When science jams meet the bar scene
Roy Maimon isn’t interested in keeping his worlds separate. As a biomedical engineering scholar at NYU Tandon, he discovered an unlikely bridge between two of his lifelong passions: precise laboratory work and immersive music performance. What began as a late-night habit of practicing guitar and looping riffs gradually morphed into a deliberate approach to scientific collaboration. Maimon’s philosophy is simple: music teaches timing, listening, and improvisation—skills that, if applied to the lab, can accelerate discovery and deepen multi-disciplinary partnerships.
The unexpected alliance: music as a cognitive tool
In the lab, Maimon’s days are filled with pipetting, assay optimization, and data interpretation. In the evenings, he tunes his guitar and pens collaborative performances with fellow researchers. The core idea driving his work is that music does more than entertain; it models the rhythm of collaboration. Just as a musician adjusts tempo to fit a soloist or a drummer to a chorus, scientists must pace experiments, share hypotheses, and harmonize across disciplines. By consciously translating musical structure into research workflow, Maimon aims to reduce miscommunication and make team science more dynamic.
From barroom riffs to bench-ready practices
What looks like two separate careers on the surface feeds a single mission: making collaboration feel as natural as a jam session. Maimon collaborates with colleagues in biology, computer science, and clinical departments, translating musical concepts into practical tools. For example, he uses real-time feedback loops, akin to live performance cues, to coordinate multi-lab studies. He also encourages researchers to share improvisational thinking—early prototypes, failed experiments, and tentative ideas—so teams can adapt quickly rather than stall on a single path.
Lessons for tomorrow’s scientists
Beyond the novelty of a scientist who plays in a band, Maimon’s approach can reshape how research groups are formed and how projects are managed. A few key lessons emerge:
- Active listening as a research method: Paying attention to teammates’ concerns and expertise accelerates problem-solving.
- Rhythms and cadence: Establishing regular check-ins and time-boxed experiments mirrors the predictability of a performance schedule, reducing burnout and fostering momentum.
- Creative risk-taking: Encouraging safe spaces to test wild ideas mirrors jazz improvisation, often leading to breakthroughs that linear planning might miss.
- Cross-disciplinary literacy: Learning the language of other fields helps teams translate aims into actionable experiments.
These practices don’t diminish rigor. Instead, they augment it with a culture that values communication, adaptability, and shared creativity—qualities that are essential as biomedical engineering tackles complex problems from drug discovery to medical devices and data-driven diagnostics.
What this means for NYU Tandon and beyond
At NYU Tandon, Maimon’s fusion of performance and physiology serves as a model for training the next generation of engineers. He argues that collaboration isn’t a soft add-on to technical training; it’s a core competency that can be taught, measured, and refined. Workshops, seminars, and lab projects now increasingly incorporate structured opportunities for cross-pollination—crediting the music-infused framework as a practical method to build teams that can translate scientific discovery into real-world impact.
Closing notes: a future where science rocks
As Roy Maimon continues to blend melodies with molecules, he’s not just performing; he’s reshaping how scientists work together. The jam session at the lab bench might become as essential a tradition as the weekly lab meeting, turning collaboration into a repeatable, enjoyable practice. In this evolving landscape, one thing remains clear: science roars to life when different voices—instrumental or analytical—resonate in harmony.
