Dr. Teresa Nakra, Professor of Music, Design, and Creative Technology, is preparing to give a presentation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on September 30, 2023, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Dr. Nakra will talk about her invention from 1998 called the “Conductor’s Jacket.” For her doctoral research at MIT, twenty-five years ago, Dr. Nakra, along with her professors at the time, created a special suit implanted with multiple sensors, able to track a conductor’s movement during a concert and generate data.
Dr. Nakra will be joined by another panelist Joanna Kurkowicz, a professional concert violinist and concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Kurkowicz will demonstrate the jacket by wearing it and playing a piece for the attendees, showing how the sensor suit works. Dr. Nakra states that the inspiration for the suit came from Walt Disney’s Fantasia released in 1940, which features a similar concept related to conducting music through signals generated by musicians. Dr. Nakra’s invention has been part of the permanent collection at the MIT Museum since 2011, and she is reportedly excited about giving the talk.
More information about the talk can be found on MIT’s Museum website for their Lunch & Learn Series through September 30: https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/programs/lunch-learn. Don’t miss the chance to witness this intriguing presentation.
– Maya Randall ‘26