John Hayes

John Hayes was recently awarded the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Hayes has been teaching mathematics at Northland Pines High School for 16 years. He teaches freshmen through seniors in Algebra I, Algebra II, Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus BC, and AP Statistics. He is currently on a leave of absence to gain experience as an academic coach of mathematics.

Hayes uses his experience in biostatistics at Indiana University Hospital to help students understand the relevance of statistics in his AP Statistics courses. This provides a valuable link to students’ writing skills as they create a technical paper for a final research project.

He earned a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a master’s in applied statistics from Purdue University. Hayes is a certified Master Educator Teacher in 6–12 mathematics and a National Board Certified Teacher in adolescent/young adult mathematics.

Raymond P. Bain

The Michael H. Kutner Award is given annually to alumni of the Emory University Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics for distinguished service to the profession. This year’s award recipient was Raymond P. Bain from Merck.

From left: Ray Bain, Lance Waller, and Michael Kutner

Bain earned his PhD from the department of statistics and biometry in the Emory University School of Medicine in 1981. He joined Merck in 1999 and serves as executive director of the Clinical Biostatistics and Research Data Systems (BARDS) organization, which develops and applies statistical methods in the targeting, discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and biologics through the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, and communication of pre-clinical and clinical investigations. Bain oversees BARDS permanent staff that includes more than 250 statisticians and statistical programmers located in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Sastry G. Pantula

Oregon State University College of Science Dean Sastry G. Pantula was honored for his outstanding and extensive service to the statistics profession with the 2016 Paul Minton Service Award from the Southern Regional Council on Statistics (SRCOS) at the 2016 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Chicago.

The award was established to honor Paul Minton, who served the statistics profession nationally and in the southern region for many years and was instrumental in the continued development of statistical education in the region represented by SRCOS. The award recognizes outstanding service to the statistics profession.

Recipients of this award must reside or have resided in one of the states represented on the Southern Regional Council on Statistics for at least 10 years. Other criteria include contributions to statistical education, statistical service to industry and government agencies, service to professional statistical organizations, and promotion of the use of statistics.

After nearly 30 years on the statistics faculty and serving as head of the department at North Carolina State University, Pantula meets all the criteria. He also served as the director of statistics graduate programs for eight years and was inducted into NCSU’s Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 1985. In 2010–2013, he served as director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Mathematical Sciences.

Pantula was surprised by the award when Michael Kutner, Pantula’s colleague and mentor and former chair of the department of biostatistics and bioinformatics at Emory University, presented the award at a breakfast held for past and present ASA presidents. Pantula served as ASA president in 2010. He is also an ASA fellow and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

SRCOS seeks to promote the improvement of postsecondary education in statistical science, assist in the development of high-quality statistics instruction in elementary and high schools, and promulgate educational activities that improve the quality of statistical practices.

Pantula continues to advocate for excellence, harmony, and diversity for science students and faculty at Oregon State University and beyond.