Eleven ASA members and two current or former ASA staff members were named 2013 Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) November 25. Members bestowed the honorific include the following:

• Ann Bostrom, University of Washington
• Raymond J. Carroll, Texas A&M University
• Paul D. Cleary, Yale University
• Barry R. Davis, The University of Texas School of Public Health
• Kim-Anh Do, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Bani K. Mallick, Texas A&M University
• David Manderscheid, University of Nebraska
• H. Joseph Newton, Texas A&M University
• Alberto Palloni, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Robert T. Smythe, Oregon State University
• Michael Stein, The University of Chicago

ASA Staff:
Former Research and Graduate Education Manager Keith Crank
Science Policy Director Steve Pierson

To view the list of all 388 new Fellows, visit the AAAS website.

Sallie A. Keller and Stephanie Shipp

Sallie A. Keller and Stephanie Shipp recently established the Social and Decision Analytics Laboratory (SDAL) at Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region research facility in Arlington, Virginia.

Chris Barrett, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute’s scientific director stated in a press release that “Professor Keller, Dr. Shipp, and the SDAL bring a leading-edge statistical data sciences approach that bookends the advanced computational team and approach of the NDSSL. A unique, timely, and urgently needed integrative program for Big Data–oriented analytics is being created. In addition to her impressive personal research achievements, Sallie is well known for multidisciplinary team building. Since there are no big problems that reside cleanly inside single academic disciplines, her passion for working outside disciplinary boundaries will fit perfectly in the VBI team science, big question approach.”

To read more about SDAL, visit Virginia Bioinformatics Institute’s website.

Genevera Allen

In a September speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Jim McNerney (D-CA) praised ASA member Genevera Allen for an important breakthrough in statistics and neuroscience research. Allen and colleagues developed statistical methods to model how an individual’s brain is wired and applied these methods to synesthesia—the process of associating specific colors with numbers and letters. This breakthrough is relevant to other neurological diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer’s, and demonstrates the vital role of statistics in neuroscience research. To hear McNerney’s speech, visit C-Span Video.

Douglas Montgomery

Douglas Montgomery recently was named an American Society for Quality (ASQ) “honorary member.” The award is ASQ’s highest membership category. To be so honored, ASQ says, “An honorary member shall have rendered acknowledged eminent service to the quality profession or the allied arts and sciences.” Montgomery is Arizona State University Regents’ Professor of Industrial Engineering and Statistics and an ASA Fellow. To view a complete list of honorary members, visit ASQ’s website.

Karl E. Peace

Karl E. Peace was honored with a plaque and testimonials at a special awards session of the 20th anniversary meeting of the Biopharmaceutical Applied Statistics Symposium (BASS XX), held November 4–7, 2013, in Orlando, Florida.

Peace was honored for his numerous contributions to the statistics profession, including founding and directing BASS. Among the profession’s premier statistical meetings, BASS has contributed to some 50 students obtaining their doctorate or master’s degree in biostatistics.

Given in recognition of Peace’s 20 years of “… devoted service to the profession of statistics through the conception and leadership of the Biopharmaceutical Applied Statistics Symposium,” the plaque was presented to Peace on the evening of November 4, 2013.

The plaque was signed by W. Hans Carter Jr., chair emeritus of the department of biostatistics at MCV; Robert T. O’Neill, past director of the Office of Biostatistics, CDER, FDA; and Ron Wasserstein, ASA executive director.

Testimonials were provided by Richard Simon, Gary Koch, Hans Carter, Jim Nick, Jeff Schwartz, Tony Segreti, Greg Enas, and Andreas Sashegyi. Copies of the written testimonials can be viewed at the ASA website.

ISOSS Celebrates Silver Jubilee, International Year of Statistics

Shahjahan Khan, University of Southern Queensland, Australia

From left: Munir Ahmed, Abdus Salam Hirai, Shahjahan Khan, Javed Siddiqi, and Muhammad Hanif Mian

On November 22, 2013, a large number of statisticians and patrons and supporters of statistics gathered at the ISOSS House in Lahore, Pakistan, to celebrate the 25 years of professional services of the Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences (ISOSS).

The society was established in Lahore in 1988 in the First Islamic Countries Conference on Statistical Sciences (ICCS-1) to promote statistical sciences and their diverse applications in various sectors of lives and societies in the Islamic countries. Its membership is open to statisticians of all orientation.

The founding president of ISOSS, Munir Ahmad, gave a brief history of ISOSS and its landmark contributions. He emphasized the need to create provincial and local societies of statisticians in Pakistan to organize national conferences and promote other statistical activities.

Founding secretary general of ISOSS, Akhlaq Ahmad, and two most senior living statisticians of Pakistan, Abdus Samad Hirai and Ahmad Zogo Memon, shared their experiences with their young predecessors.

The past president of ISOSS, Shahjahan Khan of the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, was the chief guest and highlighted recent activities of ISOSS and the need for new leadership with excellent achievement.

Emeritus Professor Javed Siddiqi of Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom, and a former head of the British Computer Society, also spoke at the event. The founding vice president, Muhammad Hanif Mian, was also present.

Everyone thanked the executive secretary of ISOSS, Mohammad Iftekhar, for his outstanding professionalism and contributions to ISOSS. A traditional Pakistani dinner was served at the end of the meeting.

The event also marked the celebration of the International Year of Statistics and Mathematics of Planet Earth. J. Siddiqi and S. Khan also participated in the Kinnaird Multidisciplinary Research Conference held at the Kinnaird Women College, Lahore, November 18–19, 2013, as part of its celebration of 100 years.

Participants were invited to the forthcoming 13th Islamic Countries Conference on Statistical Sciences (ICCS-13), to be held at Bogor Agricultural University (formerly IPB, Bogor), Indonesia, December 18–21. The theme of the conference is “Statistics for Better a Life.” For more information, email iccs13@isoss.net or visit the website.