David Banks, JSM 2020 Program Chair

Each year, the JSM program committee reserves two invited session slots for statistical topics or issues that have arisen between the time the rest of the invited program has been locked and the middle of April. I hope to have two such sessions.

To a much greater degree than I appreciated before becoming program chair, organizing JSM is a complex process with so many components and steps that extreme forward planning is necessary to ensure the event is a success. The price our professional societies pay for this is that most of the program content is set in place almost a year before the meeting occurs, which works against the timeliness, relevance, and impact we all want this conference to have. So, in their wisdom, my predecessors established the policy of leaving the door open for two sessions that address statistically important and relatively recent topics.

A late-breaking session addresses a hot statistical issue of the day or a pressing contemporary topic in statistics. The competition is open to any member or organization that participates in JSM. Members of the program committee judge the proposals according to their statistical and scientific quality, timeliness, significance, audience appeal, and completeness.

Submitting a Proposal

Please submit late-breaking session proposals to the JSM 2020 program chair, David Banks, with a copy to the ASA meetings department by April 15. The proposal should include the following:

• The session description, including title, summary of statistical and scientific content, explanation of the subject’s timeliness and significance, and comments about the intended target audience
• The format of the session (e.g., a chair and four panelists, 2–3 speakers and a discussant, etc.)
• The names, affiliations, and contact information for the session organizer, chair, and all participants (speakers, panelists, discussants as appropriate)
• A title for each presentation in the session, if appropriate to the format
• Links to relevant technical reports or news reports, if applicable
• Organizers must ensure the presenters agree to participate before submitting a proposal. For obvious practical reasons, late-breaking sessions do not count against the JSM “one main presentation” rule.

Proleptically, I thank every participant for contributing to an outstanding JSM 2020 program. We do this together, and it is the annual centerpiece of our professional community life.

Recent Late-Breaking Sessions

For session details, view the programs still posted on the JSM websites.

2019
Statistics at a Crossroads: Who Is for the Challenge?

2018
Addressing Sexual Misconduct in the Statistics Community
Statistical Issues in Application of Machine Learning to High-Stakes Decisions

2017
National Governments, Coerced Narratives, Creative Language, and Alternative Facts
Hindsight Is 20/20 and for 2020: Lessons from 2016 Elections

2016
Invest in What Works: First Steps Toward Establishing Evidence-Based Policymaking Clearinghouse
Data Journalism and Statistical Expertise: An Urgent Need for Writers, Bloggers, and Journalists to Be Statistically Savvy

2015
The VA Secretary Bans a Statistics Book
Meeting the Challenges of a Pandemic: The Statistical Aspects of Dealing with Ebola

2014
Statistical Science and the President’s BRAIN Initiative
Recent Concerns About Reproducibility and Replicability: The Statistical Aspects