Professor David L. Donoho of Stanford University in California has been awarded the Shaw Prize for mathematical sciences for his work developing algorithms to reduce interference gathered by audio signals. Given by the Hong Kong-based Shaw Prize Foundation, the prize honors recent achievements made by researchers in the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences.
Donoho was awarded the Shaw Prize for mathematical sciences for his “contributions to modern mathematical statistics and, in particular, the development of optimal algorithms for statistical estimation in the presence of noise, and of efficient techniques for sparse representation and recovery in large data-sets,” the Shaw Prize committee said.
According to Shaw Prize council member Professor Pak-chung Ching from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the primary objective of Donoho’s research was “to apply mathematical and statistical tools to solve real-life problems.” Using statistical means, Donoho developed algorithms that would help to diminish the noise and interference picked up by audio signals as they are transmitted through networks “by recovering or reconstructing the original signal as much as possible.”
Five other researchers were also recognized for achievements in the fields of astronomy and life science and medicine.
Founded in 2002, the Shaw Prize is named after Hong Kong media titan and philanthropist Run Run Shaw and includes a $1 million reward for each of the three research fields. It is also known informally as the Nobel Prize of Asia.
