External Profiles

I. Academic Appointments

2025 – present — Assistant Professor, Interactive Media • The GAME School, ASU
2021 – 2024 — Clinical Assistant Professor, Media Computing • AME, ASU
2018 – 2020 — Instructor, Electronic and Digital Audio • AME, ASU
2017 – 2018 — Faculty Associate • AME, ASU

II. Education

2018 — PhD, Computer Music and Multimedia, Brown University
2015 — MA, German Studies, Brown University
2014 — MA, Computer Music and Multimedia, Brown University
2011 — MA, Political Theory, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
2007 — BA, Philosophy, Northwestern University

III. Non-Academic Positions

2025 – present — Founder, Glitch Cloud Audio LLC
2022 – present — Founder, Matter Squared LLC

IV. Funding

2025 — ASU HIRBI Research Investment (PI), $8,000 — Glitch’n AI: From Musical Glitches to Hands-on Neural Computation for AI Literacy
2024 — NSF AISL EAGER (PI 35%), $296,239 — Youth-Led Community Learning: Enhancing Semiconductor Engagement through Musical Circuit Bending
2024 — Venture Devils Demo Day Grant, $2,375 • Matter Squared LLC
2024 — Les Paul Foundation (Co-PI), $2,242 — Inventing Possibilities with Musical Circuits
2024 — Hool Law Group Grant, $10,000 • Matter Squared LLC
2024 — Impact AZ Grant, $10,000 • Matter Squared LLC
2024 — Good Work Capital Fund Grant, $10,000 • Matter Squared LLC
2022 — ASU HIRBI Research Investment (PI), $10,000 — Reprogram and Remix the Violin with Active Shoulder Rests
2021 — NSF CS4All (Co-PI 25%), $998,712 — Engaging Teachers and Neurodiverse Middle School Students in Tangible and Creative Computational Thinking Activities
2019 — ASU HIRBI Research Investment (PI), $4,500 — Real-time Computational Photographic Analysis of the Violin

V. Awarded and Pending Patents

2024 — U.S. Patent Application — Acoustic Augmentation of Musical Instruments with an End-Pin (Publication No. US20240257788A1)
Inventor: Seth D. Thorn • Filed Dec 8, 2023 • Published Aug 1, 2024 • Assignee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
2024 — U.S. Patent Application — Active Violin Shoulder Rests (Publication No. US20240414461A1)
Inventor: Seth D. Thorn et al. • Filed Aug 19, 2024 • Published Dec 12, 2024 • Assignee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
2020 — Issued U.S. Patent — Shoulder Rest with Haptic Feedback (Publication No. US20200394987A1)
Inventor: Seth D. Thorn • Issued Dec 17, 2020 • Assignee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University

VI. Refereed Journal Articles

In Press — Possibility Studies and Society — Topological Mappings of Neurodiverse Learning Space and Flows • M. Koro, C. Reutlinger, A. Vasquez, S. Thorn & M. Pivovarova
2022 — Wearable Technologies • Cambridge University Press — Collectively Playable Wearable Music: Practice-situated approaches to participatory relational inquiry • S. D. Thorn & H. L. Willcox
2021 — Organised Sound • Cambridge University Press — Flows of Inhomogeneous Matter: Improvising an augmented violin
2019 — Leonardo Music Journal • MIT Press — A Computational System for Violin: Synthesis and Dissolution in Windowless

VII. Refereed Conference Publications (Long Papers)

2025 — NIME — Towards Neurodiverse Sensemaking: Pluralizing Agency in Wearable Music and Participatory Workshopping • S. Thorn et al. — Highly Commended Paper (Best Paper Awards)
2025 — ICMC 50th Anniversary, Boston MA — Coding Modular with Max/Gen: A Eurorack System for Violin Improvisation
2022 — NIME — Decolonizing the Violin with Active Shoulder Rests • S. Thorn & B. Lahey
2020 — ACM Movement & Computing — Processual and Experiential Design in Wearable Music Workshopping • S. Thorn, H. Willcox, X.W. Sha
2019 — ACM Movement & Computing — Instruments of Articulation: Signal Processing in Live Performance • S. Thorn & X.W. Sha
2019 — ICMC — A Haptic-Feedback Shoulder Rest for the Hybrid Violin • S. Thorn & B. Lahey
2018 — NIME — Alto.glove: New Techniques for Augmented Violin

VIII. Refereed Conference Publications (Short Papers / Posters / Extended Abstracts)

2025 — NIME (Music Track), Canberra, Australia — Diffractive Constellations: A Modular System for Acoustic Violin Programmed in Max/Gen • S. Thorn (Remote Performance)
2025 — ACM Creativity & Cognition (Arts Track, Virtual / London) — Diffractive Constellations: Activating Human-Machine Co-Creation in Violin Performance through Embedded Modular Coding
2022 — IEEE RESPECT — Co-Design of Wearable Music Curriculum for Transversal Neurodiverse Computational Thinking • S. Thorn et al.
2021 — ACM Audio Mostly (Best Poster Award) — Telematic Wearable Music: Remote Ensembles and Inclusive Embodied Education
2021 — XCOAX — Machinic Intersection: Not—Yet—Chaconne
2020 — ACM Movement & Computing — Hybrid Violin Performance: Model-Free, Abductive Experiment
2019 — ACM Creativity & Cognition — Signal Processing as Practice: Trial-and-Error Revision of the Sensorimotor Dynamics of a Hybrid Violin
2019 — ACM Tangible, Embodied and Embedded Interactions — Transference: A Hybrid Computational System for Improvised Violin Performance

IX. Refereed Workshops

2019 — ACM Tangible, Embodied, and Embedded Interactions — Composing Ecosystemically in Responsive Environments with Gestural Media, Objects, and Textures • B. Metchley et al.
2019 — ACM Movement & Computing — Co-constructing Events in Responsive Environments • X.W. Sha et al.

X. Refereed Panels

2023 — CUNY Neurodiversity Conference — Neurodiversity as a Baseline in STEM Education Research • M. Koro et al.
2022 — IEEE RESPECT (Panel) — Partnerships Built for Equity: Neurodivergent Learners and the Use of CT • M. Koro et al.

XI. Commissioned Translations

2014 — Qui Parle (UC Berkeley) — Christoph Menke, The Aesthetic Possibility of the Work of Art (JSTOR link)

XII. Awards & Recognition

2025 — NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression) — Highly Commended Paper Award
— “Towards Neurodiverse Sensemaking: Pluralizing Agency in Wearable Music and Participatory Workshopping” • S. Thorn et al.
2024 — Inaugural Teaching Innovation Award (Peer-Selected), School of Arts, Media and Engineering, ASU
2023 — Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Finalist
2021 — ACM Audio Mostly, Best Poster Award
2020 — ISMIR First Prize (Music Performance Category)
2018 — Matera Intermedia Festival, Finalist
2018 — Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Finalist

XIII. Residencies

2018 — Hewnoaks Artist Colony
2017 — iPark Foundation, East Haddam, Connecticut

XIV. Selected Invited Talks and Presentations

2024 — Fulton Engineering Lab to Launch ASU • Tech Startup Pitch (Matter Squared LLC)
2023 — New Economy Initiative ASU: Human Performance • Tech Startup Pitch (Matter Squared LLC)
2022 — Metaware Seminar Series (ASU Fashion, MIT Media Lab, NTU) — Wearable Music and Transacoustic Violins
2021 — Cornish College of the Arts (Ableton Sponsorship) — Violin HCI with Ableton and Max
2021 — XCOAX • Artist Roundtable
2019 — NYC Electroacoustic Improvisation Summit • Artist Roundtable
2018 — Digital Culture Speaker Series, ASU • Artist Talk
2018 — SPLICE Festival, WMU Kalamazoo • Artist Talk

XV. Selected Performances

2025 — NIME, Canberra + Virtual, Diffractive Constellations: A Modular System for Acoustic Violin Programmed in Max/Gen
2025 — ACM Creativity & Cognition, London + Virtual
2025 — Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (Listening Space Performance), Bloomington — Modular System for Acoustic Violin and Live Improvisation
2021 — xCoax • Graz (Virtual)
2020 — ISMIR • Montreal (Virtual)
2020 — ACM Movement & Computing • Jersey City (Virtual)
2019 — ACM Movement & Computing • Tempe
2019 — ICMC + NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival
2019 — ACM Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Experiences • Tempe
2019 — NYC Electroacoustic Improvisation Summit
2018 — NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival
2018 — NIME • Blacksburg
2018 — SPLICE Festival • WMU, Kalamazoo

XVI. Media / Press / Reviews

Albums

2025 — A Curious Doubling of Terms (Audiobulb Records, UK)

Chart Features

“Metaphysics” charted by AFTERLIFE — Juno Download
- Oct 5, 2025
- Dec 1, 2025

Reviews / Mentions

ChainDLK — “Feels like a diary written half in moss, half in binary … bowed strings rubbing against the algorithmic churn.”
Igloo Magazine — “A standout in 2025’s ambient landscape … combining bowed strings, granular synthesis, and hushed rhythms.”
Musique Machine — “Parades all of his talents … expertly crafted improvisation with acoustic and electronics.”
Silence and Sound — “A delicate album … superb.”
The Slow Music Movement — “A thought-provoking ambient work blurring acoustic intimacy and electronic abstraction.”
A Closer Listen — Fall Music Preview 2025 — Listed among the season’s notable releases.
DaMusic — Schemerzone — Included in international new-music roundup.

Year-End Best-Of Lists

2025 — Best Ambient of 2025 — Post Ambient Lux
2025 — Best of 2025 Albums — Gert De Meester (Belgium)
- Ranked #3: A Curious Doubling of Terms (Audiobulb Records)
2025 — Best of 2025 — Igloo Magazine

Radio Broadcasts

BBC Radio 3 — Night Tracks — Hosted by Hannah Peel
- Broadcast: Sept 22, 2025, 22:00 (BBC Radio 3 Unwind)
- Rebroadcast: Oct 17, 2025, 22:00 (BBC Radio 3 Unwind)
RAI Radio 3 — Sei Gradi — Italy
- Broadcast: Nov 4, 2025, 18:00 — “Metaphysics”
- Broadcast: Dec 18, 2025, 18:00 — “What Lies Before”
CISM 89.3FM — Symbiose — Montréal, Québec
- Broadcast: Jan 4, 2026, 22:00
- Featured track: “Taking To Heart”
Radio Free FM — Playlisted broadcast feature, Sept 2025
WRUV — The Floating Head of Zsa Zsa
- Broadcast: Aug 19, 2025, 10:26 a.m. — Hosted by Laima Harmon
Radio Bandito — Sleep Dose #141
- Broadcast: Sept 24, 2025, 22:00 — Feature alongside works by Ran Slavin, Jessica Moss, M. Sage, David Lee Myers, et al.
Radio FRO — Fadimat105 — Linz, Austria
- Broadcast: Oct 25, 2025, 22:00 — Curated and presented by Tanja Fieger

University Features and News

ASU Features — Primary Focus

2024 — ASU News — “Circuit Bending Connects Computer Science and Creativity” — Aug 2, 2024
2023 — ASU News — “Feeling the Sound” — Aug 28, 2023
2020 — ASU News — “ASU faculty awarded patent for shoulder rest that lets violinists feel the sound” — Jul 16, 2020

ASU Features — Secondary Mentions

2025 — ASU News — “How art and technology attracted this Minnesota artist to ASU” — Apr 28, 2025
2023 — ASU News — “ASU Student Combines Passions for Performance and Technology” — Apr 20, 2023
2019 — Arizona Republic — “ASU President Michael Crow: innovator and disruptor”
2018 — ASU News — “ASU Musicians Showcase Creativity in Electronic Music” — Jan 18, 2018
2018 — HIDA Disrupt Magazine 1 — “Digital Culture,” Arizona State University

Scholarly Media for the Public

2025 — ASU News — “How art and technology attracted this Minnesota artist to ASU”
2024 — ASU Learning Sparks — Reconsidering the Fundamentals of How We Learn Music
2024 — ASU Learning Sparks — Symmetrizing Action and Perception
2024 — ASU Learning Sparks — Disruptive Technologies in the Context of Music Education
2024 — ASU Learning Sparks — Wearable Music

External Features

2025 — Igloo Magazine — Best of 2025
2023 — Electronic Sound Magazine (UK), Issue 100
2023 — Immersive Violin Interview — KJZZ / NPR
2023 — Wearable Music Interview — KJZZ / NPR

Books / Scholarly References

2020 — The Art of Digital Orchestration — Taylor & Francis

XVII. Program Committees

2026 - Program Committee Member, ICMC (International Computer Music Conference)
2026 — Program Committee Member, IEEE IS2 (International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds)
2025 — Program Committee Member, IEEE IS2 (International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds)
2024 — Program Committee Member, IEEE IS2 (recognized as IEEE conf in 2024)
2023 — Program Committee Member, IS2

XVIII. Academic Service (Internal)

2024 – present — ASU Herberger Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee
2024 – present — ASU Herberger Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee
2023 – present — Edson E+I Unit Entrepreneurship Liaison
- Represented the School of Music, Dance and Theatre in cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship initiatives, including Donuts and Entrepreneurship (Apr 26, 2024)
2022 – 2025 — ASU Herberger Institute Research Committee
2021 – 2024 — Research Council, Herberger Institute (Rep., AME)
2022 – present — Faculty Advisor, Digital Culture Underground
2021 — Canal Convergence 2021: Art & Technology, Scottsdale
2019 — YESW Workshop, Fulton Schools of Engineering, ASU
2019 — Digital Culture Summer Institute (Course Development & Teaching)
2018 — Digital Culture Summer Institute (Course Development & Teaching)

IXX. Paper and Grant Reviewer

2026 — NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression)
2026 — ICMC (International Computer Music Conference)
2026 — IEEE IS2 (International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds)
2025 — CHI 2026 Papers Track — ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2025 — IEEE IS2 2025 Papers Track — International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds (IEEE)
2024 — Book Reviewer — MIT Press, New Media Series
2024 — Journal of New Music Research — Taylor & Francis
2024 — IEEE IS2 2024 Papers Track — Program Committee, International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds (IEEE)
2023 — ACM TEI 2024 Papers Track — Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (ACM)
2023 — IS2 2023 — International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds (IEEE)
2023 — Einstein Foundation — Berlin
2022 — ACM MOCO 2023 Papers Track — Movement and Computing Conference (ACM)

XX. Teaching

New & Redeveloped Courses

Wearable Music (2021–present) — Upper-level undergraduate
Computational Thinking for Media Arts and Sciences (2020–present) — Lower-level undergraduate
Hyperinstruments (2018–2020) — Upper-level undergraduate
Advanced Interactive Sound (2017–present) — Mixed undergraduate + graduate
Circuit Bending (2017–present) — Lower-level undergraduate
Synthesis and Expression (2017–present) — Upper-level undergraduate

Other Courses Taught

2020 — Introduction to Digital Culture (Lower-level undergraduate)
2018 – 2019 — Composing and Performing for Hybrid Ensembles (Upper-level undergraduate)
2019 – 2020 — Digital Culture Capstone I & II (Upper-level undergraduate)

XXI. Student Mentorship

2025 — Faculty Advisor, Biosynth Co. (Ben Chatfield, Brodie Sheridan) — First Prize ($15,000 non-dilutive investment), ASU Venture Devils Fall 2025 Competition
2025 — Honors Thesis Director: Kylie Stenke (Computer Science)
2024 — PhD Chair: Shomit Barura
2024 — Project Advisor: Cody Carter (America’s Got Talent Preparation Project)
2023 — DMA Co-Chair: Julian Nguyen (with Jonathan Swartz)
2023 — NSF REU Mentor: Leah Donnelly
2022 — Project Advisor: Emma Murphy (Phoenix Children’s Hospital Fundraiser)
2022 — NSF REU Mentor: Ethan Lee
2022 — Master’s Project Chair: Cole Mcleod
2022 — Honors Thesis Director: Julian Voitek
2021 — Honors Thesis Reader: Isabel Estes
2021 — NSF REU Mentor: Frank Wang