Xihong Lin, Christian Genest, David Banks, Geert Molenberghs, David Scott, and Jane-Ling Wang, Co-Editors

The book Past, Present, and Future of Statistical Science was commissioned in 2013 by the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) to celebrate both its 50th anniversary and the International Year of Statistics. Hard copies will be published this month by Chapman & Hall/CRC (Discount code AJL01 to obtain a 20% discount on the list price). With the publisher’s authorization, an electronic version of Past, Present, and Future of Statistical Science is freely available.

The 50 contributors to this volume are all past winners of at least one of the awards sponsored by COPSS: R.A. Fisher Lectureship Award, Presidents’ Award, George W. Snedecor Award, Elizabeth L. Scott Award, and F.N. David Award.

This volume is not only about statistics and science, but also about people and their passion for discovery. It contains expository articles by distinguished authors on a broad spectrum of topics of interest in statistical education, research, and applications. Many of these articles are accessible to not only professional statisticians and graduate students, but also undergraduates interested in pursuing statistics as a career and to all those who use statistics to solve real-world problems.

Topics include reminiscences and personal reflections on statistical careers, perspectives on the field and profession, thoughts about the discipline and future of statistical science, and advice for young statisticians. A consistent theme among all the articles is the passion for statistics enthusiastically shared by the authors. Their success stories inspire; give a sense of statistics as a discipline; and provide a taste of the exhilaration of discovery, success, and professional accomplishment.

This volume has five parts. In Part I, Ingram Olkin gives a brief overview of the 50-year history of COPSS. Part II consists of 11 articles by authors who reflect on their own careers and the lessons they learned. Part III has nine articles describing the challenges of statistical science in science and society, statistical education, equity and diversity in statistics, and the opportunities of statistical science in the era of Big Data science. Part IV has 24 articles on past developments, current challenges, and future opportunities for statistics in which authors provide insight on past developments, current challenges, and future opportunities in statistical science. Part V has seven articles, in which senior statisticians share their experiences and provide career advice for the next generation.

COPSS consists of five member societies: the American Statistical Association (ASA), Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), Statistical Society of Canada/Société statistique du Canada (SSC), and the Eastern and Western North American Regions of the International Biometric Society (ENAR and WNAR). COPSS is best known for sponsoring prestigious awards given each year at the Joint Statistical Meetings.

This book project was supported by COPSS and its member societies, as well as several of COPSS friend societies—including the International Chinese Statistical Society, the International Indian Statistical Association, and the Korean International Statistical Society—and substantial in-kind support provided by the Institut des sciences mathématiques du Québec.

We hope this volume will inspire you and help you develop the same passion for statistics that we share with the authors. Happy reading!