Chris Stecker

Chris Stecker has extensive experience in the field of spatial hearing and auditory research. Chris is currently the Director of the Spatial Hearing Laboratory at Boys Town National Research Hospital, where they are focused on developing new approaches to study how people use sound to understand auditory space in various contexts, such as day-to-day listening, virtual/augmented reality, and with hearing aids/cochlear implants.

Before their current role, Stecker founded and served as Chief Scientist of Auditory Space, LLC. In this position, they utilized their expertise in spatial hearing to design, implement, advise, and validate solutions in the audio, entertainment, and research industries. Chris also conducted expert research to understand the impact of technologies on auditory experiences in diverse populations of listeners.

Stecker's previous positions include Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where they investigated how normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners utilize acoustic cues to understand auditory space. Chris also focused on the representation of spatial information in the human auditory cortex. Prior to this, they were the Founding Director of the UW Center for Auditory Neuroimaging at the University of Washington, where they facilitated neuroimaging research and provided equipment and expertise for auditory components of research projects.

Stecker established and directed the Spatial Perception in Acoustically Complex Environments (SPACE) lab at the University of Washington, where their research in psychoacoustics centered around understanding the perceptual weighting of acoustic cues for auditory space. Chris also developed and implemented techniques for auditory neuroimaging using fMRI.

Additionally, Stecker has experience as a Research Psychologist at the Human Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab of VA Northern California Healthcare System, where they conducted neuroimaging studies on sound processing in the human brain. Chris also worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan, where they studied the spatial representation abilities of neurons in the auditory cortex.

Earlier in their career, Stecker served as the Production Director and Audio Engineer at WCBN-FM Ann Arbor, where they advised and trained student volunteers in audio recording and engineering, as well as managed live sound for in-studio recording and broadcast sessions. Chris also operated an electronic music record label called Ovenguard Music, where they produced live concerts and studio recordings.

Overall, Chris Stecker's work experience spans several prestigious institutions and showcases their expertise in spatial hearing, auditory research, neuroimaging, and software development for the audio and entertainment industries.

Chris Stecker completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cognitive Science at UC San Diego from 1992 to 1994. Following this, they pursued further education at the University of California, Berkeley, where they obtained a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, specializing in this field from 1994 to 2000.