Data Challenge 2017 Contestants Set to Present at JSM

Data Challenge 2017 contestants will highlight their analyses in a Joint Statistical Meetings speed poster session Monday, July 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. Each contestant will give a five-minute talk and then stand by their poster in the exhibit hall to answer questions and discuss their work with JSM attendees.

The Statistical Computing, Government Statistics, and Statistical Graphics sections sponsored Data Challenge 2017. The contest was open to anyone, including college students and professionals from the private or public sector. It challenged participants to analyze the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics using statistical and visualization tools and methods.

Winners of the challenge will be announced at the general membership meetings/mixers of the sponsoring sections. There will be two awards categories—professional (one level) and student (three levels).

Data Challenge 2016

Five contestants who participated in Data Challenge 2016 submitted papers for a special issue of Computational Statistics, which will be guest edited by Roya Amjadi of the Federal Highway Administration and Wendy Martinez of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Additionally, Amjadi—who continues to work with the 2016 contestants—facilitated a sponsorship from the Evaluation of Low Cost Safety Improvements Pooled Fund Study for Data Challenge 2016 winner Jonathan Auerbach to present his paper, “A Hierarchical Model to Evaluate Policies for Reducing Vehicle Speed in Major American Cities” to 40 state member representatives in June. The paper offers a new statistical methodology for highway safety evaluations and a fresh perspective on pedestrian safety improvement evaluation.