What will happen when enthusiasm for music, science, and AI clashes in one's mind?
Did you ever see someone who always works, drives, or even takes showers with some sort of music being played?

This is me, Yuehao Gao, a student-researcher in music, cognitive neuroscience, and AI with computer algorithms. I am currently a master's student in the Media Arts and Technology (MAT) Program of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and I am conducting ongoing projects focused on classical and digital music composition, AI-based music recommendation systems, as well as media art projects for visualizing and sonifying neuroscience experimental data, including EEG. 

As an international student, my earliest musical cognition was formed in Beijing, China, where traditional Chinese music and Western music weaved the most beautiful side of music into my cognition. Throughout my undergraduate study at Northeastern University, I have acquired systematic knowledge in software engineering and music composing; while in my graduate study at UCSB, I am dedicating myself to utilizing computers as a tool to further explore the intrinsic aesthetic values of the beautiful musical melodies.

My ultimate goal is to develop a platform that provides tailored music recommendation services to individual clients based on their needs, including but not limited to boosting mental wellness, learning about a culture, or creating an immersive listening experience in specific scenarios. With the buttress of modern machine learning technologies, it is believed that such a platform will bring unprecedented wellness and harmony to the society we are currently living in.


My Fields of Interests:
  - AI & Machine Learning
  - Music Recommendation System
  - Cognitive Neuroscience in Music
  - Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
  - Mathematical Models of Musical Aesthetics

Higher Education:
University of California, Santa Barbara
September 2023 - Current
Master of Science
Major: Media Arts and Technology

Northeastern University, Boston
September 2018 - December 2022
Bachelor of Science
Major: Computer Science and Music Technology


Internship Experiences:
Santa Barbara Crisis Residential        China National Opera House
July 2024 - Present                                         June 2023 - August 2023
Music Therapist & Recovery Coach.               Media Content Designer

Diall LLC                                             China Focus LTD
May 2022 - August 2022                                 July 2021 - August 2021
Lead Software Engineer                                  Sound Designer & Music Composer.