Yaakov Bar-Shalom
Also known as Yaakov Bar‐Shalom, Jakob Friedman, יעקב בר-שלום
Yaakov Bar-Shalom's probabilistic filters track targets in clutter for radar and sonar surveillance. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the Technion in 1963 and 1967 and a Princeton doctorate in 1970, then worked at Systems Control, Inc. in Palo Alto before joining the University of Connecticut in 1976. In the 1970s he introduced probabilistic data association and joint probabilistic data association, and Raytheon uses those algorithms in airport surface detection radar. He received the Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications in 2008, and in 2022 he and Henk Blom received the IEEE AESS Pioneer Award for the interacting multiple model estimator. As of October 2026, he is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering and Marianne Klewin Professor at the University of Connecticut.
- Works
- 764
- Citations
- 48,341
- h-index
- 86
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 17 October 2026.
Timeline
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1963–1970
Technion and Princeton degrees
He receives bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the Technion in Haifa in 1963 and 1967, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1970.
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1976
Joining Connecticut's faculty
After the doctorate he works as a research scientist at Systems Control, Inc. in Palo Alto, California. In 1976 he joins the University of Connecticut as a tenure-track faculty member.
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1970s
Tracking targets in clutter
In the 1970s he introduces the probabilistic data association filter and joint probabilistic data association for tracking targets in clutter. Applications include radar and sonar surveillance, and Raytheon uses the algorithms in airport surface detection radar.
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2000–2013
President of ISIF
He serves as president of ISIF in 2000 and in 2002 and as vice president for publications from 2004 to 2013. Eight books he coauthors or edits include Tracking and Data Fusion, from YBS Publishing in 2011. The IEEE elects him a Fellow for contributions to the theory of stochastic systems and of multitarget tracking.
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2008–2012
Picard and Connecticut medals
He receives the IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications in 2008 and the Connecticut Medal of Technology in 2012.
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2015–2022
Lifetime award and IMM
In 2015 he receives the ISIF Award for a Lifetime of Excellence in Information Fusion, and in 2016 the award is renamed the Yaakov Bar-Shalom Award for a Lifetime of Excellence in Information Fusion. He and Henk Blom receive the 2022 IEEE AESS Pioneer Award for the interacting multiple model estimator.
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2025
The Marth mentorship award
He receives the 2025 Marth Mentorship Award for mentoring graduate students at the University of Connecticut. He has chaired or served on the Ph.D. committees of more than 40 graduate students.
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As of October 2026
Professor at Connecticut
He is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the electrical and computer engineering department and Marianne Klewin Professor at the University of Connecticut. His IEEE AESS distinguished lecturer term runs from 2012 through 2026.
Sources and credits
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- Yaakov Bar-Shalom - Wikipedia
- Yaakov Bar-Shalom | ISIF
- Yaakov Bar-Shalom | IEEE AESS
- Yaakov Bar-Shalom - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
- Yaakov Bar-Shalom Earns IEEE Pioneer Award - UConn Today
- 2025 Marth Award Recipient - Yaakov Bar-Shalom | The Graduate School | University of Connecticut
- Bar-Shalom, Yaakov | College of Engineering | University of Connecticut
- Yaakov Bar-Shalom - Distinguished Lecturer | IEEE AESS