Dr Alex Stamatiadis Wins British Council’s 2026 Business & Innovation Award

Research from a University of Sheffield PhD has led to award-winning music technology, with Dr Alex Stamatiadis recognised by the British Council for innovation in algorithmic music generation.

Graphic showing Alex Stamatiadis, UK Alumni Award winner

Dr Alex Stamatiadis has received the British Council Business & Innovation Award in Greece, recognising the impact of his research in algorithmic music generation and its translation into industry-leading creative tools.

The award marks an important milestone for research that began during Alex’s PhD at the University of Sheffield and has since developed into software used by music producers around the world. His work in music cognition and melodic perception contributed to the development of Bassliner, part of the Dreeemwave Bassliner platform, which has been endorsed by multiple GRAMMY-winning and Billboard chart-topping producers, as well as thousands of music makers internationally.

During his doctoral research, supervised by Professor Renee Timmers (Department of Music) and Professor Guy Brown (School of Computer Science), Alex investigated how aesthetic responses to melody can be quantified. As part of this work, he began developing code that translated these research insights into practical music production tools.

Professor Renee Timmers said:
“It is excellent news to see Alex’s work, which began during his PhD research, recognised with a British Council Business and Innovation Award. It illustrates the commercial potential of music psychology research within the creative industries. Alex has been very forward-looking in understanding how his research could be used by composers and producers, and it is great to see that vision recognised through both the award and the commercial success of his plug-in.”

While studying at Sheffield, Alex also completed an internship with Cableguys, an industry-leading music production software company. The experience helped him further develop the technology and move it towards a commercial creative tool that now serves producers and composers worldwide.

The Study UK Alumni Awards Greece ceremony took place in Athens on Wednesday 4 February. The event was hosted by HM Ambassador to Greece Matthew Lodge and British Council Greece and Cyprus Director Anastasia Andritsou, and brought together leaders from across Greece’s cultural, academic and political communities.

The British Council and the British Embassy recognised four alumni whose UK education has led to significant contributions in science, entrepreneurship, culture and social action, demonstrating impact both nationally and globally.

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