Hon Keung Tony Ng and Stephen Robertson, COTS 2017 Organizers
The Conference of Texas Statisticians (COTS) 2017, hosted by the department of statistical science at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and the ASA North Texas Chapter, was held at the Magnolia Hotel Dallas Park Cities March 24–25.
Nearly 140 participants—including 80 graduate and undergraduate students representing 26 universities, institutions, and companies—attended the conference. Twelve poster awards, sponsored by SMU and Data Matrix Systems of Dallas, were given to presenters of the best posters.
Four featured talks filled the distinguished speakers session. These were given by Michael J. Daniels of The University of Texas at Austin, Robert Cezeaux of Capital One Financial Services, Suojin Wang of Texas A&M University, and Jerome P. Keating of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Additionally, talks by Han Hao of the University of North Texas, Fangyuan Zhang of Texas Tech University, Suvra Pal of The University of Texas at Arlington, Irina Gaynanova of Texas A&M University, Dan Cheng of Texas Tech University, and Kalanka P. Jayalath of the University of Houston at Clear Lake took place in the new Texans session.
The conference was also highlighted by a poster session given by 33 participants, the Don Owen Award presentation, and the honoring of retiring professors Richard F. Gunst and Wayne A. Woodward.
The first COTS was held in Waco, Texas, in February of 1981. Since then, the conference has been held annually, affording Texas statisticians the opportunity for social and intellectual exchange. For more information about the 2017 conference program and winners, visit the COTS website.
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