Tanel Alumäe

Tanel Alumäe is an Associate Professor of Speech Processing at Tallinn University of Technology's School of Information Technologies, Department of Software Science. With over 15 years of academic experience, he has held various research and teaching positions at the university since 2006, progressing from Research Fellow to Tenured Associate Professor. His work focuses on speech and language technologies with a particular emphasis on Estonian language applications.

• PhD in Information and Communication Technology (2006), Tallinn University of Technology
• Research Master's Degree in Informatics (2002), Tallinn Technical University
• MSc studies at Tallinn Technical University (1999-2002) and Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany (1999-2000)
• Diploma in Computer and Systems Engineering (1994-1999), Tallinn Technical University

Alumäe's research spans automatic speech recognition, speaker recognition, natural language processing, and computational linguistics with a focus on Estonian language technology. His work addresses challenges in multilingual speech processing, deep learning applications for speech technologies, and developing practical systems for real-world applications including broadcast media processing and accessibility solutions. He has made significant contributions to low-resource language processing and specialized applications for children's speech and emotion recognition.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on cutting-edge speech processing techniques including deepfake detection, multi-speaker systems, speech-to-speech translation, and applying large language models to speech applications. The research shows a consistent pattern of addressing both theoretical challenges in speech processing and practical implementations for Estonian language technology.

• Award 'Keeletegu 2019' from the Ministry of Education and Research
• Award 'Keeletegu 2011' from Estonian Ministry of Education and Research
• 3rd award at the Tallinn University of Technology contest for applied scientific projects (2011)
• Boris Tamm stipend (2007)
• First prize at the national contest of students' scientific works (2007)
• Ustus Agur stipend of Estonian Information Technology and Telecommunications Association (2005)

Alumäe has supervised postdoctoral researchers including Rena Nemoto (2012-2015) on pronunciation modeling for speech recognition. He serves in editorial and review capacities for major journals including Nature, Computer Speech & Language, and IEEE Transactions. His administrative roles include Secretary of the Northern European Association for Language Technology Board and membership on the Department of Software Science Council at TalTech.

His research group at Tallinn University of Technology actively participates in international challenges (IWSLT, Interspeech, Odyssey) and collaborates with institutions worldwide. The team has developed open-source platforms for Estonian speech transcription and created systems for automatic closed captioning of Estonian broadcasts, demonstrating strong practical applications of their research.