Information and Communication Technologies to Professor Jacob Ziv.
Ziv's ground-breaking innovations in data compression have had a deep and
lasting impact on both the theory and practice of communications and
information technology.
Ubiquitous in everyday life, Ziv's contributions enable efficient storage and transmission of text, data, images, and video. Computer memories, modems, software distribution, and file compression techniques all rely on Ziv's ideas and inventions. His seminal contributions to information theory have inspired generations of researchers and practitioners alike. This award recognizes the fundamental role of his work in creating technologies that widely and deeply impact the information age.
Jacob Ziv is an Israeli information theorist who, along with Abraham Lempel, developed the lossless LZ77 compression algorithm. His research interests include data-compression, information theory and statistical communication. He received the B.Sc., Dip. Eng., and M.Sc. degrees, all in Electrical Engineering, from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology , Haifa, Israel, in 1954, and 1957, respectively, and the D.Sc. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, U.S.A., in 1962. Ziv joined the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 1970 and is Herman Gross Professor of Electrical Engineering and a Technion Distinguished Professor. Ziv was Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering from 1974 to 1976 and Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1978 to 1982. Since 1987 Ziv has spent three sabbatical leaves at the Information Research Department of Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA. Ziv was the Chairman of the Israeli Universities Planning and Grants Committee from 1985 to 1991. As of 1981, he is a member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities and has served as its president (1995-2004).
The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards span eight scientific and artistic areas each with a cash prize of 400,000 euros and are organized in partnership with Spain's National Research Council ( CSIC ). The Information and Communication Technologies award honors outstanding research work and practical breakthroughs in this area. More information about the award, as well as information on making nominations for the second edition of the award (due June 30, 2009), can be found at the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards page.
The BBVA Foundation engages in the promotion of research, advanced training and the transmission of scientific knowledge to society at large, focusing especially on the analysis of emerging issues in five strategic areas: Environment, Biomedicine and Health, Economy and Society, Basic Sciences and Technology, and Arts and Humanities.
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