12/08/2021

IMPA course addresses the concept of information in probability.

Imagem: Pixabay

Banking apps, fitness apps, calendars, social networks. Our mobile devices condense an unimaginable amount of data. In an increasingly connected world, Information Theory – a field of mathematics that studies the quantification, storage and communication of information – represents fundamental knowledge for telecommunications. Aligned with the development of the area, IMPA will have, throughout the second semester, a master's and doctoral course to discuss this topic , especially in the context of probability. Classes started this Wednesday (11), and registrations are open until August 25.

"Information theory is found in various areas of probability and its applications. From statistical inference and data compression to telecommunications, its principles are always present. The idea of the subject is to awaken in the student an appreciation of the concept of information, and how this can relate to various other problems," comments the professor of the discipline, Lucas Nissenbaum.

One of the main points of the course syllabus is to try to discover how much information a random variable contains, and to interpret the entropy of this variable. The classes are intended for students interested in probability, statistics, and communication. For a better understanding of the content, it is important to have knowledge of analysis and probability, especially in distributions, expected value, the law of large numbers, and stochastic processes.

The course takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am. The first class was recorded and is available for students who were unable to attend. An electrical engineer from Cornell University, Nissenbaum holds a master's and doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in electrical engineering and computer science. In addition to teaching the Information Theory course in the IMPA graduate program, the engineer also participates in projects at the institute's Center for Projects and Innovation (Centro Pi).