Background
Pless, Vera was born on March 5, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Daughter of Lyman and Helen (Blinder) Stepen.
(A complete introduction to the many mathematical tools us...)
A complete introduction to the many mathematical tools used to solve practical problems in coding. Mathematicians have been fascinated with the theory of error-correcting codes since the publication of Shannon's classic papers fifty years ago. With the proliferation of communications systems, computers, and digital audio devices that employ error-correcting codes, the theory has taken on practical importance in the solution of coding problems. This solution process requires the use of a wide variety of mathematical tools and an understanding of how to find mathematical techniques to solve applied problems. Introduction to the Theory of Error-Correcting Codes, Third Edition demonstrates this process and prepares students to cope with coding problems. Like its predecessor, which was awarded a three-star rating by the Mathematical Association of America, this updated and expanded edition gives readers a firm grasp of the timeless fundamentals of coding as well as the latest theoretical advances. This new edition features: A greater emphasis on nonlinear binary codes An exciting new discussion on the relationship between codes and combinatorial games Updated and expanded sections on the Vashamov-Gilbert bound, van Lint-Wilson bound, BCH codes, and Reed-Muller codes Expanded and updated problem sets. Introduction to the Theory of Error-Correcting Codes, Third Edition is the ideal textbook for senior-undergraduate and first-year graduate courses on error-correcting codes in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering.
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mathematics and computer science educator
Pless, Vera was born on March 5, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Daughter of Lyman and Helen (Blinder) Stepen.
As a teenager, Vera was more interested in playing the cello than in mathematics, but she left high school two years early to go to the University of Chicago and finished her studies there in three years. Her husband became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pless moved with him to Massachusetts, where she completed her doctorate from Northwestern in 1957 under the supervision of Kaplansky"s student Alex F. T. West. Rosenberg, soon before the birth of her first child.
Vera is professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Two years later, bored with being a stay-at-home mother, Pless began teaching courses at Boston University, and a few years later began searching for a full-time job. Unable to obtain an academic position, she took a position at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory in Massachusetts. where she began working on error-correcting codes.
During this time she helped to found an organization called Women in Science and Engineering, and at one point was president. Vera stayed at AFCRL from 1963 until 1972. A regular visitor and inspiration during this time was Harvard mathematician and cryptographer Andrew Gleason.
When the Mansfield amendment banned the military from performing basic research, she moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she worked as a research associate for Project MAC. She returned to Chicago in 1975 as a full professor of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She retired in 2006.
(An introduction to the theory of error-correction codes, ...)
(A complete introduction to the many mathematical tools us...)
Member American Mathematics Society (chair nominating committee 1984), Mathematics Association American, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Board of Governors 1985-1989), Association Women in Mathematics.
Married Irwin Pless, June 15, 1952 (divorced 1980). Children: Naomi, Benjamin, Daniel.