Awarded the 5th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences, mathematician Ingrid Daubechies explains in this interview how her contributions to the development of wavelets transformed signal processing, digital compression, and data analysis. Daubechies details how these functions allow complex information—images, sound, or temporal patterns—to be broken down into simpler, more manageable components, enabling essential applications in medicine, engineering, telecommunications, and computer science. She also reflects on the importance of interdisciplinary work and how applied mathematics continues to open new avenues for understanding and representing the digital world. Her testimony showcases the scope and beauty of contemporary mathematical research.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in the Basic Sciences category has been granted jointly to mathematicians
Awarded the 5th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences, mathematician Ingrid Daubechies explains in this interview how her contributions to the development of wavelets transformed signal processing, digital compression, and data analysis. Daubechies details how these functions allow complex information—images, sound, or temporal patterns—to be broken down into simpler, more manageable components, enabling essential applications in medicine, engineering, telecommunications, and computer science. She also reflects on the importance of interdisciplinary work and how applied mathematics continues to open new avenues for understanding and representing the digital world. Her testimony showcases the scope and beauty of contemporary mathematical research.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in the Basic Sciences category has been granted jointly to mathematicians Ingrid Daubechies and David Mumford for their works in pure mathematics, which have strongly influenced diverse fields of application ranging from data compression to pattern recognition.
00:00 What does it mean to you to receive the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category, along with David Mumford?
00:29 Can you explain what wavelets are and why they are so important?
01:20 Your career began in theory and then moved towards applications. How and why did you make this transition?
02:56 How has your research been essential to the JPEG format, the compression standard we all use today for digital images?
04:17 You are currently the president of the International Mathematical Union. How would you describe the state of mathematics?
