Hi! I’m Claire Southard, a student pursuing a Master’s in Music Technology and Computation at MIT. My focus is on making music performance accessible to musicians with movement disorders through brain-computer interfaces.
After earning my undergraduate degree at MIT in computer science and neuroscience, I became interested in addressing a struggle that too many musicians face—losing the ability to physically play their instrument due to neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, or other factors. My research explores translating musicians’ brain activity into the music they’re imagining through signal processing and machine learning. You can read more about my ongoing research in this article by MIT.
In my free time, I write books, play the piano, and watch baseball. Originally from a small town in Missouri, I also work with MIT’s Office of Admissions to provide college application resources to rural high school students across the country who might not otherwise have access to them.