Robert (Bob) Hogg

By Joseph B. Lang

Hogg in 2006

Robert V. “Bob” Hogg, professor emeritus of statistics and actuarial science, passed away on December 23, 2014, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, at the age of 90. He was an internationally renowned statistics textbook author, pioneering researcher, and an award-winning teacher. Blessed with a fun-loving, charismatic personality and a sharp mind, Bob has been aptly described as a giant in statistics and will be remembered by his colleagues as an indefatigable and inspirational leader who fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect. He valued diverse contributions, promoted excellence, and energized the department with his mantra, “Let’s make learning fun.”

Bob was born November 28, 1924, in Hannibal, Missouri. (He was fond of reminding folks, tongue-in-cheek, that another famous author, Mark Twain, hailed from Hannibal.) After earning his BS in mathematics at the University of Illinois, he matriculated at the University of Iowa (UI) in 1947. Fortunately for the university, he was to remain there until he retired 54 years later. Blessed with a gregarious personality and quick wit, Bob was a fixture on campus and in the Iowa City community. Whether handing out candy canes across campus dressed as Santa or telling (and re-telling) amusing stories at Rotary Club meetings, his love of the university and the community was conspicuous.

Bob earned his PhD in 1950, under the direction of Allen T. Craig, a statistician in the UI mathematics department. Allen—who would become Bob’s long-time friend, mentor, and co-author—convinced Bob to join the faculty upon graduation. After 15 years in the mathematics department, Bob became the founding chair of the newly formed department of statistics and actuarial science in 1965. Serving in this capacity for 19 years, Bob created a world-class department that valued diverse contributions and promoted excellence in all three areas: research, service, and teaching.

A wonderful mentor, he enjoyed team teaching with junior faculty right up to the time of his retirement. The department fondly remembers Bob’s “final” colloquium talks. (There were three or four of these, which would not surprise those who knew Bob.) He would begin by saying that “statistics is my friend” because it introduced him to so many interesting people from around the world. The “ham in hogg” was manifest in his telling (and re-telling) of amusing stories and jokes. Always the entertainer, Bob would end each of these talks with a modified rendition of the song, “Thanks for the Memories.”

Bob was not only devoted to the department and the university. He also served the statistics profession in many ways. Among other things, Bob served as the president of the American Statistical Association in 1988. He was program secretary for the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (1968–1974). He twice chaired the Education Section of the American Statistical Association, and he was twice the program chair of the ASA Winter Conferences. In 1991, he received the American Statistical Association’s Founders Award. And in 2006, he received the Carver Medal for his “exceptional service specifically to the IMS [Institute of Mathematical Statistics].” His vision and charisma served him well, and the profession has benefited greatly from his efforts.

Bob was a pioneering researcher who wrote many influential articles on topics including statistical independence, nonparametrics, quality improvement, robust and adaptive statistics, and statistics education. For his research contributions in nonparametric statistics, Bob received the Gottfried Noether Senior Scholar Award in 2001. This award is one of several prestigious awards bestowed on Bob over the years. In recognition of his outstanding research, Bob was an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and International Statistical Institute.

A gifted textbook author and a true scholar, Bob was an exemplar of how research can inform and energize teaching, and vice versa. Bob, along with his mentor, Allen Craig, co-authored a successful mathematical statistics textbook that drew on their research and classroom experiences. This book, known simply as “Hogg and Craig,” was innovative in its treatment of sufficiency and change-of-variable methods. Originally published in 1959, Hogg and Craig is now in its 7th edition (which added Joe McKean as a co-author). Printed in many languages, it is internationally renowned and continues to inspire a new generation of statistics students.

Over the years, Bob co-authored several more successful statistics textbooks, including the eponymously titled, “Hogg and Tanis,” “Hogg and Klugman,” and “Hogg and Ledolter.” All these books benefited from Bob’s attention to detail and his clear writing style.

Students and colleagues remember Bob as an extraordinary teacher with a love of statistics that was infectious. Indeed, Bob fostered a culture of excellence in teaching in the department of statistics and actuarial science that lives on to this day. His lively teaching style was effective, if a bit unconventional. One of his techniques was to good-naturedly “pick on” one randomly selected student, quizzing him or her throughout the class period. That this approach worked so well, and that students all report learning so much, is a testament to Bob’s gift as a teacher and his ability to make learning fun.

In recognition of his teaching efforts and effectiveness, Bob was honored with numerous awards. From 1990–1993 alone, he received the Governor’s Science Medal for Teaching (1990), University of Iowa Teaching Award (1991), Distinguished Teaching Award from the Iowa Chapter of the Mathematical Association of America (1992), Faculty Excellence Award from the Iowa Board of Regents (1992), and the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America (1993).

Bob’s interest in teaching went well beyond his own classrooms. He was internationally recognized as a leader in statistics education when he received the ASA’s Founders Award in 1991. Always a promoter of quality improvement, he once toured the country, visiting businesses, industry, and academic programs to better understand how statistics education could be improved and modernized to better align with the way statistics was actually being used in practice. He also took advantage of his term as president of the American Statistical Association to emphasize the need to improve statistics education. Complementing these efforts, Bob authored and co-authored several influential papers on statistics education. Owing to Bob’s many contributions, the statistics profession and classrooms are healthier than ever.

In 2003, Bob was the recipient of the University of Iowa’s Faculty/Staff Distinguished Alumni Award. It is fitting to finish with a quote from Bob’s profile at the award website: “The Alumni Association is proud to honor a man whose career has helped define the field of statistics, and whose work as an educator has benefited—and will continue to benefit—generations of students at the UI and throughout the world.”

For more information about Bob Hogg, visit his Wikipedia page.

Rick Platek

Richard Platek passed away December 21, 2014, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Born Ryszard Sobieszczanski in Ostrowiec, Poland, Richard survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. University studies in mathematics and statistics in London, England, were followed by a long and successful career at Statistics Canada in Ottawa.

In 1975, Richard founded the Survey Methodology Journal, which grew from an in-house to an internationally distributed journal. He was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and honorary member of the Polish Statistical Association. In 1993, the Republic of Poland awarded Richard the Knight Cross of the Order of Merit.

To read his complete obituary, visit the Ottawa Citizen.