It's our pleasure to announce that the PhD studentship for the Queen's University's DEL Strategic PhD Award for 'Acoustic Mapping of Cities' has been accepted by Conor McCafferty. For many years, Conor has led public engagement projects for PLACE Architecture and Built Environment Centre, Belfast, including the annual Urban Design Academy for young people, the Place-Making Podcast series and other publications, events and workshops. He edited the book Vacant to Vibrant: Rethinking Town Centres (2014), which collects case studies and essays on issues relating to town centre vacancy and dereliction. Conor is also a Co-Director at Platform Arts studio space and gallery in Belfast city centre. With Paul Clarke, Conor produced the feature-length documentary film Drawing on Life (2013), which explores the relationship between architects and the world of drawing. We are delighted to be working with Conor starting in September 2014.