About Us
Founded by Dr. Stephon Alexander, a professor of theoretical physics at Brown University and a professional jazz musician, Sound+Science is a 501c3 non-profit organization backed by the Simons Foundation that aims to empower the underestimated youth of New York and provide new career pathways into the world of STEM.
Launching in January 2024 in partnership with Civic Hall and the FedCap Group in Union Square NYC, Sound+Science is actively recruiting high school students to join its 2024 cohorts.
The first cohort will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30pm-7:30pm ET from March to May. Please submit an application to be considered for this innovative program.
To partner with us or bring Sound+Science to a community near you, please email us at info@soundplusscience.com
Sound+Science Partners
Sound+Science Management Team
Stephon H. Alexander, PhD
Founder and CEO
Stephon Alexander is a theoretical physicist specializing in cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity (String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity). He received his BSc (1993) from Haverford College and PhD (2000) from Brown University. Dr. Alexander held postdoctoral research fellowships at Imperial College, London and The Stanford University Linear Accelerator Center and previously held faculty positions at Penn State, Haverford College and Dartmouth.
Dr. Alexander also explores interconnections between music, physics,mathematics and technology through recordings, performance, teaching and public lectures and has performed and collaborated with Will Calhoun, Brian Eno, Marc Cary, Vernon Reid, Ronnie Burrage and Jaron Lanier on these intersections.
Jeremy Snepar
Chief Operating Officer
Jeremy is an EdTech entrepreneur and the Founder/CEO of the New York Code + Design Academy, a trailblazing organization that was among the first to offer immersive coding bootcamps as a faster and more efficient path to a career in the tech sector, from 2010-2018.
Prior to NYCDA, which Jeremy sold to Strayer Education, Inc. (now Strategic Education, Inc.) in 2016, he served in various roles in education and investment banking. He advises public and private education companies in the K-12, Higher Education, career schools and bootcamp spaces on strategy, operations, growth marketing, and innovation. Mr. Snepar earned his B.A. at Cornell University and resides in Manhattan with his wife and three children.
Cyril Creque-Sarbinowski, PhD
Chief Facilitator and Mentor
Cyril Creque-Sarbinowsk is a Flatiron Research Fellow (FRF) at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA). Prior to this position, he obtained his PhD working in Marc Kamionkowski’s group at Johns Hopkins University and attended MIT as an undergraduate. Cyril’s research interests involve the use of observationally-informed cosmology, with forays into astrophysics and astronomy, in order to extract information about our Universe on all scales.He is currently focused on building theoretical and statistical frameworks in order to investigate the nature of inflation, baryogenesis, and cosmological parity violation, among other beyond-the-standard-model physics phenomena.
Outside of physics, Cyril enjoys listening to music and lifting weights. In general, he is always open to talking about composition, sound design, xenharmonics, or optimizing strength and hypertrophy.
Sound+Science Board of Advisors
Paul D. Miller
Conceptual Artist known as DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid
Board Member and Creative Director
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is currently Artist in Residence at Yale University Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (2023-2024, extended). He is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work engages audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Miller has collaborated with an array of recording artists, including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Metallica, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono amongst many others. His 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at #3 on Billboard Reggae.
His large-scale, multimedia performance pieces include Rebirth of a Nation, Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Seoul Counterpoint, written during his 2014 residency at Seoul Institute of the Arts. His multimedia project Sonic Web premiered at San Francisco’s Internet Archive in 2019. He was the inaugural artist-in-residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “The Met Reframed”, 2012-2013.
In 2014, he was named National Geographic Emerging Explorer. He produced Pioneers of African American Cinema, a collection of the earliest films made by African American directors, released in 2015. Miller’s artwork has appeared in the Whitney Biennial, The Venice Biennial for Architecture, the Miami/Art Basel fair, and many other museums and galleries.
His books include the award-winning Rhythm Science, published by MIT Press in 2004; Sound Unbound, an anthology about digital music and media; The Book of Ice, a visual and acoustic portrait of the Antarctic, and; The Imaginary App, on how apps changed the world. His writing has been published by The Village Voice, The Source, and Artforum, and he was the first founding Executive Editor of Origin Magazine.
Nona Hendryx
Musican. Artist. Technologist.
Board Member and Advisor
Nona Hendryx tackles social issues, love and politics with a smoky vocal tessitura somewhere between funk and the end of the stratosphere. Hendryx’s legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution. Fans know her as a founding member of the girl group, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles (with Sarah Dash, Cindy Birdsong and Patti LaBelle) known as “the Sweethearts of the Apollo Theatre” and inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in 1999. Nona’s impressive career as a solo artist spanned eight studio albums and engaged her with an impressive lineup of collaborators (Prince, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Bono and Cameo), resulting in top ten hits and a Grammy nomination (Rock This Houses with The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards on guitar).
An activist and vocal supporter for women’s rights, social, political and criminal justice, Nona has helpied to raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS from the outbreak of the epidemic and remains involved through the present day. Nona is also an Ambassador for Artistry in Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston and works across three departments; Music Ensemble, Music Theater and Berklee’s Electronic Production and Design Department with the guidance of the EPD Chair Michael Bierylo.
Robert Rowe, PhD
Board Member and Advisor
Robert Rowe received degrees in music history & theory (B.M. Wisconsin 1976), composition (M.A. Iowa 1978), and music & cognition (Ph.D. MIT 1991). From 1978 to 1987 he lived and worked in Europe, associated with the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht, the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, the ASKO Ensemble of Amsterdam, and with IRCAM in Paris, where he developed control level software for the 4X machine.
In 1990 his composition Flood Gate won first prize in the “live electroacoustic” category of the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition. In 1991 he became the first composer to complete the Ph.D. in Music and Cognition at the MIT Media Laboratory. He served as Associate Dean of Research & Doctoral Affairs of New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and is currently Professor of Music Technology in the Department of Music & Performing Arts Professions at NYU, a core member of the Music & Audio Research Laboratory (MARL), and an Affiliated Faculty member of NYU Abu Dhabi.
His music is performed throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia and is available on compact discs from Urlicht, Innova, Bridge, New World, Roméo, Quindecim, Harmonia Mundi, and the International Computer Music Association, and his book/CD-ROM projects Interactive Music Systems (1993) and Machine Musicianship (2001) are available from the MIT Press.
Maria Popova
Essayist. Poet. Author
Board Member and Advisor
Maria Popova is a Bulgarian-born, American-based essayist, book author, poet, and writer of literary and arts commentary and cultural criticism that has found wide appeal both for her writing and for the visual stylistics that accompany it. In addition to her writing and related speaking engagements, she has served as an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow, as the editorial director at the higher education social network Lore, and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired UK, and other publications. Since 2010, she has resided in Brooklyn, New York. She is the creator of “The Universe in Verse”, a large-scale annual celebration of science and the natural world through poetry.
Maria Popova has received numerous instances of media recognition for her work. In 2012, she was named number 51 of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine. Popova was featured in 30 under 30 by Forbes as one of the most influential individuals in Media and was listed on “The 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2012 List” by Time magazine. Popova’s work has also been spotlighted and profiled in publications such as The New York Times.
Amanda Lind, PhD
Board Member and Advisor
Dr. Amanda Lind is an Acoustician, applying physics and signal processing to develop purpose-built multi-channel acoustic devices. Her systems are found on autonomous cars by both Cruise Automation and Zoox. They improve safety by enabling sensing functions and providing directional audio communication for human-machine interaction. Prior to moving to AVs, her focus was architectural acoustic design at Arup and as an independent consultant. Projects included shape/finish optimization of 36 recording studios for Warner Music Group in the LA Ford Factory, Hitco Records, and creating spatial audio experiences to inform design decisions.