ESP Biography



RAYMOND SMITH, MIT Graduate Student in Chemical Engineering




Major: Chemical Engineering

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: G

Picture of Raymond Smith

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I completed my Bachelors in Chemical Engineering at Clemson University with a minor in Mathematical Sciences. From there I began my graduate studies at MIT in the chemical engineering department, where I have begun researching Lithium-ion batteries (think cell phone and laptop batteries). My interest in music stems from a very early-life introduction to music through piano and singing. I have continued to pursue the vocal aspects of music, and I also played trumpet throughout high school. I've always been fascinated by the physical basis for sound and music and also what it is that makes music so remarkably universal in the way we all perceive and process it.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S5988: The Psychology and Physics of Music in HSSP Summer 2012 (Jul. 08, 2012)
In this course, we will examine both the "hard" and "soft" science of music. From the so-called "Mozart effect" to the deep emotional connection people have with music, we will consider what music means to our brains and try to explore why we experience music the way we do. We will also look at what sound physically is -- how it is generated by various instruments, what physical phenomena your ears actually experience, and how the brain processes that information.