Krishnan and the sampling theorem

Abstract

Krishnan loved mathematics and those who knew him had great respect and even awe for his skill as a mathematician. However, he chose to publish in mathematics just once, and for future generations this particular work of Krishnan remains just about the only source from which to gain a glimpse of his mathematics. This work is outlined, and it is shown that his main result is essentially equivalent to the sampling theorem of Shannon that appeared a little later. While conventional wisdom viewed the sampling theorem as a powerful engineering tool in signal processing, Krishnan saw in his main result a rich source of deep mathematical identities.