Joseph Roy

Nature soundscape, representing Joseph Roy's research on natural sounds and human wellbeing

My Research

How does nature sound so good?

We instinctively feel better after a walk through the woods or time spent among nature sounds. But what is actually going on, psychologically and physiologically?

My PhD at Bangor University investigates the relationship between human wellbeing and the richness of natural soundscapes in both rural and urban settings. I combine psychological experiments, physiological measurements and field studies to understand how and why nature sounds restore us.

Environmental Psychology Psychoacoustics Eco-acoustics Animal Behaviour Urban Wellbeing Avian Biodiversity Anthropogenic Evolution Conservation

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What I Do

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PhD Research

Natural soundscapes and human wellbeing. Three experiments using VR, thermal imaging and field studies.

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Projects

Community research, conservation fieldwork, the Darwin 200 Leader Award and the Bangor Living Lab.

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Publications

Journal articles, preprints and work in preparation spanning ecology, behaviour and environmental psychology.

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Writing

Essays on nature, research and ideas worth sharing beyond the academic page.

ESRC

Welsh Graduate School competitive PhD funding (~£200,000)

Darwin 200

Global Darwin Leader Award for conservation research

Grants and scholarships secured across career

Countries of study: India, Scotland and Wales

2024

PhD start year, Bangor University

About Me

From Kerala to Wales, by way of Glasgow

I grew up in Kerala, one of India's most biodiverse states, where I completed a BSc in Zoology (Top 1%, Mahatma Gandhi University) before pursuing an MSc in Zoology (Top 5%, University of Kerala) and moving to the UK for an MSc Research in Ecology and Environmental Biology at the University of Glasgow.

Each step deepened my curiosity about how living things relate to their environments. The PhD at Bangor University felt like the natural next step: a chance to ask the same question from the human side. I am funded by the ESRC and the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences, and I collaborate with the British Trust for Ornithology in Wales.

In 2023 I was selected as a Global Darwin Leader, joining the Refauna project in Rio de Janeiro to document the reintroduction of howler monkeys to Tijuca National Park. I also founded "Science in 3 Minutes", a YouTube science education channel making ecology and environmental science accessible to general audiences.

Find Me Online

LinkedIn 🎓 Bangor Profile 🔬 ORCID 📚 Google Scholar 🏛 WGSSS Profile 🌿 Darwin 200

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At a Glance