Alison Ma (b. 1998) is a music technologist, researcher, electronic composer, and sound designer from Hong Kong. Currently, she is a Masters of Science Music Technology student and recipient of the College of Design Dean's Fellowship (2020) at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she participates as a member of the Music Informatics Group (MIG) research lab under Dr. Alexander Lerch. Previous degrees include a Bachelors of Music in Electronic Production and Design from the Berklee College of Music, where she studied under the guidance of Dr. Richard Boulanger and was also granted the Max Mathews Award (2019).

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As a student and researcher, Alison believes that the current and future potential of music technology is both exciting and imperative for its cross-disciplinary applications. Alison's current research interests reside within the field of music information retrieval, digital signal processing, and machine/deep learning for musical applications. Her efforts are motivated by her enthusiasm for creative expression, discovering uncharted sonic creativity, enhancing the music creation process, and further exploring the truths and intricacies that make up sound.

 

As a musical artist, composer, and sound designer, her works are often inspired by perennial existential themes of morality and the beauty in nature that unveils itself accordingly. Taking upon the narrative role of a music composer, she aims to express universal themes regarding human existence that may be otherwise intangible. In March 2020, one of Alison's fixed 2-channel DSP compositions for voice, "Engulf", was selected for presentation at the SEAMUS 2020 National Conference on behalf of the University of Virginia.