James O. Berger
Ming-Hui Chen and Dipak K. Dey, University of Connecticut
In honor of James O. Berger and his contributions to statistical decision theory and Bayesian statistics, a conference titled “Frontiers of Statistical Decision Making and Bayesian Analysis” was held at The University of Texas at San Antonio March 17–20.
The conference included a series of short courses, six plenary speakers who covered cutting-edge research on statistical decisionmaking and Bayesian analysis, 80 invited talks given by eminent Bayesians, and a poster session for young researchers.
The conference, attended by 250 people, was highlighted by a gala dinner to celebrate Berger’s 60th birthday.
Sallie Ann Keller
James Landwehr, chair of the board of trustees of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS), recently announced Sallie Ann Keller as the winner of the 2010 Jerome Sacks Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research. Katherine Ensor, chair of the department of statistics at Rice University, accepted the award on Keller’s behalf August 2 at the NISS reception, held during the Joint Statistical Meetings in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The awards committee of the NISS Board of Trustees, which selected Keller for the award, cited “her pioneering work in cross-disciplinary research in reliability and computational technology for complex systems of critical national security and for her leadership in forging research relationships in new areas for statisticians in government and academia.”
The award, named in honor of Jerome (Jerry) Sacks, the founding director of NISS, was established in 2000 to “recognize sustained, high-quality cross-disciplinary research involving the statistical sciences,” that exemplifies the NISS role of identifying, catalyzing, and fostering high-impact, cross-disciplinary research involving the statistical sciences.
In remarks read by Ensor, Keller stated “I have been fortunate to have access to important, frequently time-sensitive problems that no one person or discipline could solve. I have had, and continue to have, wonderful career appointments that continually stretch my thinking. These appointments have exposed me to the depth, breadth, and critical need for cross-disciplinary interactions.”
Keller is a Fellow and past president of the ASA and one of the nation’s experts in applied and theoretical statistics. She also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a national associate of the National Academy of Sciences. She has served on the board of trustees of NISS and on the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute National Advisory Council. Prior to joining Rice, Keller was the group leader for the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Before that, she was professor in the department of statistics at Kansas State University. She is a former program director for statistics and probability in the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation.
Tina Hunter
S2 Statistical Solutions, Inc. recently announced that Tina Hunter has been hired as senior director of analytics. In this newly created position, Hunter will manage the growing statistical effort at S2 as the company continues to expand its data analysis and research offerings.
Most recently, Hunter was a biostatistician with STATKING Consulting, Inc., where she provided statistical support to sponsors of clinical trials for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics. Prior to STATKING, Hunter performed exploratory data analysis and statistical modeling activities for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also has an engineering background that includes roles in manufacturing, quality control, and design in GE’s Major Appliance and Aircraft Engine businesses.
Hunter earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and systems engineering from The Ohio State University, two Master of Science degrees from the University of Cincinnati, and a doctorate in statistics and applied mathematics from the University of Cincinnati.
Candace Gunnarsson, president and founder of S2 Statistical Solutions, said, “Tina’s broad background in statistical analysis in the life sciences will play a key role in bringing our company to the next level. We are delighted that she is now part of our executive team.”
Danny Pfeffermann
Danny Pfeffermann was recently named the recipient of the 2011 Waksberg Award. Pfeffermann is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute, UK. His research interests include small-area estimation, time series, and analysis of complex survey data. He recently edited (with C. R. Rao) the two-volume Handbook in Statistics (Sample Surveys), published by North-Holland. His work spans the spectrum of theoretical to applied, and his interactions with fellow statisticians are worldwide.
The journal Survey Methodology established the award in honor of Joe Waksberg, who made many important contributions to survey methodology. Pfeffermann will receive a cash award made possible through a grant from Westat, Inc. in recognition of Waksberg’s contributions during his many years at Westat.
As the 2011 Waksberg Award honoree, Pfeffermann will author a paper that reviews the development and current state of a significant topic in the field of survey methodology. The paper will be presented at the 2011 Statistics Canada Symposium, held in the fall of 2011, and published in the December 2011 issue of Survey Methodology. The tentative title of Pfeffermann’s paper and talk is “How We Should Approach the Modeling of Complex Survey Data.”
Anastasios A. ‘Butch’ Tsiatis
Anastasios A. “Butch” Tsiatis was recently named the inaugural Gertrude M. Cox Distinguished Professor of Statistics at North Carolina State University.
Tsiatis is known internationally for his biostatistics research, specifically in the areas of survival analysis, clinical trials, surrogate markers, cost of care, and quality of life. He has published more than 125 papers and given more than 150 invited seminars over his distinguished career. He also has been highly successful in obtaining major grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, is a Fellow of the ASA and Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and currently serves as a coeditor of Biostatistics.
Tsiatis earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970 and his PhD in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1974. A member of the NC State Department of Statistics faculty since 1997, he is also an adjunct professor with Duke University’s department of biostatistics and bioinformatics and a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of North Carolina.
The endowment that supports this professorship was made possible by J. Stuart Hunter, professor emeritus in the school of engineering and applied science at Princeton.
In his letter notifying Tsiatis of his appointment, Daniel L. Solomon, dean of the UNC College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, said, “This title of distinction is awarded in recognition of your sustained record of high scholarship and, in particular, your signal contributions to the design of clinical trials. Your appointment as the first Cox professor pays fitting tribute to the legacy of Dr. Cox.”
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