The areas of communications, computer networks, and signal processing have undergone rapid development over the past several years. The advent of VLSI circuitry and increasingly sophisticated computer hardware and software techniques have made possible the construction of systems and signal proces­ sors for· communications applications not contemplated only a short time ago. The increasing complexity of communication systems, both by themselves and in land-based or satellite networks, has created a greater need for finding use­ ful mathematical techniques for their analysis. The rapidly evolving technolo­ gies involved continue to find exciting new areas for application, and it remains a challenge for researchers to keep abreast of developments. In this volume researchers from a broad cross section of the areas of communications, signal processing, and computer networks have been invited to contribute articles to assist readers in learning about the current state of research and future research directions in their area. The authors were not given tight guidelines for their contributions and thus the character and emphasis of each chapter differs. Although the scope of the areas considered is necessarily limited in a volume of this size, the coverage here is quite broad and it is hoped that the reader will find the contents of this volume to be interesting, useful, and informative.

I Signal Detection, Estimation, and Random Processes.- 1. A Survey of Recent Progress on Level-Crossing Problems for Random Processes.- 2. On Detection-Estimation Schemes for Uncertain Systems.- 3. Series Expansions in Statistical Theory of Detection and Estimation.- 4. Optimum Data Quantization in Signal Detection.- 5. Digital Parameter Estimation.- 6. Robustness in Signal Detection.- 7. Sequential Detection of a Positive Signal.- 8. Recent Developments in Nonlinear Time-Series Modeling.- 9. In Search of Multiparameter Markov Processes.- II Coding, Networks and Signal Processing.- 10. Coding for Interference Channels.- 11. The Use of Gibbs Distributions in Image Processing.- 12. The Routing Problem in Computer Networks.- 13. Theoretical Analysis of Slotted ALOHA, CSMA and CSMA-CD Protocols.- 14. Image Compression via Self-Error-Correcting Two-Dimensional Coding.- 15. Vector Quantization.- 16. The Chinese Remainder Theorem and Applications.- 17. Detection of Complex Sinusoids by the Pisarenko Method.