Maths-Chat: Hedy Lamarr – the unbelievable prehistory of the spread-spectrum communication

a maths-chat with

Professor Alexandre Borovik

Tuesday, 8 March 2022

7:00-8:00 pm

Live online

Book a place

The spread-spectrum communication – this is what is used in mobile phones and in wifi. The talk will focus on human interest stories, including the role of Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood actress famous in the 1930s-1940s, as one of the pioneers of the new technology. There will be just a couple of equations in the talk, but, still, the talk is about mathematics, its role in our lives, and about the moral responsibility of mathematicians for the consequences of their work.
From Wikipedia: “In telecommunication and radio communication, spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal (e.g., electromagnetic, or acoustic signal) … is deliberately spread in the frequency domain… These techniques are used for a variety of reasons, including the establishment of secure communications, increasing resistance to natural interference, noise, and jamming, to prevent detection, and to enable multiple-access communications.”

This is Maths-Chat with our guest Professor Alexandre Borovik. The session will include a brief illustrated introduction followed by questions and answers. Members of the public will be able to ask questions in the live-chat. The event is hosted by Professor Andrei Zvelindovsky, Head of the School of Maths & Physics at the University of Lincoln, UK.

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