UMR STMS

The very peculiarity of IRCAM is to welcome and coordinate varied scientific points of view on issues that touch musical creation, that come from physics, from signal processing, computer science, cognitive psychology, or musicology. The parameters for research are defined by the acronym STMS which stands for Sciences et technologies de la musique et du son (Music and sound Sciences and technologies), a part of the mixed research lab UMR 9912 housed by IRCAM that brings together the CNRS and the UPMC.

The activities reply to two objectives:

• Contribute, through advances in science and technology, to the renewal of contemporary creation;
• Apply the expertise developed this way to broader societal and industrial subjects (media industries, cultural diffusion, education, etc.).

The realization of these missions is carried out via the production of multidisciplinary musical research projects that associate artists with researchers and through development work that produces technological modules and specialized software applications. IRCAM is a very active participant in French and European research projects and maintains a large number of industrial research partners.

The management of this multidisciplinary scientific culture relies on a thematic organization of the activities among specialized teams, each one treating the link in the chain that corresponds to its domain: research, development, contracts and exterior projects, diffusion.

Over 100 researchers, engineers, doctoral students, technicians, and administrative personnel work in the Research and Development department at IRCAM, directed by Hugues Vinet. The seven research teams are all a part of the UMR STMS.