Ukrainian scientist, whose algorithms made it possible to create MP3, PDF and ZIP formats, dies at the age of 86

Professor Avraham Lempel, a Ukrainian-Israeli scientist who is considered one of the creators of the data compression function, has died at the age of 86. Interestingly, Lempel was born in Lviv. During his childhood, the scientist’s hometown was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (according to the Second Partition). Later, the future scientist moved to Israel, where he earned three degrees at the Technion.

In 1977, together with his colleague, Professor Yaakov Ziv, Lampel published LZ7, the first version of the Lampel-Ziv algorithm, and in 1979, the second version, 79LZ. Both versions laid the groundwork for the development of advanced compression technologies such as TIFF, PNG, ZIP, and GIF, and significantly helped in the creation of the PDF format for text documents and MP3 for music.

The algorithm developed by Lampel and Ziv allows data to be compressed without loss of quality. Moreover, from the beginning of its implementation, the option is free to use. Many compression technologies used today on the Internet, on physical media and communication devices owe their functionality to Lampel.

By the way, in 1993, the scientist founded the first HP division in Israel, which he managed until 2007. During his tenure at HP, the company registered eight of Lampel’s personal patents in the United States.

Modern Ukrainian developers are also not lagging behind and are creating advanced devices that are especially useful in the face of full-scale Russian aggression. As a reminder, Rivne-based startup Kseonics Technology has created a unique powerful power bank that helps the Armed Forces of Ukraine charge their radios. Ukrainian developers have also created software for the military that even the Pentagon doesn’t have — the Delta digital network uses satellite communications to help the Armed Forces receive intelligence, coordinate between units, and effectively track enemy targets.