Chin Long Chiang

Chin Long Chiang, professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, passed away on April 1 at the age of 99. He was one of the world’s pre-eminent biostatisticians who transformed the health care field through the use of statistical methods.

Born in China, Chiang came to the United States with his wife in 1946. He attended UC Berkeley and earned both a master’s degree and a PhD in statistics. With the help of Jerzy Neyman, he then began a teaching career that would span more than 40 years.

He was a member of the UC Berkeley faculty and served as chair of the biostatistics division in the school of public health and co-chair of the UC Berkeley Interdepartmental Group in Biostatistics. Following his retirement in 1987, the university honored him with the Berkeley Citation for his distinguished achievement. He was also a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, Emory, and Peking universities and the University of London, among others.

Chiang was one of the first to recognize biostatistics as a separate entity. One of his major contributions was the development of a statistical method that could be applied to life tables, making them a more accurate and valuable tool in understanding the health of different states, countries, and segments of the population. He also went on to apply statistical methods to cancer rates, AIDS, and other diseases.

He was active in the International Chinese Statistical Association and was a Fellow of the ASA, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the Royal Statistical Society of London.

Chiang was described as a generous, gracious, and gregarious man who enjoyed good conversation. One of his greatest joys was playing chess and “Go” with his grandsons.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Chin Long Chiang Graduate Student Support Fund, which supports high-achieving graduate students with particular preference for PhD students in biostatistics.

For more information about the fund or to view Chiang’s complete obituary, visit the Berkely website.

Daniel Bernard Levine

Daniel Bernard Levine passed away April 29, 2014, at the age of 88.

After serving as a naval pilot in World War II, Levine earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from The George Washington University and his master’s degree in economics from Columbia University.

Levine worked at the U.S. Census Bureau for more than 30 years and was eventually made deputy director. While at the bureau, he earned the Department of Commerce Silver and Gold medals and an appointment by President James Carter to the rank of Meritorious Executive of the Senior Service.

Levine also worked at Westat for more than 25 years.