Cheng Zhi Huang

Cheng Zhi Huang is the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and Assistant Professor at MIT, holding a shared appointment between the departments of Music and Theater Arts and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). His work bridges artificial intelligence, music technology, and computer science to advance human-AI collaboration in musical creativity. Huang leads research in generative models for music composition, real-time interactive systems, and expressive performance synthesis. His contributions include tools like ReaLJam for AI-assisted jamming and the MAESTRO dataset for piano performance modeling.

His research interests span AI-driven music generation, human-AI interaction frameworks, and culturally-aware music technologies. Notable projects include The Bach Doodle—an accessible web-based composition tool—and MIDI-DDSP for detailed performance control. Huang’s work emphasizes ethical and creative applications of AI in arts, fostering collaborations between musicians, engineers, and computer scientists.

His publications highlight advancements in hierarchical generative modeling, source separation techniques, and co-creation interfaces for novices. Huang’s research has been showcased in venues like TISMIR and IEEE conferences, reflecting his interdisciplinary impact on music technology and machine learning.