Rok Prislan, researcher at InnoRenew CoE; main area of research: acoustics

• Where were you living in childhood and where do you live now?

I grew up and live now in the Goriška region — the urban intersection of Slovenia and Italy. I have lived in Ljubljana and Copenhagen during my studies.

• What have you studied and what were the motives for your decision?            

I have studied physics and acoustics. Physics was my choice because it was my strong subject in high school. My interest in acoustics grew by the end of my study. This curiosity was mainly related to music — I wanted to understand how microphones and loudspeakers work and how to acoustically treat a room to make it sound right.

• How would you describe your work to someone outside your field?

I would say I investigate sound — how it is generated, how it interacts with structures and how we hear it. I would also say that I have many microphones and loudspeakers in my laboratory.

• What does your typical working day look like?

The only typical thing is the high amount of coffee I consume daily. In fact, the days are really diverse. When I am in the acoustics lab, I perform acoustic measurements and analyze the obtained results. In reality, this means I am wrapping cables most of the time.

• What makes you excited about your work?

I am most excited when I understand something that is new to me.

• And what is the biggest challenge at your work?

Having my cables organized 🙂

• Which scientist or scientific achievement are you fascinated by and why?

It is Albert Einstein, due to his ability to look at physics from a different perspective, which has brought us further in our understanding of nature.

• Tell us about the work of art (books, music, movies, theatre, dance, visual arts) that has a special place in your life.

I listen to quite a lot of music from a rather broad range of genres, including jazz, rock and electronics. I do not have distinct favorites, but I prefer hearing something fresh and different.

• What have you read, listened to, or watched lately?

I watch the James Bond movies — the whole series, one per week. It turns out, movies and music age very differently. Music ages in a more noble way.

• Which place on the Slovene coast do you like the most?

The best waves are definitively in the acoustics lab!

• What makes you enthusiastic?

Finding an elegant solution to a challenging problem.

• Characterize your life’s guidance or an important realization (or epiphany) you have experienced.

Big problems are most commonly built from small ones.

• What does the charm of wood mean to you?

In the fact that wood has been recognized as a useful material since forever; nevertheless, it is still interesting. Even today, research institutes are built to investigate and better understand wood. Like ours 🙂