BomJun Kwon, Ph.D.

Although he had several interesting offers from other research facilities, BomJun Kwon, Ph.D., chose House Ear Institute for his post-doctoral training after graduation from the University of Iowa.

As a doctoral candidate in speech and hearing sciences under the tutelage of Professor Christopher Turner, BomJun investigated the effects of noise on speech perception, presenting his findings at three separate conferences of the Acoustical Society of America. So, when the head of HEI's Auditory Implants and Perception Laboratory, Robert Shannon, Ph.D., was visiting Dr. Turner, he recruited the bright young researcher, who began work on HEI's staff in June 2000.

"When Dr. Shannon offered me the chance to complete my post-doctoral studies in his laboratory, I jumped at the opportunity, not only because he is one of the most highly regarded scientists in his field, but also because I truly admire his philosophy toward scientific research," explains BomJun.

And the admiration is mutual. Remarks Dr. Shannon, "We are delighted he chose to come to the Institute when he had several other excellent options, including the prestigious Computer Sciences Institute at Berkley, California. BomJun brings terrific mathematical and signal processing experience to our group, and I believe that he has the ability to make a significant contribution to the field of speech perception. I think he is a hot prospect in science!"

BomJun is currently engaged in two projects in Dr. Shannon's lab. Using normal hearing subjects, he analyzes the effect of noise on speech perception by manipulating the noise level and the pattern of the noise presented in order to determine their impact—a study that will help to set a standard by which the impact of noise on hearing-impaired subjects may be measured. The other project involves psychoacoustics and tests the ability to detect amplitude modulation (AM) when background noise is present— testing aimed at discovering how the temporal domain of the brain works under different degrees of noise interference.

BomJun says he hopes his findings will improve speech-processing techniques in auditory prosthetics. "I enjoy the opportunity to engage in the whole research process—from concept to design and implementation and final analysis," he adds. "My time is never wasted, and I have already submitted two abstracts to be considered for presentation at upcoming scientific conferences."

BomJun's ultimate career goal is an academic post in a university speech and science program because, he says, he enjoys "being challenged by the students' questions."

A native of Korea, BomJun and his wife, Eunhee, live in Los Angeles with their seven-month-old son, Joseph.