Sergi Jordà

Dr. Sergi Jordà is a Senior Researcher and Associate Professor at the Music Technology Group of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona. He obtained his B.S. in Fundamental Physics (1986) and PhD in Computer Science and Digital Communication (2005) from UPF. He leads the Music & Advanced Interaction (MAIn) team and teaches courses in Computer Music, Audio Signal Processing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Interactive Media. In 2011, he joined the tenure-track faculty at UPF.

Research Interests

Jordà's research focuses on the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and tangible musical interfaces, including applications in education, collaborative music creation, and brain-computer interfaces. His work explores how tabletop interfaces and visual feedback can enhance intuitive instrument design and real-time performance. He is best known for co-inventing the Reactable, a tangible tabletop musical instrument that gained global recognition after being used by Icelandic artist Björk in her 2007-08 world tour.

Scientific Awards

• Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica (2008)
• MIDEM Hottest Music Biz Start-Up Award (2008)
• Yellow Pencil, D&AD Design Awards (2008)
• Rolling Stone Magazine's Hot Instrument of the Year (2007)
• Premi Ciutat de Barcelona (1999, 2007)
• Möbius International Award (2001)
• Innova Business Ideas Contest (2008)

Projects and Grants

He has participated in over 30 international scientific committees, including chairing TEI'13 (Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference). Jordà has secured funding from the European Commission and Spanish government for six research projects, two as Principal Investigator (IP). In 2009, he co-founded the spin-off company Reactable Systems, which launched Reactable Mobile for iOS devices in 2010.