“Is AI the End of Music?”

Mark F. Bocko, University of Rochester

Thursday, Oct. 22 from 10:30-11:30am- In Person & Zoom

Description: In 1906, John Philip Sousa warned that the phonograph would destroy “human skill, intelligence, and soul” in music. He was wrong. Nearly every music technology created over the past century or so — from radio to Auto-Tune to streaming — has triggered similar worries, but each time music adapted to the new reality and continued to grow. Generative AI may be different: for the first time, a machine can produce a finished song — melody, lyrics, vocals, performance, and final mix — with no musician involvement at any stage. In this talk we will discuss more than a century of predictions that new technology would “spell the end of music,” how AI music generation models work, and how the copyright battles over musicians’ intellectual property are playing out. We ask not simply whether music will survive, but what’s genuinely different this time — and what we really mean by the “end” of music.

Bio: Mark F. Bocko is the William F. May Professor of Engineering and Chair in the Department of Sonic Arts and Engineering at the University of Rochester.  His current research interests are in the areas of spatial acoustics, electroacoustics, and AI applications to music and audio.  In his spare time, he plays bass in a big band and in area musical pit orchestras.

“Unexpectedly stalled—Uncovering the cause and consequence of brain blood flow deficits in Alzheimer’s disease”

Thursday, Nov. 12th from 10:30-11:30am- In Person & Zoom

Description: Blood flow to the brain is reduced by about one third in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This decreased brain blood flow contributes to the memory and cognitive problems and may accelerate disease progression. The mechanism causing this poor brain blood flow, however, has remained poorly understood. Using high resolution optical imaging techniques invented at Cornell, we looked into the brain of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models to learn where blood flow is compromised. Through a series of serendipitous discoveries we found that white blood cells were sticking in the smallest of blood vessels in the brain, individual brain capillaries. Because blood cells flow single file in capillaries, these stuck white blood cells caused capillary blockages. When we prevented the adhesion of these white blood cells and unblocked the capillaries, brain blood flow increased by about a third, memory performance was dramatically improved, and some aspects of disease progression were slowed. These data suggest that white blood cells sticking in capillaries may be responsible for the reduced blood flow to the brain seen in Alzheimer’s patients and that treating this could both improve cognitive function and slow disease progression.

Bio: Chris B. Schaffer is the Meinig Family Professor of Engineering in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Trained in physics at the University of Florida and Harvard University, with postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the University of California at San Diego, he co-leads a research laboratory with Professor Nozomi Nishimura that develops advanced optical imaging approaches to study cellular and microvascular function in the living brain. Their work has helped elucidate mechanisms contributing to neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular cognitive impairment, and microvascular stroke, while also advancing new imaging technologies for observing biological systems in vivo. His laboratory is supported by the NIH, NSF, and the Alzheimer’s Association, and he is a Fellow of Optica, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In addition to his research program, Chris has long been engaged in teaching, mentoring, and educational innovation at Cornell. He has led curriculum reform efforts for the PhD program in Biomedical Engineering, secured multiple education-focused graduate student training grants, and implemented holistic admissions practices that increased diversity within the PhD program. His teaching emphasizes active learning, scientific reasoning, and deep student engagement, and he has led externally funded educational partnerships connecting graduate education with K–12 schools and community institutions, including a current NIH-funded collaboration with the Ithaca Sciencenter to develop a biomedical engineering exhibit. His contributions to teaching and mentoring have been recognized with multiple college- and university-level awards, including the Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Advising Award.

Chris has also been deeply involved in faculty governance and university leadership throughout his more than twenty years at Cornell. He has served in the Faculty Senate for most of that time, including service on the University Faculty Committee, and completed a three-year term as Associate Dean of Faculty. Across these roles, he has worked to strengthen faculty participation in university decision-making, increase the representation and voice of Research, Teaching, and Extension faculty in governance processes, and improve institutional approaches to issues including sexual harassment prevention, student conduct procedures, and expressive activity policy. During periods of significant institutional challenge, he has also served as a faculty representative on major university-wide committees, including the committee overseeing the restoration of research operations following the COVID-19 shutdown and the committee that developed Cornell’s recent expressive activities framework.

Beyond Cornell, Chris spent a sabbatical year in Washington, DC, serving as a science policy advisor to Senator Edward Markey through an AAAS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship. That experience deepened his interest in the relationship between universities, public trust, and democratic institutions, and reinforced the importance of clear communication between academic communities and the broader society they serve.

As Dean of Faculty, Chris aims to strengthen Cornell’s tradition of shared governance by promoting early, substantive, and transparent faculty engagement in university decision-making. He believes the Faculty Senate and its committees function most effectively when they are meaningful partners in the development of institutional policy, rather than acting primarily in a reactive capacity. He is particularly committed to ensuring that faculty expertise is brought to bear on major university issues in a timely and constructive way.

Chris also sees stewarding trust, collegiality, and intellectual community across the university as an important priority. At a time when universities face significant external pressures and internal tensions, he believes Cornell’s strength depends on maintaining a culture of open inquiry, thoughtful debate, mutual respect, and shared institutional purpose. His approach to leadership emphasizes careful listening, substantive engagement, transparency, and collaborative problem-solving in service of Cornell’s academic mission and faculty community.

Dr. Novy is a plant biologist with a wide range of expertise in plant science and education. He holds a research appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers and regularly speaks on various horticultural and botanical topics nationally and internationally. Dr. Novy is a Board Member of the American Public Gardens Association and former Board Chair of Botanic Garden Conservation International-US. He has also served on task forces and advisory panels for diverse groups including the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Garden Club of America, Cornell Alliance for Science, Rock Creek National Park, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, and many others. Ari enjoys translating science into best management practices and public education, including serving as a science advisor for mass media and entertainment producers such as Disney Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Netflix’s The Magic School Bus.

Dr. Novy completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at New York University and his doctorate in Plant Biology at Rutgers University.