Elias Mann has been working with me for a year on how to apply online learning, variational autoencoders (VAEs), multi-task learning, and Gaussian mixture models in a latent space to recommend songs based on context represented as the user’s current activity (e.g., working out, studying, relaxing).

Diagram of Elias Mann's online-learning system for context-aware music recommendations

He presented his work to his committee on April 26, 2023, and passed the examination. The work was also published as:

Mann, Elias (2024) “Context Aware Music Recommendation and Playlist Generation,” SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25172/jour.8.2.1 Available at: https://scholar.smu.edu/jour/vol8/iss2/2

Congratulations!