Amarjot Kaur

My ASA journey has been incredibly enriching and continues to be, shaped by the serendipity of chance encounters and the deliberate choice to stay actively involved.

Early Years

My educational journey began early, making me one of the youngest kids in my grade for most of my educational career. I was always drawn to quantitative sciences and studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics during my undergraduate studies. Statistics was introduced briefly in mathematics class, but I had no idea of statistics as a standalone discipline at that time. While I thoroughly enjoyed physics and thought of it as my post-graduate studies, an interesting moment came when my sister’s teacher suggested in passing that I should think of statistics due to its growing demand in the job market. That casual remark stayed with me and led me to enroll in the master’s program in statistics, instead of physics, at the Panjab University in Chandigarh. Statistical courses quickly captured my interest, leading me to pursue MPhil and PhD degrees.

My research work on order-restricted statistical inference and reliability was under the supervision of my late professor Harshinder Singh, whom I respected immensely. I have nothing but the utmost gratitude for his rigorous guidance and sage advice. While working on my thesis, I started teaching undergraduate and postgraduate statistical courses and became a full-time, tenure-track faculty member soon after submitting my dissertation. So, the prophecy of good career jobs in statistics came true!

North American Journey

Right around the time I thought I was settled with a nice-paying, respectable university job in Chandigarh—a beautiful city—my parents immigrated to Canada to be close to my brother and cajoled me to join them. That led me to my North American journey starting at Penn State, where I pursued post-doctoral research in innovative sampling techniques for various EPA-funded topics at the Center of Environmental Statistics. I am forever indebted to professor G.P. Patil for placing his confidence in me and giving me this fantastic opportunity that not only opened many career doors but also introduced me to the ASA.

A Chance Encounter

My introduction to the ASA came through attending a JSM in Toronto to present my research work on ranked set sampling. There, I first heard of Merck, my current employer, from a colleague with whom I shared a room. She had the invitation card and asked if I wanted to join her at the Merck mixer event. Not having the invitation or any knowledge of the company, I was not sure if I should go but went anyway. At the mixer, I met Jim Bolognese and attended a presentation that taught me a lot about the company and clinical trials research. It made me enthusiastic about working for a company like Merck. In my naïveté, I assumed Jim giving me his business card was a sign of his interest in my candidacy. I found out later that many others had received the same business card. Nonetheless, my innocent presumption came true, and I did get the job and have enjoyed working at Merck ever since. Thanks to the ASA for the networking opportunities to make it all happen.

My ASA Journey

After joining Merck, I started attending JSM quite regularly. Each time I returned from the conference, I felt enthusiastic about new ideas I learned at the meeting. I also came to benefit from the ASA’s continuing education programs and immense networking opportunities. I slowly started learning about various committees and sections but was still not sure how to get involved. When I was asked to join the ASA Committee on Applied Statisticians, I immediately agreed. That turned out to be a wonderful experience for me, as I worked alongside statisticians with different backgrounds and learned from their diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

Volunteering my time for this committee became a source of personal growth and learning. I had the honor of chairing the committee eventually. During that period, the committee created a sustainable mentoring program that became a blueprint for various other ASA committees and sections. After six years of serving on this committee, my journey continued on many other committees, within the Biopharmaceutical Section, and on the ASA Board as its treasurer.

The ASA has been the bridge that connected me to a network of wonderful statisticians, where I found my mentors and many lifelong friends. I am deeply grateful for the support, collaboration, and guidance of Ron Wasserstein, Lisa LaVange, Kathy Ensor, Barry Nussbaum, David Morganstein, Cyrus Mehta, Sastry Pantula, and Donna Lalonde, among many others.

It was serendipity that I attended my first JSM in Toronto more than two decades ago and received the ASA Founders Award in Toronto this year. My journey has gone full circle.

The ASA has been my professional home and provided me with many opportunities to learn, grow, and diversify my worldview. I am proud to be part of the ASA community. Thank you, ASA!