Alan T. Waterman Award

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Emmanuel Candes, a mathematician at the California Institute of Technology, has been selected to receive the National Science Board's prestigious Alan T. Waterman Award. The board cited Candes' development of new mathematical tools that allow efficient digital representation of wave signals, together with his discovery of new methods to translate analog data into a cleaner, tighter digital form--work that promises to improve the digital processing of signals in a vast array of modern technologies.With the advent of digital technologies, translating analog information faithfully into digital representations has been a major challenge. The translating method, called sampling, must select enough information from the analog object to adequately reproduce it in digital form. Otherwise, key information may be lost.Recently, Candes developed a new sampling mechanism that allows the faithful recovery of signals and images from far fewer data bits than traditional methods use. This new sampling theory may come to underlie protocols that sample and compress data simultaneously and much faster. "In practice," Candes said, "this means one could obtain super-resolved signals from just a few sensors."The annual Waterman award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Candidates may not be more than 35 years old, or seven years beyond receiving a doctorate. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $500,000 over a 3-year period for scientific research or advanced study in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, social, or other sciences at the institution of the recipient's choice.