Science Track: Alayont and Clark, Mathematics, GVSU
Dr. Feryal Alayont and Dr. David Clark: "Error Correction in Space Communications"
Every satellite continually sends and receives important data from Earth. Those signals have to make it through thousands of miles of clouds, static, and radiation that do their best to destroy the signal. We will show how mathematics saves the day by recovering the original data despite errors introduced during this process. We'll also enjoy the fruits of these "error-correcting codes": beautiful photos sent by probes back to Earth.