An Introduction to Wavelets Through Linear Algebra

This text was originally written for a «Capstone» course at Michigan State University. A Capstone course is intended for undergraduate mathematics majors, as one of the final courses taken in their undergraduate curriculum. Its purpose is to bring together different topics covered in the undergraduate curriculum and introduce students to current developments in mathematics and their applications. Basic wavelet theory seems to be a perfect topic for such a course. As a subject, it dates back only to 1985. Since then there has been an explosion of wavelet research, both pure and applied. Wavelet theory is on the boundary between mathematics and engineering. In particular it is a good topic for demonstrating to students that mathematics research is thriving in the modern day: students can see non-trivial mathematics ideas leading to natural and important applications, such as video compression and the numerical solution of differential equations. The only prerequisites assumed are a basic linear algebra background and a bit of analysis background. This text is intended to be as elementary an introduction to wavelet theory as possible. It is not intended as a thorough or authoritative reference on wavelet theory.