Area of Expertise: Loudspeaker Performance Standards

Floyd E. Toole studied electrical engineering at the University of New Brunswick, and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, where he received a Ph.D. In 1965 he joined the National Research Council of Canada, where he reached the position of Senior Research Officer in the Acoustics and Signal Processing Group. In 1991, he joined Harman International Industries, Inc. as Corporate Vice President – Acoustical Engineering. In this position he worked with all Harman International companies, and directed the Harman Research and Development Group, a central resource for technology development and subjective measurements, retiring in 2007. Dr. Toole’s research has focused on the acoustics and psychoacoustics of sound reproduction in small rooms, directed to improving engineering measurements, objectives for loudspeaker design and evaluation, and techniques for reducing variability at the loudspeaker / room / listener interface. For papers on these subjects he has received two AES Publications Awards and the AES Silver Medal. He is a Fellow and Past President of the AES and a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. In September, 2008, he was awarded the CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award.