This field deals with the encoding, transmission, retrieval, and interpretation of information. The on-going information explosion resulting from the increased use of the digital computer, the widespread introduction of sophisticated mathematical techniques, and the insatiable demand for knowledge requires an increasing percentage of engineering talent.

Voice, video, scientific, and computer data are among the information sources studied. The strongest growth in recent years has been in digital communication and signal processing, an area emphasized at Rensselaer. Even inherently analog data such as voice and video signals now are being transmitted in digital form.

Students may pursue programs of study strong in mathematical foundations, or oriented more toward hardware and practical implementation, or a combination of both. Two of the fundamental subdisciplines emphasized are statistical communications and telecommunications. The former considers special types of systems in different environments, typified by random signals in random channels, as in space communication. The latter includes the hardware and societal demands of telephone, cable TV, computer communications networks, and other systems.

The area of information processing is concerned primarily with the theory and engineering design associated with interpreting and manipulating received data, primarily in discrete form. A quantitative understanding of the nature and meaning of information provides a theoretical foundation. Among the research areas are information theory, including rate distortion theory and source encoding, digital signal processing, and biomedical and earth resource applications.

A special research emphasis at Rensselaer is the application of image transmission and interpretation techniques to pattern recognition, image processing, HDTV, and speech recognition.

In addition to communication components and test equipment, there are special departmental laboratories in image processing, speech processing, and graphics.

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