Byrd McDaniel

Byrd McDaniel joined RISD’s Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships in 2021. The project manager for the RISD-Hyundai Research Collaborative, he is dedicated to creating connections between academia and the broader world. 

McDaniel has held positions as an educator, researcher and mentor. While serving in faculty positions at Tufts University and Northeastern University, he advanced experiential learning opportunities for students, building a curriculum that centers creative and conceptual exploration. At Emory University, McDaniel worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where he created public-facing programming about the creative act of listening.

In earning a PhD in music from Brown University, McDaniel examined intersections between digital cultures, popular music and disability justice. He has published peer-reviewed research in major academic journals, as well as articles in popular press outlets online. His book manuscript, titled Spectacular Listening, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. 

At RISD, McDaniel manages a dynamic collaboration between faculty, students, staff and external partners, all in order to address timely questions about sustainability, biomimicry and the world's many living systems.