This book traces the prehistory and initial development of wavelet theory, a discipline that has had a profound impact on mathematics, physics, and engineering. Interchanges between these fields during the last fifteen years have led to a number of advances in applications such as image compression, turbulence, machine vision, radar, and earthquake prediction.

This book contains the seminal papers that presented the ideas from which wavelet theory evolved, as well as those major papers that developed the theory into its current form. These papers originated in a variety of journals from different disciplines, making it difficult for the researcher to obtain a complete view of wavelet theory and its origins. Additionally, some of the most significant papers have heretofore been available only in French or German.

Heil and Walnut bring together these documents in a book that allows researchers a complete view of wavelet theory's origins and development.

Winner of the 1994 Leroy P. Steele Prize for excellence in expository writing. Ingrid Daubechies received the 2000 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Award in Mathematics, which is given every four years for excellence in published mathematical research. Daubechies was chosen "for fundamental discoveries on wavelets and wavelet expansions and for her role in making wavelet methods a pracical basic tool of applied mathematics". Wavelets are a mathematical development that may revolutionize the world of information storage and retrieval according to many experts. They are a fairly simple mathematical tool now being applied to the compression of data--such as fingerprints, weather satellite photographs, and medical x-rays--that were previously thought to be impossible to condense without losing crucial details. This monograph contains 10 lectures presented by Dr. Daubechies as the principal speaker at the 1990 CBMS-NSF Conference on Wavelets and Applications. The author has worked on several aspects of the wavelet transform and has developed a collection of wavelets that are remarkably efficient. The opening chapter provides an overview of the main problems presented in the book. Following chapters discuss the theoretical and practical aspects of wavelet theory, including wavelet transforms, orthonormal bases of wavelets, and characterization of functional spaces by means of wavelets. The last chapter presents several topics under active research, as multidimensional wavelets, wavelet packet bases, and a construction of wavelets tailored to decompose functions defined in a finite interval. Because of their interdisciplinary origins, wavelets appeal to scientists and engineers of many different backgrounds. Special Features:* Only comprehensive book in English on this subject.* Ideal for mapping out a graduate course or a seminar on the subject.* Includes an extensive bibliography.