MrNeel Le Penru

I am a Design Engineer and recent PhD graduate currently holding a Visiting Researcher position in the Audio Experience Design team at Imperial College’s Dyson School of Design Engineering, where I research ecoacoustics - the analysis of natural soundscapes to monitor biodiversity and ecosystem health. My research interests centre on using spatial audio and AI to anticipate tipping points for ecological collapse/transitions. I have also worked in hardware and software R&D at a range of companies in industry and am broadly interested in creatively applying science, technology and innovation towards human and more-than-human flourishing. 

Research

In my research, I seek to develop and apply novel technologies for acoustically monitoring some of the world’s most biodiverse and vulnerable ecosystems. In recorder deployments around the world, including the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo, my collaborators and I are studying new possibilities for sensing the spatial distribution of sounds — and thereby, animals — and exploring whether early warning signals of ecosystem tipping points and resilience loss appear in the acoustics domain. We have also developed a new way to use the lab as a lifelike test environment, allowing recording hardware to be more rigorously benchmarked before field deployment. I have presented my research at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journal articles (see the ‘Publications’ tab above or my Google Scholar profile) and have acted as reviewer for the journals ‘Ibis - International Journal of Avian Science’ and ‘Climate Change Ecology’.

Education & Outreach

In October 2025, I completed my cross-departmental PhD in ecoacoustics at Imperial College. My thesis was titled ‘On the spatial and resilience-related features of natural soundscapes’ and was co-supervised by Prof. Lorenzo Picinali (Dyson School of Design Engineering), Prof. Robert Ewers (Department of Life Sciences) and Dr. Sarab Sethi (Department of Life Sciences). My PhD was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council via the Grantham Institute’s Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Partnership (SSCP DTP) PhD studentship.

I have long been interested in outreach and in 2021-22 was the co-founder and leader of the 'Music of the Earth' project, working with other SSCP DTP students and several talented young composers to create a mini-symphony on climate and environmental change featuring field recordings from the public (learn more at https://linktr.ee/musicoftheearth). The project was showcased at the Great Exhibition Road Festival (June 2022) and Imperial Lates (March 2023) and Highly Commended in the 2024 Imperial President’s Awards for Excellence in Societal Engagement. During my PhD, I was also a member of the Grantham Institute’s Student EDI committee supporting various initiatives, including leading a journal club with pre-release copies of the guided eco-anxiety journal developed by the Climate Cares Centre at Imperial’s Institute for Global Health Innovation.

Prior to commencing my PhD, I graduated in the second cohort of the interdisciplinary MEng in Design Engineering at Imperial College in 2020, during which I interned in New Product Development at Dyson for 6 months, held various extra-curricular roles including as a degree cohort wellbeing representative, and honed my studies around audio technology and sustainability. 

My interests remain spread across technical and creative disciplines, and I hope my research can contribute to a truly sustainable future in harmony with nature.