Val Nirala, ASA Publications Coordinator

Martha participates in the Census at Schools program in Canada.

Author Nikos Kazantzakis once said, “Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” If this is true, ASA Director of Education Martha Aliaga, who passed away October 15, 2011, was ideal. A world-renowned educator and statistician, Martha affected many both personally and professionally by seizing every opportunity to both teach and encourage others to teach.

An example of her philosophy can be seen in the ASA’s Educational Ambassadorship Program, which she and the Committee on International Relations in Statistics launched in 2005. Within the program, an ambassador attends continuing education courses during the Joint Statistical Meetings and then returns to his or her country to teach the new subject matter. This way of passing statistics education forward has allowed statisticians to reach students in every corner of the world.

Martha also believed in starting statistics education early and was a tireless advocate for K–12 curriculum in statistics. Now under the direction of the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability, she created the Meeting Within a Meeting Statistics Workshop for K–12 math and science teachers and STEW, a peer-reviewed repository of lesson plans. She also introduced Census@School in the USA and created the K–12 statistics education webinar program. All these programs deliver training to K–12 teachers or provide resources for their success.

Martha, during the 2009 Institute for Defense Analysis Science Fair

Jerry Moreno, a longtime colleague and member of the ASA/NCTM joint committee, said of Martha, “She will be missed internationally by all who value statistics education. Her dedication to students of all ages was exemplary. Her drive to think of new ways to educate teachers was a model for us all to follow. May we continue her efforts.”

Already a longtime member of the ASA, Martha joined the staff in August 2003 after a distinguished career at the University of Michigan, where she was a professor with an outstanding international reputation. While there, she won the First Prize in Statistics for Innovative Programs Using Technology and two awards for excellence in teaching. She also coauthored the acclaimed textbook Interactive Statistics and was elected an ASA Fellow.

Martha was a strong supporter of women and minorities and served as president of the Caucus for Women in Statistics in 2002. Additionally, she participated as the only instructor for a National Science Foundation (NSF) program for middle-school minority girls in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was invited to give workshops in many countries. Shortly after hearing about Martha’s passing, ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein said, “The statistical education community lost a passionate advocate and a dear friend. Our sense of loss is great, but great also is our sense of privilege to have known and worked with her.”

Martha loved her family dearly and is survived by her husband of 44 years, Alfredo Aliaga, and her three children: Viviana (Ronald), Pablo (Sonya), and Eduardo (Roxanna). She also is survived by nine grandchildren, a brother, and a sister-in-law.

Of Note

Education
PhD, statistics, University of Michigan
Dissertation Title: Use of a Side Effect as a Covariate in a Problem of Sequential Analysis
Advisor: Michael B. Woodroofe
MA, statistics, CIENES, Universidad de Chile
BA, mathematics, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Honors
International Statistical Institute, Elected Council Member, 2009–2013
International Statistical Institute, Elected Regular Member, 2000
American Statistical Association, Elected Fellow, 1999
CAUSE, The Ohio State University, Member, Board of Directors, 2005–2011
TODOS (Mathematics for All), Member, Board of Directors, 2006
Caucus for Women in Statistics, President, 2002
First Prize in Statistics, Innovative Programs Using Technology (INPUT), 1996–1997
Excellence in Teaching and Commitment to Her Students, The Women of Delta Tau Lambda Sorority, University of Michigan, 1996
LSA Excellence in Education, University of Michigan, 1992

Selected Publications
Interactive Statistics, 2006, 2003, 1999
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education: College Report, 2005
Using Statistics Effectively in Mathematics Education Research, 2007