The Army Conference on Applied Statistics (ACAS) is pleased to announce that Arizona State University in Tempe will host its 15th annual meeting from October 21–23, 2009. ACAS is a conference of the Interface Foundation of North America and a leading forum for the presentation and discussion of theoretical and applied papers relating to the use of probability and statistics for solving defense- and security-related problems.

Today’s Department of Defense faces far-ranging challenges that include many topics to which probability and statistics can contribute. The development and advancement of defense systems draw upon varied techniques and tools such as reliability analysis, statistical computing, visual data mining, simulation, linear and stochastic modeling, data fusion, and experimental design. ACAS provides a constructive opportunity for interaction among academic, industry, and DoD scientists. It also serves a nurturing role in the elevation of statistical proficiency among DoD researchers in other disciplines who find themselves statistical practitioners because of the compelling benefits statistical science brings to DoD research, development, and testing.

The conference program includes invited talks by prominent investigators in various branches of statistics and applied probability, as well as contributed papers of a technical, applied, or clinical nature. To date, the following distinguished researchers have been confirmed for invited presentations: Michael Jordon (keynote, UC Berkeley), Douglas C. Montgomery (Arizona State), Leslie Clark (Armed Forces Health Surveillance), and Rebecca Goldin (George Mason). ACAS attendees are welcome to attend a free short course taught by Brian Marx of Louisiana State University, titled “Categorical Data Analysis,” which will precede the conference on October 19–20.

This year’s conference will feature three special sessions. Ed Wegman and Yasmin Said of George Mason University are organizing “Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation” and “Data Mining Applications.” Andrew Glen and Rodney Sturdivant from the U.S. Military Academy are organizing “Current Army Challenges in Statistics.”

Technical and clinical sessions will round out the conference. Technical sessions will feature contributed papers by DoD, academic, and industrial scientists. Contributed papers will range in content from new research to well-posed problems in which statistical methods are applied to solve specific DoD problems. Clinical sessions, a distinct element of ACAS, will focus on unresolved problems in applied statistics. A panel of experts, comprised of invited speakers and other distinguished attendees, will offer guidance on how to proceed.

The Army Conference on Applied Statistics also marks the occasion when the Army Wilks Award is presented for significant contributions to the U.S. Army in statistical research or applications relevant to the Army.