PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jens Blauert

Also known as Jens Peter Blauert

Jens Blauert was a German acoustics engineer who studied how people locate sounds with two ears and turned that knowledge into binaural technology, speech technology and computer models of hearing. After a 1969 doctorate on directional hearing at RWTH Aachen, he joined Ruhr University Bochum in 1974 and founded its Institute of Communication Acoustics, where research groups worked on speech recognition, speech synthesis and virtual acoustic environments. His 1974 book on spatial hearing, later published in English by MIT Press, became a standard work in its field, and the International Speech Communication Association gave him its Medal for Scientific Achievement in 2003. In 2008, he founded the AABBA group to build computer models of spatial hearing, and at 75 he initiated the EU-funded TWO!EARS project (2013–2017), which tested binaural computer programs with robotic test beds. He died in Berlin in March 2026 at the age of 87.

Born
1938
Died
2026
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1938–1969

    A doctorate on directional hearing

    Born in Hamburg in 1938, he studies electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and earns his diploma in 1964. As a research assistant under Volker Aschoff at the Institute for Communications Engineering, he turns to binaural hearing and receives his doctorate with honors in 1969 for a thesis on directional hearing in the median plane with a fixed head.

  2. 1973–1974

    The book Spatial Hearing

    He completes his habilitation in psychoacoustics and electroacoustics under Lothar Cremer at TU Berlin in 1973. In 1974, he publishes the book Räumliches Hören (Spatial Hearing) with Hirzel, based on his habilitation thesis. Translated into Russian, English and Japanese, with the English edition from MIT Press, it becomes a standard work on human sound localization, and the directional frequency bands known as Blauert's bands come from his work.

  3. 1974–2003

    Founding Bochum's IKA

    Ruhr University Bochum appoints him chaired full professor in 1974, and he founds the Institute of Communication Acoustics (IKA), which he heads until 2003. His work there spans spatial hearing, binaural technology and speech technology, and IKA research groups take up virtual acoustic environments, speech recognition, speech synthesis, audiology and perceptual system quality. He supervises 52 successful PhD projects.

  4. 1994–2011

    Medals from ASA, ISCA and AES

    Aalborg University awards him an honorary doctorate in 1994. He receives the Acoustical Society of America's Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal in 1999, the DEGA Helmholtz Medal in 2001 and the ISCA Medal for Scientific Achievement in 2003. The Audio Engineering Society gives him its Gold Medal in 2008, and the EAA presents its Award for Lifetime Achievements in Acoustics to him in 2011.

  5. 1996–2004

    President of EAA and DEGA

    He helps found the European Acoustics Association and serves as its president from 1996 to 1998. From 2001 to 2004, he is president of the German Acoustical Society (DEGA), another society he helped found. He is also a cofounder and board member of the European Speech Communication Association, now ISCA.

  6. 2005–2020

    Communication Acoustics and binaural books

    From 2005, he is an adjunct professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, attached to its program on architectural acoustics, and his book Communication Acoustics appears with Springer in 2005. He coauthors Acoustics for Engineers with his former student Ning Xiang, edits The Technology of Binaural Listening in 2013 and co-edits The Technology of Binaural Understanding with Jonas Braasch in 2020.

  7. 2008–2017

    AABBA and the TWO!EARS project

    In 2008, he founds the group Aural Assessment By means of Binaural Algorithms (AABBA), which develops computer models of spatial hearing and makes them available in the Auditory Modeling Toolbox. At 75, he initiates TWO!EARS (2013–2017), a consortium project funded by the European Commission that studies binaural computer programs under real-time conditions, using top-down feedback mechanisms and audiovisual virtual reality and robotic test beds to evaluate the algorithms.

  8. March 2026

    Death in Berlin

    He dies in Berlin in March 2026 at the age of 87, after a brief but serious illness.

Career

  1. From 2008Aural Assessment By means of Binaural AlgorithmsFounder
  2. From 2005Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteAdjunct professor
  3. 1996–1998European Acoustics AssociationFounder, President
  4. 1974–2003Ruhr University BochumChaired full professor, Founder
  5. 1964–1969RWTH Aachen UniversityResearch assistant

Education

  1. 1973Technische Universität BerlinHabilitation
  2. 1969RWTH Aachen UniversityDoctorate
  3. 1964RWTH Aachen UniversityElectrical engineering diploma

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Ruhr University Bochum. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Ruhr University Bochum. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes RWTH Aachen University. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Em. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. Tech h. c. Jens Blauert (1938-2026) – Institute of Communication Acoustics, Ruhr-Universität Bochum ika.ruhr-uni-bochum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Obituary Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. techn. h.c. Jens Blauert - European Acoustics Association euracoustics.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Jens Blauert - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. ISCA Medal for Scientific Achievement - International Speech Communication Association isca-speech.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Obituary Jens Blauert – Institute of Communication Acoustics, Ruhr-Universität Bochum ika.ruhr-uni-bochum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.