Archives:Birth Certificate of the Information Age: The Annus Mirabilis 1948

Abstract 

The year 1948 may be regarded as the annus mirabilis in the emergence of the discipline of signal processing. For in that year Claude Shannon published the epoch-making "A mathematical theory of communication"; Bernard Oliver, John Pierce, and Claude Shannon published the classic argument for the use of pulse..code modulation; modern digital methods of spectrum estimation were introduced; error-correcting codes were introduced; audio engineering achieved a new prominence; and the IEEE Signal Processing Society, albeit under a different name, was established. In addition, that year saw a demonstration of the first stored-program computer and the announcement of the invention of the transistor, heralding two new technologies that would later greatly stimulate signal processing.  This article explores the year and its achievements in depth.

Citation and Link to Full Article

Frederik Nebeker, "Birth Certificate of the Information Age: The Annus Mirabilis 1948," in Signal Processing: The Emergence of a Discipline, 1948-1998 (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1998), 13-27.

Birth Certificate of the Information Age: The Annus Mirabilis 1948 (pdf)