Erskine Fellow blends architecture, acoustics and opera

When Associate Professor Papatya Nur Dökmeci Yörükoğlu arrived at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) as a Fellow on the 2025 Erskine Programme, she brought with her a remarkable mix of expertise and passion. An internationally recognised researcher in architectural acoustics, an opera singer in training and a former national figure-skating champion, Associate Professor Dökmeci Yörükoğlu spent a month at UC sharing her knowledge with staff and students. 

Raised in Ankara, Türkiye, Yorukoglu’s career has been shaped by global opportunities. A year of high school in the United States and studies at the universities of Oxford and Sheffield expanded her horizons. She completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield, where she pioneered research on indoor soundscapes - a framework for understanding how sound influences the way people experience indoor environments.

Today, she is the head of the Acoustics Application and Research Centre and leads the Building Physics and Environment Laboratory at Çankaya University. She also serves as the Turkish delegate on the ISO soundscape standardisation committee, helping to set international guidelines on acoustic design.

Her journey to UC began at a conference in Amsterdam, where she met UC’s Professor John Pearse. Impressed by her work on teaching acoustics to architects, he encouraged her to apply for the Erskine Fellowship, which brings international academics to UC to enrich teaching and share new perspectives.

At UC, Associate Professor Dökmeci Yörükoğlu taught an Introduction to Acoustics elective within Mechanical Engineering, giving students fresh insights into architectural acoustics, building design and soundscapes. She says she has been inspired by the engagement and curiosity of UC students, reflecting that: “Their attentiveness and interaction surprised me. It’s a real two-way learning experience.” 

Outside the classroom, Associate Professor Dökmeci Yörükoğlu and her daughter have been exploring Christchurch - from gondola rides and local beaches to weaving workshops at Tūranga | Christchurch City Library. “Everything we’ve experienced here is beyond expectation,” she says. “It feels like I’m in a dream.”

She also acknowledged the support she received from colleagues. “Professor John Pearse was an incredibly sincere, kind and caring of me and my daughter throughout our time in Christchurch. I’m also very grateful to the Head of Mechanical Engineering and the entire department, who were unfailingly supportive and welcoming.”

Alongside her busy academic career, Associate Professor Dökmeci Yörükoğlu continues to pursue her creative passions. She is training as an opera singer at a conservatory in Ankara, performing in concerts twice a year, and also serves as an international figure-skating judge. For her, music and movement connect naturally with her research on sound and space. She says, “Architects design mostly for the eye. My work is about raising awareness that we also experience space with our ears.”

As her time at UC drew to a close, Associate Professor Dökmeci Yörükoğlu hoped to take back not just teaching insights but also a sense of New Zealand’s unique learning culture. “The friendliness, the openness, the engagement, it’s been inspiring. I’ll carry these experiences with me forever.”