29-year-old Niels Christian Hansen from Aarhus University is one of the recipients of this year´s EliteForsk travel scholarships, each of which is worth DKK 300 000. PhD Student Niels Christian Hansen is a music theoretician, and a brain scientist, and his research deals with the ways in which music affects our brains and our behaviour, and which mechanisms affect our expectations when we are listening to music.

Music with the listener in the centre

As a PhD student, Niels Christian Hansen is hired as part of a joint venture between the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Music  Science at Aarhus University, and Music and the Brain, Centre for Functional Integrative Neuro Science.  Here, he helps conduct some of the experiments that provide insight into the effects of music. The purpose of his research is to put the listener at the centre of music itself:

`In my studies of music theory, I have often felt that the listener´s perspective was missing. After all, sounds do not become music before being listened to be living human beings, with unique backgrounds, and in unique contexts.  Psychological behavioural experiments and modern brain scanning techniques provide concrete tools when it comes to testing the empirical basis of history´s most important theories regarding the very essence of music´.

Has more travels planned

At the moment, Niels Christian Hansen is trying to establish contacts at more of the leading universities in the field of music and neuro science.  Among other places, he has his eyes set on Harvard Medical School, Wesleyan University and University of Western Sydney. Furthermore, Helsinki and Washington will each receive a visit from the young Dane. Niels Christian will also be participating in central conferences in Seoul, Dijon, Manchester and Montreal.

The Scholarship is presented by Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Mary, and by Minister of Education, Sofie Carsten Nielsen, at the EliteForsk Conference, taking place on February 6^th, 2014, at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. 

About Ministry of Education´s EliteForsk scholarship

The purpose of the DKK. 300 000 EliteForsk scholarship is to give very talented PhD students the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of some of the world´s finest research environments for longer periods of time. Universities and other institutions with PhD programs have had the opportunity to recommend students for the scholarship. The recommendations are then judged by the board of the Free Research Council, which then selects the recipients, and recommends them to the Minister of Education.

Further information

PhD student Niels Chr. Hansen
Aarhus Universitet, Department of Aesthetics and Communication
Mobile phone: 25 33 88 33
Phone: 87 16 12 46/78 46 44 08
E-mail: nchansen@hum.au.dk