Probabilistic Methods and Distributed Information

Rudolf Ahlswede (1938–2010) studied Mathematics in Göttingen, and held postdoc positions in Erlangen, Germany and Ohio, USA. From 1977 on he was full Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Bielefeld. His work represents an essential contribution to information theory and networking. He developed and contributed to a number of central areas, including network coding and the theory of identification, while also advancing the fields of combinatorics and number theory. These efforts culminated in his research program on the “Development of a General Theory of Information Transfer”. In recognition of his work, he received several awards for “Best Paper”, as well as the distinguished “Shannon Award”.

• Words and Introduction of the Editors.- Preface.- Arbitrarily Varying Channels.- Continuous Data Compression.- Distributed Information.- Statistical Inference under Communication Constraints.- Appendix.- Remembering Rudolf Ahlswede.- Comments by Ulrich Krengel.- Subject Index.- Name Index.

“This material … would make an excellent self-contained reading group or course for graduate students and gives a sense of the considerable progress and remaining challenges in this area. … This review gives only a flavour of what is a rich and detailed book, which will reward detailed study and will form a valuable reference and guide to new and advanced ideas in information theory. I recommend it very strongly.” (Oliver Johnson, Mathematical Reviews, July, 2019)