Daniel J. Levitin

Daniel J. Levitin is the James McGill Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University, in addition to his recent role as the Founding Dean of Arts and Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI. He holds Associate Appointments in the School of Computer Science, Faculty of Education, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, and School of Music at McGill. He received the Principal's Teaching Prize in 2006 at McGill, the university's highest teaching honor.

Dr. Levitin earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology with a minor in Music Technology from the University of Oregon, his B.A. from Stanford in Cognitive Psychology, and completed post-doctoral training at Stanford University Medical School and UC Berkeley in Neuroimaging and Cognitive Psychology, respectively. He has also served as a visiting professor at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and Dartmouth, teaching courses across a range of disciplines including Psychology, Computer Science, Human Biology, Music, Anthropology, and Education.

Levitin has published more than 100 scientific articles in leading journals such as Science, Nature, PNAS, Neuron, JEP:HPP, and Cognition, and over 300 popular articles about music and music technology. His foundational discoveries include insights into the nature of musical memory and absolute pitch, the neural correlates of musical structure, and the role of the cerebellum in mediating musical emotion. His 1994 article on memory for music is recognized as one of the top 100 papers in cognitive science of all time by the Millennium Project. A prolific author, Levitin has written bestselling books including "This Is Your Brain On Music," "The World in Six Songs," "The Organized Mind," and "A Field Guide to Lies," which won the Quebec Writers’ Federation Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction and the National Business Book Award. His books have been translated into 16 languages and he remains one of the best-selling scientist-writers of the last decade.

As a musician, Levitin has performed with top artists such as Mel Tormé, David Byrne, Roseanne Cash, Victor Wooten, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Rodney Crowell, and Blue Öyster Cult. In his roles in the music industry, he served as Vice President and then President of Artists & Repertoire at 415/Columbia Records, where he earned 14 gold and platinum records. His technical and marketing contributions to the recording industry have also earned him two Oscar nominations for projects he worked on.

Levitin is a prominent public speaker and has addressed audiences worldwide, including keynote addresses to the Glenn Gould Foundation, California Music Educators, and Canadian Music Week, and invited lectures at institutions such as the United States Library of Congress. His TED talk on decision making has garnered over 9 million views. Additionally, he is a frequent guest on NPR and CBC Radio, where he discusses topics related to music, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology.