A local chapter of the US national statistics honor society, Mu Sigma Rho (ΜΣΡ), was recently formed at the Department of Statistics at George Mason University.

While mentoring frequently happens organically, our association—along with its chapters and sections—offers a wide array of mentorship opportunities for both mentors and mentees and provides members with a way to honor outstanding mentors.

In her latest column, Karen Kafadar discusses the debate about the value of hypothesis testing and the over-reliance on p-values as a cornerstone of statistical methodology.

Don’t miss an upcoming webinar sponsored by the Statistical Consulting Section titled, “The Experiences of a Statistician in Industry.” The webinar registration is free for all ASA student members.

The ASA Quality and Productivity Section will sponsor a continuing education course at JSM in Denver titled Big Data, Data Science, and Deep Learning for Statisticians.

Awards, honors, and other news about ASA members for April 2019.

ASA President-elect Wendy Martinez visited the Utah State University Data Analytics Club, an ASA student chapter.

The 26th meeting of the Biopharmaceutical Applied Statistics Symposium (BASS XXVI) will be held October 21–24, 2019.

Nominations are being sought for the National Institute of Statistical Sciences’ Jerome Sacks Award for Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Research. The prize recognizes sustained, high-quality, cross-disciplinary research involving the statistical sciences. The deadline to send in nominations is April 30.

When he isn’t teaching biostatistics, Lawrence Lessner is a magician and performs for all kinds of events and competitions.

A listing of obituaries published in the April 2019 issue of Amstat News.

In response to the growing interest in data science education at two-year colleges, the American Statistical Association hosted the Two-Year College Data Science Summit in May 2018. A primary goal of the summit was to produce a report, which is now complete and available.

The section on Statistical Programmers and Analysts is now accepting nominations for its new award for innovations in statistical programming and analytics. Nominations are due by May 15.

The ASA North Carolina Chapter kicked off its professional webinar series with Aric LaBarr presenting “What Does Data Science Mean to an Executive?” to more than 60 attendees February 22.

Each year, the ASA recognizes all members reaching a milestone of 35, 40, 45, or 50 years of membership. All members who joined 35 or more years ago are also extended an invitation to a reception at the annual JSM.

The ASA Biometrics Section invites applications for funding to support projects developing innovative outreach projects focused on enhancing awareness of biostatistics among quantitatively talented US students. They’re particularly interested in projects encouraging students to pursue advanced training in biostatistics.

The ASA’s Committee on Membership Retention and Recruitment has established the ASA Speakers Bureau for the benefit of student chapters, smaller local ASA chapters, and geographically isolated groups of statisticians.

David Corliss introduces Code for America and how they’re helping to change how people see government and how professional service in technology is seen as a force for good in the community.

The ASA’s extensive awards program recognizes statisticians who have made outstanding contributions through research, teaching, consulting, and service to the association and statistical profession. The annual awards listing contains important 2018-2019 award deadline and contact information.

The 2019 Diversity Workshop and Mentoring Program will be held July 28–31, during the Joint Statistical Meetings in Denver, Colorado.