions in the brain use their own neural pathways and networks to process either spoken math or language.Nikolas Francis on the Neurophysiology of Listening
New Brain and Behavior Institute and Department of Biology faculty hire brings wide-ranging expertise to collaborative neuroscience endeavors at UMD.Cornelia Fermüller is PI for 'NeuroPacNet,' a $1.75M NSF funding award
The resulting "network of networks" will further the scientific grand challenge of developing neuromorphic artificial intelligence.AESoP symposium features speakers, organizers with UMD ties
The symposium highlights research on hearing, speech and language that makes use of novel EEG or MEG signal processing.Shamma, colleagues publish in Journal of Neuroscience
Paper explores the neural basis of the brain's efficient auditory encoding.UMD auditory cortex research featured in Nature Neuroscience
Study reveals how the brain nimbly and rapidly change responses to incoming sensory stimuli depending upon the cognitive context of the moment.Maryland researchers develop computational approach to understanding brain dynamics
This paper published in PNAS develops a signal processing framework for extracting dynamic functional networks from neuronal data at unprecedented resolutions.BBI affiliated faculty receive $8 million NIH grant to combat hearing loss in older people
Multidisciplinary research will examine strategies to improve communication challenges.Jonathan Fritz promoted to Research Scientist
Fritz is well known for his work in neuroscience research.Fritz, Shamma are collaborators on new DARPA Targeted Neuroplasticity Training Program
The University of Maryland will receive up to $8.58 million from DARPA for the research, which is led by the UMD Center for Advanced Study of Language.Jonathan Simon is invited speaker at Paris Workshop on Decoding of Sound and Brain
Alumna Mounya Elhilali also was a presenter.Shihab Shamma named to NIH advisory council
The National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council advises the Secretary of HHS and the directors of NIH and its NIDCD.Shamma receives NIH grant to study spectro-temporal plasticity in the brain's neuronal networks
Researchers will explore underlying mechanisms that give rise to functional plasticity in the auditory cortex.UMD neuroscience researchers publish in the journal Neuron
Paper suggests the brain’s auditory, visual and somatosensory systems may have a similar functional hierarchical structure.- Fellow, 2018
- Fellow, 2004