Cultural Computing

Jesse Allison is a Professor of Experimental Music & Digital Media at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

He earned his D.M.A. in Music Composition from the University of Missouri–Kansas City in 2010 and joined LSU the same year to help establish and grow the Experimental Music & Digital Media program.

Allison’s work explores the intersections of music, art, and technology. His research and creative practice involve computer interactivity in performance, distributed music systems, mobile and networked music, interactive sound installations, and hybrid physical–digital art experiences. At LSU, he leads the Media Interaction Laboratory and Library (MILL), co-directs the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOLs), and heads the Mobile [App | Art | Action] (MAG) group within CCT.

Stephen David Beck is the Derryl & Helen Haymon Professor of Composition & Computer Music in the School of Music at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

Beck earned his Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1988 and held a Fulbright/Annette Kade Fellowship at IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) in Paris from 1985 to 1986.

His research interests include large-scale sound diffusion technologies, interactive computer music, high-performance computing applications in the arts, and music over networks. At LSU, he led the creation of the Experimental Music & Digital Media (EMDM) program and founded the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOLs).

Beck has also held several leadership positions at LSU, including Interim Director of the Center for Computation & Technology (2008–2010), Director of the School of Music (2012–2015), and Associate Vice President for Research & Economic Development (2015–2024).

Rudy Hirschheim is the Ourso Family Distinguished Professor of Information Systems in the E. J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

Hirschheim earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems from the London School of Economics in 1985, a M.Sc. in Computer  Science from the University of Toronto, and  a B.A. in Economics from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. He has been a member of the LSU faculty since 2003. Before joining LSU, he held academic appointments at McMaster University (Canada), the London School of Economics (UK), Templeton College - University of Oxford (UK), and University of Houston where he helped establish one of the nation’s premier research centers in information systems. 

His research focuses on systems development, outsourcing, IT governance, cybersecurity, and the philosophical and historical foundations of the information systems discipline. His work has influenced how organizations conceptualize and manage information systems in both theory and practice.

Hirschheim has received numerous honors, including  the LEO Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and Fellow of the AIS. He has been awarded  honorary doctorates from the University of Oulu (Finland) and the University of Bern (Switzerland).

 

Gabriele Piccoli is the Edward G. Schlieder Endowed Chair of Information Sciences in the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

Piccoli earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems (2000) and MBA in Information Systems (1998) from Louisiana State University, and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pavia in Italy (1995).

His research focuses on digital strategy, digital customer service systems, and value creation from real-time digital data streams. He has published extensively in leading information systems journals and directs the Digital Data Streams (DDS) Lab at LSU, which investigates how organizations use continuous digital interaction data to generate competitive advantage.

Before returning to LSU, Piccoli held academic appointments as Associate Professor at Cornell University (2000–2007), Associate Professor at the University of Sassari, Italy (2007–2009 and 2011–2012), Full Professor at Grenoble École de Management (2009–2011), and Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Pavia (2012–2014). He has served as the Edward G. Schlieder Endowed Chair of Information Sciences at LSU since August 2014.

Fanny A. Ramirez is an Assistant Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).
She earned her Ph.D. in Communication, Information & Media from Rutgers University and has been a member of the LSU faculty since 2019.
Her research examines the role of information and communication technologies in society, with a particular focus on surveillance and privacy. She has conducted extensive work at the intersection of violence against women and the law, investigating how digital evidence is used in criminal case processing and victim advocacy efforts. Her scholarship has received top paper awards at both national and international conferences.
At LSU, Ramirez directs the Social Media Analysis and Creation (SMAC) Lab, where she leads interdisciplinary projects that integrate advanced data analytics with mass communication theories to study information flows across digital platforms. SMAC Lab projects are collaborative efforts between students and faculty that explore diverse issues related to social media and society, from analyzing online sentiment to examining patterns of public discourse across platforms.

Jason M. Scimeca is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

Scimeca earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Brown University in 2015 and his B.A. in Biological Sciences and Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2007. Before joining LSU in 2023, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar and Project Scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.

His research focuses on the neural and computational mechanisms of cognitive control and working memory, combining behavioral, neuroimaging, and modeling approaches to understand how the brain supports flexible, goal-directed behavior.

Christopher Trapani is an Assistant Professor of Experimental Music & Digital Media in the School of Music at Louisiana State University, with a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT).

Trapani holds a B.A. from Harvard College, a Master’s degree from the Royal College of Music in London, and a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Columbia University (2017). His studies included time at IRCAM in Paris and research on microtonality in Ottoman music as a Fulbright Scholar in Istanbul. Before joining LSU in 2024, he served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California (2021–2022) and continues to maintain a European base in Palermo, Sicily.

His compositions have been performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Venice Biennale, and the Southbank Centre, and by ensembles including Ensemble Modern, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Radio France. His recordings Waterlines (2018) and Horizontal Drift (2022) are available on New Focus Recordings.

Trapani’s honors include the Rome Prize (2016–2017), Gaudeamus Prize (2007), Guggenheim Fellowship (2019), Barlow Prize (2020), and a 2025 nomination for the Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation’s International Prize for Musical Composition.