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Caring Canines Therapy Dogs Bring ‘Pawses,’ Smiles to JSM
Attendees at JSM took a break to cuddle dogs from the Caring Canines Visiting Therapy Dogs Association, part of the ASA GivesBack Impact Project.
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Additional Features
Bin Yu Named 2026 Myles Hollander Distinguished Lecturer
Bin Yu, a UC Berkeley professor known for her work on interpretable machine learning and reproducible scientific methods, will present “Veridical Data Science Towards Trustworthy AI” on November 6 at Florida State University.
Counting What Counts: Reasons to Be Grateful, with Confidence
ASA President Jeri Mulrow expresses gratitude for the volunteers, committees, mentors, and educators who sustain the statistics community and invites members to get involved through Communities in Action and MentorLink.
‘JSDSE’ Advances Statistics, Data Science Education with Multimodal Approach
The journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes actionable research on teaching and learning statistics and data science, complemented by a new podcast and free webinars.
‘Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education’ Highlights: Jackie Dietz Award Winners Announced in October Issue
The latest issue announces the 2025 Jackie Dietz Best Paper Award, won by a team whose work on building inclusive classrooms grew out of an ASA mentoring program.
Statistics Through Stories: Teaching Students the Why Behind the Numbers
Chad Lower, an instructor at Wilson College, introduces his introductory statistics students to a different famous statistician each week, helping them see why statistics matters beyond the formulas.
The Statistician Behind the Legacy Page: Fritz J. Scheuren
Fritz Scheuren’s path to statistics was almost accidental, but his five-decade career in official statistics, mentoring, and human rights work shows how he chose to use the discipline to help people. His friends and colleagues honored him with an ASA Legacy Page.
Lessons in Co-Creation: Academia and Industry Building Better Science Together
Drawing on their work building the Global Nutrition and Health Atlas, researchers from Tufts University and Nestlé Research share lessons on making academic–industry partnerships work, from setting clear expectations about data to learning from each side’s differing priorities.
This Month in Statistics History: The Statisticians Behind Modern Sanitation Systems
On UN World Toilet Day (November 19), we honor statisticians such as John Snow, who traced cholera to a London pump in 1854, and Florence Nightingale, whose data showed sanitation could cut hospital deaths from 42% to 2%.
‘Practical Significance’ Take Two: ‘Real World Data Science’—Who’s Writing the Story?
Editors of ‘Real World Data Science,’ from the RSS and ASA, discuss on the ‘Practical Significance’ podcast what makes a good submission: practical case studies, honest failures, and measurable real-world impact.
Meet Tristan Abbey, New Head of the Energy Information Administration
Tristan Abbey, who leads the Energy Information Administration, discusses reorganizing EIA, tackling decades of technical debt, and seeking ideas for new high-impact surveys.
Karl E. Peace Award Recognizes Outstanding Leaders in Data for Good
The award honored Nalini Ravishanker for her international mentorship and work with national statistical offices and Amy Braverman for her pioneering climate data fusion and uncertainty quantification.
Not Everything Deserves a Decision: Homer, the Inbox, and Getting Things Done
Drawing on “The Simpsons” writers’ creative process, this column shows how statisticians can use the “Getting Things Done” system to manage small decisions and free up bandwidth for the big ones.
When Doing Your Job Requires Courage
James Cochran reflects on Andreas Georgiou’s vindication after 15 years of legal battles over statistical independence, arguing that institutions must protect integrity so it doesn’t require heroism.
The Numbers That Run the World: Why Economic Statistics Matter More in the Age of AI
Dharmateja Priyadarshi Uddandarao argues that as AI reshapes the economy, official statistics are struggling to keep pace, leaving trillions in value unmeasured. He explains why statisticians’ judgment is essential for deciding what the numbers actually capture.
Your Work Has a Place at SDSS: Call for Abstracts
Practitioners, researchers, and educators are invited to to submit abstracts by November 30 for SDSS 2027, to be held April 27–29 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Nominations Open for 2027 COPSS Awards
The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies seeks nominations by December 15 for its 2027 awards, including the Emerging Leader Award, and will present them at the 2027 Joint Statistical Meetings in Chicago, August 8-12.
Obituary: Steve Selvin
Steve Selvin, emeritus professor of biostatistics at UC Berkeley and the person who introduced the Monty Hall Problem, passed away on September 30, 2026.
Obituary: Robert Starbuck
Robert Starbuck, longtime ASA member, Fellow, and Founders Award recipient, passed away on September 11, 2026, at the age of 77.
Obituary: Mel Kollander
Mel Kollander, an ASA Fellow, founding member of the Washington Statistical Society, and longtime statistician at the Environmental Protection Agency, passed away on September 1, 2026.
Obituary: Vincent P. Barabba
Vincent P. Barabba, 1990 ASA president and Fellow who twice directed the US Census Bureau and led market research and strategy at Xerox, Kodak, and General Motors, died September 21, 2026.
SFASA Summer Project Program Celebrates Seventh Year of Student Research
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter’s seventh K–12 Student Summer Project Program paired students with volunteer mentors to complete original data analysis projects, from forest ecology to cancer immunotherapy, and presented them at a virtual showcase on September 7.
Second NYC Chapter Workshop Recognizes AI, Statistics Intertwined
The ASA NYC Chapter’s Second AI Workshop, held July 26 in Tarrytown, New York, drew more than 100 participants for a full day of talks, demonstrations, mentoring, and a mini-hackathon showing that trustworthy AI depends on rigorous statistical foundations.
Survey Research Methods Section Calls for JSM Proposals
The Survey Research Methods Section is sponsoring JSM 2027 topic-contributed sessions; select SRMS as the sponsoring section when submitting your proposal from November 17 to December 10.
Professional Opportunities
The Wharton Statistics and Data Science Department of the University of Pennsylvania is hiring an assistant or associate professor.
Events and Opportunities
A new directory connects people seeking statistical consulting with skilled practitioners, and a health policy statistics conference runs January 13-15 in Annapolis, Maryland.
Translating Data Science into Public Health Action: Lessons and Reflections on Academic–Industry Partnerships
Collaborations between academia and industry in nutrition and health data science are shaped by a fundamental tension—academia seeks to generate generalizable knowledge, while industry is driven to produce timely, actionable, and consumer-relevant solutions. Rather than being a flaw, this difference is a defining feature.
Meet New Member Naren Prakash: Aspiring Statistician with a Love for Statistical Research
This month, we spotlight Naren Prakash, an aspiring statistician and researcher based in Katy, Texas. He hopes to help influence policy and pursue scientific advancement.