LDPC logo Matthew Davey
Research Student, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
Mug
    shot.

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Work

From 1996-1999 I worked with Dr. David Mackay in the Inference Group at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge.

My PhD research focussed on Low-Density Parity-Check codes, excellent error-correcting codes devised by Gallager in the 60's and resurrected in the 90's. Error-correcting codes are used in everything from hard disks to deep-space communication. By slightly reducing the storage capacity (or communication rate) of a system, error-correcting codes can greatly reduce the probability of errors.

The banner image at the top of this page was made by encoding an image using a Low-Density Parity-Check code (adding the `parity check' lines at the bottom), and then corrupting 5 percent of the pixels. The sequence of images shows the original image being recovered by the decoder after 17 iterations (hit reload if you missed it - it doesn't loop).

Low-Density Parity-Check codes have attracted great interest recently, as we pushed their performance beyond that of the celebrated turbo codes. Find out more about Low-Density Parity-Check codes by visiting David MacKay's Gallager code resources, or reading some of our papers.

From 1995-96 I was working with the Applied Probability group at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) for my M.Sc. My research was in the general area of Information Theory.

In June 95 I graduated in Theoretical Physics from Trinity College, Dublin.

Recent Publications

If you don't see what you're looking for here, try this list of publications.

Play

Windsurfing, travel, windsurfing travel. These are my watchwords. When I'm at home, and the wind blows I am most likely to be found windsurfing at one of the sites around Dublin: Malahide, Dollymount, Salthill. I've the greatest respect for people who learn in cold climes, ever since seeing undergraduates chipping ice off wetsuits one November morning. Warm weather windsurfing is a luxury I occasionally afford, usually requiring travel to some sunny spot. I admit I'm a bit of a windsurfing fanatic, but I'm nothing compared to some people.

However, don't think that my life is all one sided. During the croquet season I try to work on those elusive triple peels - to find out more about the Cambridge University Croquet Club, follow this link to the home page.

I enjoy travelling, and have made a couple of overland trips in the US, driving coast-to-coast in '93 and exploring the Rockies/NW states in '96. I've seen a fair bit of Europe, including eastern Europe and Turkey. More recently I visited Egypt, and have a couple of photos here if you are interested.

Links


Address

Inference group
Cavendish Laboratory
Madingley Road
Cambridge CB3 0HE
England.
Email: mcdavey@mrao.cam.ac.uk
Phone: +44-1223-339242 (work)
Phone: +44-1223-313083 (home)
Fax: +44-1223-354599
PGP: public key

Matthew Davey <mcdavey@mrao.cam.ac.uk>
Last modified: Thu Dec 16 12:43:24 GMT 1999

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