Information Physics
Information Physics is a core research area in the UAlbany? Physics Department. This ambitious endeavor involves Professors Ariel Caticha, Keith Earle, Philip Goyal, and Kevin H. Knuth. We professors and our students interact with each other in a variety of ways including collaborative projects and parallel investigations.
Information Physics is focused on the multiple relationships between physics and information.
At a foundational level, information physics explores the degree to which the laws of physics reflect the optimal processing of information about the universe in which we are embedded. Such a program may seem ambitious, but we have already had several notable successes in the areas of dynamics, quantum mechanics and relativity. This foundational work employs two distinct approaches: consistent quantification and the application of inductive inference.
We also explore the ways in which the laws of physics influence the ways in which we process and store information. Such investigations include quantum computing and quantum information theory.
Information physics also concerns the processing of information to make inferences about experimental data for the purposes of solving physical problems and testing physical theories. Research here involves investigation into the foundations of inference and inquiry; the latter of which has resulted in our studies of automated experimental design. Application areas include difficult data analysis problems, such as exoplanet detection, separation of mixed signals (source separation) and a variety of signal processing problems.