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The scientists and engineers of today are relentless in their continuing study and analysis of the world about us from the microcosm to the macrocosm. A central purpose of this study is to gain sufficient scientific information and insight to enable the development of both representative and useful models of the superabundance of physical processes that surround us. The engineers need these models and the associated insight in order to build the information processing systems and control systems that comprise these new and emerging technologies. Much of the early modeling work that has been done on these systems has been based on the linear time-invariant system theory and its extensive use of Fourier transform theory for both continuous and discrete systems and signals. However many of the signals arising in nature and real systems are neither stationary nor linear but tend to be concentrated in both time and frequency. Hence a new methodology is needed to take these factors properly into account.

Wavelet and subband transforms have been of great interest in the fields of - gineering and applied mathematics. The theories of these powerful signal p- cessing tools have matured and many applications utilizing them are emerging in different disciplines. This book, comprised of eleven chapter contributions from prominent researchers in the field, focuses on communications and mul- media applications of wavelet and subband transforms. The first six chapters of this book deal with a variety of communications applications that significantly benefit from wavelet and subband theories. S- ilarly, the remaining five chapters present recent advances in multimedia - plications of wavelet and subband transforms. These chapters interconnect the requirements of applications with the underlying theory and their engineering solutions. Hence, the reader can easily trace the entire path from fundamentals to the purpose and merit of application in hand. A combined list of references for the entire volume is given at the end of the text that should be helpful to the interested reader for a further study. This book is anticipated to be of particular interest to engineers and sci- tists who want to learn about state-of-the-art subband and wavelet transform applications as well as their theoretical underpinnings. It can also serve as a supplementary book for graduate level engineering and applied mathematics courses on wavelet and subband transforms.