After a first degree in mathematics at Cambridge, Jim Woodhouse did a PhD on the acoustics of the violin, in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge (this work being inspired by a hobby interest in building instruments). He then worked for the engineering consultancy firm Topexpress for a few years, on a variety of problems in structural vibration, before joining theEngineering Department of the University in 1985.

Mechanics of musical instruments Brake squeal and other frictionally-excited vibration Vibration of complex structures Identification and modelling of vibration damping