Carl W. Helstrom (1925–2013) was one of the earliest pioneers in the field of

quantum information theory Quantum information is the information of the quantum state, state of a quantum system. It is the basic entity of study in quantum information theory, and can be manipulated using quantum information processing techniques. Quantum information re ...

. He is well known in this field for discovering what is now known as the Helstrom measurement, the

quantum measurement In quantum physics, a measurement is the testing or manipulation of a physical system to yield a numerical result. The predictions that quantum physics makes are in general probabilistic. The mathematical tools for making predictions about what ...

with minimum error probability for distinguishing one

quantum state In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rules for the system's evolution i ...

from another. He has written a textbook which has been widely read by experts in

. He authored several other textbooks on signal detection and estimation theory.

Personal life

He was born in Easton, PA, on February 22, 1925. In 1956, he married Barbro Dahlbom.

Education

He received the B.S degree in engineering physics from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

, Bethlehem, PA, in 1947 and the Ph.D. degree in physics from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, Pasadena, in 1951.

Career

From 1944 to 1946 he was a radio technician in the U.S. Navy. From 1951 to 1966 he worked in applied mathematics at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, PA. On leave during the 1963-1964 academic year, he lectured in the Department of Engineering,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. He joined the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

in 1966, where he was Professor, then Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering. From 1971 to 1973 and 1974 to 1977 he was Chairman of his Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department, and during the 1973-1974 and 1986-1987 academic years he was Professeur Associé at the Université de Paris-Sud. From 1965 to 1967, Helstrom served as Associate Editor for Detection Theory on the editorial board of the

IEEE Transactions on Information Theory ''IEEE Transactions on Information Theory'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the IEEE Information Theory Society. It covers information theory and the mathematics of communications. It was established in 1953 as ''IRE Tran ...

; 1967 to 1971 he served as Editor-in-Chief of the same journal. He was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

Honors

For his contributions to communication and detection theory, Helstrom was elected Fellow of the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

in 1970. He was also a Fellow of the

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

References

External links