Jacob Ziv, RIP
Jacob Ziv, known for his pioneering contributions to communication and information theory that inspired generations of researchers, passed away on March 25, 2023 at the age of 91. Perhaps his most celebrated achievement is the creation, together with Abraham Lempel, of efficient universal compression algorithms, known as LZ77 and LZ78. These algorithms have had a profound and far reaching impact in digital technologies including the widely used gzip package and the GIF image format.
In 2004, the International Association of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) declared that the Lempel-Ziv algorithm is a “milestone in the fields of electronics and computer engineering” and that it “made a significant contribution to the transformation of the internet into an effective means of global communication.”
In 2011, Prof. Ziv was awarded the 2021 IEEE Medal of Honor for his extensive work, his broad contribution to information theory and data compression, and his exceptional research pioneering.
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