Albert Bregman

Albert Stanley Bregman FRSC (September 15, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was a Canadian academic and researcher in experimental psychology, cognitive science, and Gestalt psychology, primarily in the perceptual organization of sound.

Bregman was known for having defined and conceptually organized the field of auditory scene analysis (ASA) in his 1990 book, Auditory Scene Analysis: the perceptual Organization of Sound (MIT Press). His ideas about ASA have provided a new framework for research in the auditory systems of both humans and non-human animals, for behavioral and neurological studies of speech perception, for music theory, hearing aids, audio technology, and the separation of speech from other sounds by computers (CASA). In acknowledgement of these contributions, he was called "the father of auditory scene analysis".

Until his death, Bregman held a post-retirement appointment at the rank of emeritus professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University. Arriving at McGill in 1965, he became the first professor there to teach cognitive psychology. He also taught courses on Computer and Man, Research methods in experimental psychology, Learning Theory, Auditory Perception, Psychological Theory, and honors research seminars.

Many of Bregman's McGill undergraduate students have gone on to make significant contributions to intellectual life. These include Steven Pinker, Adam Gopnik, Paul Bloom, Stevan Harnad, Alfonso Caramazza, Marcel Just, Stephen McAdams, Bruce Walker, Susan Pinker, Alexander I. Rudnicky, and Alison Gopnik. His graduate students have included, among others, Gary L. Dannenbring, Valter Ciocca, Howard Steiger, Martine Turgeon, Poppy A.C. Crum, Michael Mills (Communications), James K. Wright (Music), and Francesco Tordini (Electrical Engineering). Postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory have included Richard Parncutt, Sheila Williams, and Brian Roberts.