Michael Kai Petersen (b.1957) has 30 years of experience within digital media engineering and has since 2004 been associated with the DTU Technical University of Denmark where he received his PhD degree in 2010 and was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor in Cognitive Systems and Head of Studies for the Digital Media Engineering MSc program at DTU Compute.

Research is focused on embodied semantics; exploring how we cognitively perceive media by combining natural language processing elements of embodied semantics, affective computing, mobile neuroimaging and user experience - an approach that might be used to model emotional responses to text and images or develop new types of brain machine interaction based on the DTU smartphonebrainscanner project.

Combining a technical and creative background, he holds a M.Mic master degree in Mobile Internet Communication from DTU Photonics 2004, while previously having been trained in digital sound engineering and working as a producer in DR Danish Broadcasting Corporation and SteepleChase 1980-1993, after graduating from the soloist class of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1982. As an entrepreneur he has founded three high tech start-up companies over the period 1993-2003, and has produced 100 plus CD albums for labels including Chandos and Naxos.