Jorma Rissanen
Jorma Rissanen | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1932 Pielisjärvi, Finland |
| Died | May 9, 2020 (aged 87) |
| Occupation(s) | Information theorist, computer scientist |
| Years active | 1960–2002 |
| Known for | Minimum description length principle, arithmetic coding |
Jorma Johannes Rissanen (October 20, 1932 – May 9, 2020) was a distinguished figure in information theory, best known for introducing the minimum description length (MDL) principle and for his significant advancements in arithmetic coding techniques used in lossless data compression. His research also contributed notably to the understanding of stochastic chains with variable memory lengths.
Education and career
Originating from Pielisjärvi (present-day Lieksa), Finland, Rissanen was raised in Kemi and pursued his studies at Helsinki University of Technology. There, he obtained a Master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1956 followed by a licentiate degree in control theory in 1960 under the mentorship of Olli Lokki and Hans Blomberg. In 1960, he began working as a researcher at IBM's Stockholm branch while simultaneously completing his Ph.D. remotely, which he earned in 1965 with a focus on adaptive control theory.
Later, Rissanen relocated to IBM Almaden Research Center located in San Jose, California, where he remained professionally active until his retirement in 2002, aside from a short-term academic appointment at Linköping University during 1974. His exposure to the studies on algorithmic randomness by Kolmogorov and Martin-Löf motivated his groundbreaking developments in arithmetic coding and the MDL framework from the late 1970s through the early 1990s. These efforts culminated in essential contributions to stochastic complexity and universal coding/modeling theories, exemplified by his seminal publication Stochastic Complexity in Statistical Inquiry. After concluding his tenure at IBM, he held an emeritus professorship at Tampere University of Technology and maintained an association with the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology.
Awards and recognitions
Throughout his career, Rissanen was honored with several prestigious awards including the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal in 1993, the IEEE Golden Jubilee Award for Technological Innovation presented by the IEEE Information Theory Society in 1998, the Kolmogorov Medal awarded by the University of London in 2006, and the IEEE Claude E. Shannon Award in 2009. In celebration of his 75th birthday, Tampere University of Technology published a Festschrift volume featuring an interview alongside comprehensive biographical details.
Personal life
In 1956, Rissanen married Riitta Aberg. Together they had two children named Juhani and Natasha.
Bibliography
- Stochastic complexity in statistical inquiry (1989), World Scientific
- The mathematics of information coding, extraction, and distribution (1999), Springer (editor)
- Information and complexity in statistical modeling (2007), Springer
- Optimal estimation of parameters (2012), Cambridge University Press
External links
- Professor Jorma Rissanen page at RHUL
- In Memoriam: Jorma J. Rissanen (1932–2020), IEEE Information Theory Society Newsletter, September 2020