About Me
“It is the job of artists to open doors and invite in prophesies, the unknown, the unfamiliar; it’s where their work comes from, although its arrival signals the beginning of the long disciplined process of making it their own. Scientists too, as J. Robert Oppenheimer once remarked, ‘live always at the ‘edge of mystery’- the boundary of the unknown.’ But they transform the unkown into the known, haul it in like fisherman; artists get you out into that dark sea.”
- A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnit (2006)
My name is Preston Hess. I am a fourth year undergraduate at MIT majoring in Computation and Cognition and minoring in Design, with a Humanities concentration in Music.
I am currently researching sound localization and auditory attention at MIT Brain and Cognitive Science’s Laboratory for Computational Audition, headed by Dr. Josh McDermott. Over the last two years in the lab, I have built a large speaker array (in slideshow above), run human experiments, and dedicated significant time building, hacking, and testing Convolutional Neural Networks inspired by the human auditory system.
My passion for creating and my admiration of artists such as Tom Sachs inspired me to pursue a minor in design, where I experiment with materials and fabrication techniques to make many objects that now furnish my room. A humanities concentration in music allows me to gain a deeper understanding of music theory and technology, enriching my 13 years of guitar playing.
Around MIT, I play on MIT’s football team, where I was voted team captain for the 2023 season. I also hold positions in MIT’s chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, such as President, House Manager, Social Chair, and Brotherhood chair. Finally, I acted as the lead for MIT student governments Sexual Assault Awareness & Gender Equity (SAAGE) Committee for two years, organizing events to educate the MIT population on issues surrounding Title IX.
My hobbies include specialty coffee, nice sounds, and reading. I would love to connect with you on any of those topics, and am open to discuss my time and experience at MIT, and how it might help you, your company, or your lab.
I am currently researching sound localization and auditory attention at MIT Brain and Cognitive Science’s Laboratory for Computational Audition, headed by Dr. Josh McDermott. Over the last two years in the lab, I have built a large speaker array (in slideshow above), run human experiments, and dedicated significant time building, hacking, and testing Convolutional Neural Networks inspired by the human auditory system.
My passion for creating and my admiration of artists such as Tom Sachs inspired me to pursue a minor in design, where I experiment with materials and fabrication techniques to make many objects that now furnish my room. A humanities concentration in music allows me to gain a deeper understanding of music theory and technology, enriching my 13 years of guitar playing.
Around MIT, I play on MIT’s football team, where I was voted team captain for the 2023 season. I also hold positions in MIT’s chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, such as President, House Manager, Social Chair, and Brotherhood chair. Finally, I acted as the lead for MIT student governments Sexual Assault Awareness & Gender Equity (SAAGE) Committee for two years, organizing events to educate the MIT population on issues surrounding Title IX.
My hobbies include specialty coffee, nice sounds, and reading. I would love to connect with you on any of those topics, and am open to discuss my time and experience at MIT, and how it might help you, your company, or your lab.