Nitis Mukhopadhyay, University of Connecticut-Storrs

From left: Nitis Mukhopadhyay, Miron Straf, Steve Fienberg, and Judith Tanur

Stephen E. Fienberg, Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science in the Department of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University, was chosen as the 22nd Pfizer Colloquium presenter in the Distinguished Statistician series. He presented a colloquium in honor of David Salsburg, titled “Statistics in Service to the Nation.”

The 72-minute lecture was professionally filmed on October 29, 2009, and is archived at the American Statistical Association.

In this film, Fienberg tells about his journey and explains how his mentors, Don Fraser and Fred Mosteller, influenced him to collaborate in solving a number of nationally important problem areas requiring both novel statistical input and new research. Fienberg made fundamental contributions in many of those areas.

Miron L. Straf, deputy director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academy of Sciences, and Judith M. Tanur, distinguished teaching professor emeriti in the department of sociology at SUNY-Stony Brook, were invited guests.

Another film, titled “A Conversation with Stephen E. Fienberg,” is 65 minutes long and dedicated to professor Harry O. Posten. In this conversation, Fienberg, Straf, and Tanur discuss Fienberg’s life and research, his passion for solving practical statistical problems, and a career path that made him a living legend in our profession.

Inquiries about these films should be directed to ASA Continuing Education Associate Rick Peterson at rick@amstat.org. To view earlier films in this lecture series, visit the website.