Ingrid Daubechies - Biography#

Ingrid Daubechies was born and educated in Belgium. She is best known for her discovery and mathematical analysis of compactly supported wavelets, which are used in image compression, for example in JPEG 2000 for both both lossless and lossy compression.

One focus of Daubechies' current research is the development of analytic and geometric tools for the comparison of surfaces. Comparison of surfaces plays a central role in many scientific disciplines and in the construction of video animations, and it is also a crucial step in many medical and biological applications. In an earlier collaboration, she worked with paleontologists to develop a quantitative method to characterize the complexity of molar tooth surfaces, in an effort to reconstruct the diet of various extinct taxa.

A particular interest of Professor Daubechies is the improvement of secondary mathematics education in the US and worldwide, and the stimulation of mathematics, science and technology in developing countries. In 2009 she spent part of her sabbatical in Madagascar; she continues to work with Malagasy mathematicians and scientists towards fostering a richer and more stimulating environment for students interested in developing a career in research and higher education.