David J. Edwards, Conference Chair

Members of the Quality and Productivity Section (Q&P) invite you to attend this year’s Fall Technical Conference in Richmond, Virginia, from October 2–3. The conference is the premier forum in which to discuss topics at the interface of statistics and quality, leading to a more effective use of statistics to improve quality.

The theme for this year is “Statistics and Quality: Empowering Success.” The program includes a range of talks about subjects such as experimental design, reliability analysis, statistical engineering, Big Data, and statistical process control. Highlights include a plenary address by Michael Hamada from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the W. J. Youden Memorial Address by Connie Borror from Arizona State University.

The Q&P invited session on statistical engineering features Roger Hoerl of Union College, who will give a talk titled “Application of Statistical Engineering to Mixture Problems with Process Variables,” and Jin Xia of GE Global Research, who will give a talk titled “Application of Statistical Engineering to Analysis of Large and Complex Data Sets.”

Q&P also is sponsoring a short course on October 1 titled “Definitive Screening Designs: What, Why, and How,” which will be taught by Bradley Jones and Christopher Nachtsheim. Definitive screening designs (DSDs) are a new class of designs for factor screening that Doug Montgomery has called “probably the most important development in design of experiments in the last 50 years.” This course will introduce each aspect of DSD construction with a practical example including data. Ideas for analysis that take full advantage of the special capabilities of these designs will be provided.

For more information and the complete program, visit the ASQ website.