Imre Csiszár
Encyclopedia
Imre Csiszár is a Hungarian
mathematician
with contributions to information theory
and probability theory
. In 1996 he won the Claude E. Shannon Award
, the highest annual
award given in the field of information theory.
He was born February 7, 1938, in Miskolc
, Hungary
. He became interested in mathematics
in middle school. He was inspired by his father who was a forest engineer and was among the first to use mathematical techniques in his area.
He studied mathematics at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
, and received his Diploma in 1961. He got his PhD in 1967 and the scientific degree Doctor of Mathematical Science in 1977.
Later, he was influenced by Alfréd Rényi
, who was very active in the area of probability theory. In 1990 he was elected Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
, and in 1995 he became Full Member. Professor Csiszar has been with the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences
since 1961. He has been Head of the Information Theory Group there since 1968, and presently he is Head of the Stochastics Department. He is also Professor of Mathematics at the L. Eotvos University, Budapest. He has held Visiting Professorships at various universities including Bielefeld University
, Germany (1981), University of Maryland, College Park
(several times, last in 1992), Stanford University
(1982), University of Virginia
(1985–86), etc. He has been Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo
in 1988, and at NTT
, Japan, in 1994. He is married and has four children.
He is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is a member of several other learned societies, including the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability
. He has received several academic awards, including the Book Excellence Award of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
for his 1981 Information Theory monograph, the 1988 Paper Award of the IEEE Information Theory Society, and the Academy Award for Interdisciplinary Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1989.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
with contributions to information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
and probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
. In 1996 he won the Claude E. Shannon Award
Claude E. Shannon Award
The Claude E. Shannon Award of the IEEE Information Theory Society was instituted to honour consistent and profound contributions to the field of information theory. Each Shannon Award winner is expected to present a Shannon Lecture at the following IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory...
, the highest annual
award given in the field of information theory.
He was born February 7, 1938, in Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He became interested in mathematics
in middle school. He was inspired by his father who was a forest engineer and was among the first to use mathematical techniques in his area.
He studied mathematics at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, and received his Diploma in 1961. He got his PhD in 1967 and the scientific degree Doctor of Mathematical Science in 1977.
Later, he was influenced by Alfréd Rényi
Alfréd Rényi
Alfréd Rényi was a Hungarian mathematician who made contributions in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory but mostly in probability theory.-Life:...
, who was very active in the area of probability theory. In 1990 he was elected Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
, and in 1995 he became Full Member. Professor Csiszar has been with the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences
Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics
The Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics is the research institute in mathematics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It was created in 1950 by Alfréd Rényi, who directed it until his death. Since its creation, the institute has been the center of mathematical research in Hungary. It received...
since 1961. He has been Head of the Information Theory Group there since 1968, and presently he is Head of the Stochastics Department. He is also Professor of Mathematics at the L. Eotvos University, Budapest. He has held Visiting Professorships at various universities including Bielefeld University
Bielefeld University
Bielefeld University is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the established universities...
, Germany (1981), University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
(several times, last in 1992), Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(1982), University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
(1985–86), etc. He has been Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in 1988, and at NTT
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
, Japan, in 1994. He is married and has four children.
He is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is a member of several other learned societies, including the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability
Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability
The Bernoulli Society is a professional association which aims to further the progress of probability and mathematical statistics.It does this by taking advantage of an interlinked international network of professionals, focussing on the expansion of theoretical research and applications, the...
. He has received several academic awards, including the Book Excellence Award of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
for his 1981 Information Theory monograph, the 1988 Paper Award of the IEEE Information Theory Society, and the Academy Award for Interdisciplinary Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1989.