Post-doctoral Researcher

Brief Introduction 

Yuwen Sun is a Post-doctoral Researcher at the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University. Her research lies at the intersection of voice science, vocal health, and artificial intelligence–driven interaction design. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where her research focused on the acoustic–physiological coordination mechanisms underlying human voice production and control. Drawing on vocology, phonetics, experimental acoustics, and cross-linguistic analysis, Dr. Sun investigates how linguistic and cultural vocal practices shape acoustic stability, bodily coordination, and vocal health, with particular attention to the challenges faced by Mandarin-speaking singers in Western classical singing.

Her work has been published in journals including Journal of Voice, Behavioral Sciences, and Philosophia, and presented at international conferences in vocology and performing arts medicine. She is a member of The Voice Foundation, the Pan-American Vocology Association (PAVA), and the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA). In addition to her academic research, Dr. Sun is a classically trained opera mezzo-soprano with international performance experience in Europe and the United States. Currently, her interdisciplinary work integrates design methodology with voice science, focusing on AI-driven vocal health assessment, acoustic and kinematic modeling, and embodied interaction design for therapeutic and wellness contexts.

Research

AI-driven music and sound design  

Voice science and vocal health  

Cross-linguistic phonetics and singing voice  

Art-based and embodied therapeutic design

Academic and social Post

Ad-hoc Reviewer, PLOS One (2025)

Ad-hoc Reviewer, EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing (2025, three manuscripts)

Member, The Voice Foundation (USA)

Member, Pan-American Vocology Association (PAVA)

Member, Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA)

Education Background

2022.09-2025.07  Doctor of Musical Arts (Voice and Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences) , University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA.

2020.09-2022.08  Master of Music (M.M.), Vocal Performance, New England Conservatory, USA.

2016.09-2020.08  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Musicology, East China Normal University, China.

Work Experience

2026.01-present  Post-doctoral Researcher, College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University

2025.08-2026.01  Research Assistant, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University

Publications 

Books

[1] Mazzola, G., Dornfeld, R., Xi, R., Xu, R., Gong, J., Sun, Y., Qiu, Q., Winter, M., & Bryan-Moreira, J. (2026). Basic gestures for music theory, performance, and pedagogy. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. (Computational Music Science Series)

Journal Articles

[1] Sun, Y. (2025). The influence of Mandarin pronunciation on bel canto singing: A study on the challenges faced by Chinese singers in adapting to Western vocal techniques. Journal of Voice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2025.08.019

[2] Sun, Y. (2025). The philosophical conception of space in ancient Chinese music. Philosophia: International Journal of Philosophy, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.46992/pijp.26.2.a.1

[3] Sun, Y. (2025). The impact of background music on flow, work engagement, and task performance: A randomized controlled study. Behavioral Sciences, 15(4), 416. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15040416

[4] Sun, Y., & Mazzola, G. (2024). A study of gestures representing musical emotions. Arts & Communication, 2(4), 2625. https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.2625

[5] Sun, Y. (2023). The application of tone painting in Romantic art songs: A case study of Heine’s poem Du bist wie eine Blume. Art Evaluation, (11), 108–112.

Conference Proceedings

[1] Sun, Y. (2025). The impact of Mandarin pronunciation on bel canto technique: Challenges for Chinese singers. In Proceedings of the Pan-American Vocology Association (PAVA) Symposium–A Vocology Fiesta! Mexico.

Honors and Awards

[1] 2024  Awarded the Voices of Vienna Scholarship by the Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA.

[2] 2024  Awarded the Schuessler Voice Scholarship, University of Minnesota, USA.

[3] 2024  Second Prize, Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship Competition, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

[4] Third place in the 2024 Opus Artis International Vocal Competition, Paris, France

[5] 2022–2025  Awarded the College of Liberal Arts Graduate Student Support Scholarship and the Jorma Hynninen Scholarship, University of Minnesota, USA.

[6] 2020–2022  Awarded the Dean’s Scholarship, New England Conservatory of Music, USA.

[7] 2019  Awarded the First-Class Scholarship for Outstanding Students (2018–2019 Academic Year), East China Normal University, China.

[8] 2019  First Prize, The Third Teaching Skill Innovation Competition, East China Normal University, China.

[9] 2018  Awarded the Special Scholarship for Outstanding Students (2017–2018 Academic Year), East China Normal University, China.

[10] 2018  First Prize, Hong Kong International Music Festival, Shanghai District, China.

[11] 2017  Awarded the National Scholarship by the Ministry of Education of China (2016–2017 Academic Year).

[12] 2017  Second Prize, Hong Kong International Vocal Opera Competition, Shanghai District, China.

Contact

Email: 26310024@tongji.edu.cn