Live EEG signal — motor imagery task

Neuroscientist,
Data Scientist.
Computational Musician.

Tommaso Colafiglio is a researcher, lecturer and software developer working at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience and Computational Music. He designs Brain-Computer Interface systems that decode EEG signals into emotion, cognition and sound — bridging rigorous experimental science with hands-on creative practice as a guitarist, composer and orchestra conductor. He is completing a PhD in Artificial Intelligence at Sapienza University of Rome, teaches Engineering of Intelligent Systems at the Politecnico di Bari, and collaborates with EssilorLuxottica on the neuroscientific evaluation of wearable audio technology.

Full publication list About & CV
177
Citations
7
h-index
27
Publications
2022–25
PhD in AI, Sapienza

Research & Projects

Full bibliography →
2025

EEGScope

A framework for the real-time acquisition, processing and analysis of EEG data — the core toolkit behind every brain-computer interface experiment in this body of work.

EEG real-time systems signal processing open tooling research
2026

NeuroHarmonium

An interactive neuroadaptive musical instrument: EEG signals shape a neural network's musical output in real time, turning brainwaves directly into sound.

brain-computer interface neuroadaptive music neural networks real-time performance
2025–2026

Nuance Audio × EssilorLuxottica

Industrial research collaboration on wearable audio glasses: neuroscientific analysis, experimental protocol design and user evaluation for a hearing-support product used by thousands of people.

wearable audio UX research brain-related data technology transfer
2024

NeuroSense

An open EEG dataset for emotion research built entirely on low-cost, sparse-electrode consumer devices — designed to make affective brain-computer interface research accessible outside the lab.

EEG dataset emotion recognition low-cost hardware open science
2024

EmoSynth

Real-time, emotion-driven sound texture synthesis: affective state decoded from EEG continuously reshapes a generative audio engine.

brain-computer interface generative audio affective computing real-time synthesis
2024

Ariel

Brain-computer interfaces meet large language models: an emotional-support conversational agent that senses affective state from EEG and adapts its dialogue in response.

BCI large language models conversational AI affective computing
2024

NeuralPMG

A neural polyphonic music generation system: machine learning composes multi-voice music, bridging AI research with training as a composer.

generative AI music generation deep learning computational music
2024–2025

WeBIUM Workshop Series

Co-founder and organiser of an international workshop series on wearable devices and brain-computer interfaces for user modelling, held at ACM UMAP.

BCI wearables user modelling workshop organisation community building
2023

Neurorehabilitation Decision Support

Combining mental-state recognition with machine learning to support neurorehabilitation — translating EEG-based cognitive and motivational state classification into clinical decision support.

neurorehabilitation EEG machine learning clinical AI biomedical decision support

Teaching & Academic Roles

2025–2026
Adjunct Lecturer — Engineering of Intelligent Systems
Polytechnic University of Bari
Lectures, course design, student tutoring and project-based assessment for the Master's Degree programme.
2021–2026
Teaching & Research Assistant — Human-Computer Interaction
Polytechnic University of Bari
Lab support, examination boards, student tutoring and research on user-centred design, usability and interaction evaluation.
2022–2025
PhD, National Programme in Artificial Intelligence (38th cycle)
Sapienza University of Rome
Brain-Computer Interfaces, EEG decoding, emotion recognition, explainable AI, user modelling and creative applications of AI.
2018–2026
Music Technology & Music History Teacher
Liceo "G. Tarantino", Liceo "Don Lorenzo Milani", Liceo "A. Casardi", Liceo Musicale "Q. O. Flacco"
Teaching computational and historical music across multiple Italian secondary schools.

Music & Art Practice

Guitarist & Composer

Professional guitarist and composer specialising in computer music composition, trained at the Conservatorio di Musica E. R. Duni, Matera.

Film & Multimedia Scoring

Composer of original music for film and multimedia content, working across narrative and interactive formats.

Orchestra Conductor

Conducting experience across classical and contemporary ensembles, alongside a Master's in Musicology and Musical Heritage.

Neuroadaptive Instruments

Builds BCI-driven instruments — NeuroHarmonium, EmoSynth, NeuralPMG — where brain signals and neural networks become compositional tools.

Max/MSP · Pure Data · SuperCollider

Real-time audio programming across JUCE, HISE and classic computational-music environments.

Music Educator

Teaching Music Technology and Music History at Italian liceo level since 2018, shaping the next generation of music technologists.