Peter Parker, Gerald J. Hahn, Q&P Achievement Award Committee Chair
Throughout Willis Jensen’s career, he has made exceptional, impactful contributions to quality and productivity through innovative collaborations with industry and academic partners. At CHG Healthcare, he led a people analytics and business intelligence team that provided data and analytics support to leaders and executives. At W. L. Gore & Associates, he served as an industrial statistician, global statistics team leader, and human resources analytics leader, improving data-driven decision-making practices across manufacturing, research and development, marketing, business, and HR. After 20 years in industry, he recently moved to academia, where he’s currently an associate professor at Brigham Young University, teaching courses in statistics and advising graduate students in the McKay School of Education.
As a statistician at Gore, Jensen made an impact on medical device quality, with work in sound statistical analysis, design of experiments, measurement quality, and process validation. He also taught and supported over 500 technical associates as a consulting statistician and designed internal courses that blended teaching statistical concepts and practical considerations into a holistic approach. As leader of the global statistics team at Gore, Jensen guided new and experienced statisticians and sharpened the team’s vision, leading to harmonized tools and practices.
In professional societies, Jensen has been active and served in numerous leadership roles in the American Statistical Association, American Society for Quality, International Statistical Engineering Association, and Society of People Analytics. He has served as an associate editor of Technometrics and as an editorial review board member for Journal of Quality Technology, Quality Engineering, and Quality and Reliability Engineering International. His distinguished service on these quality and productivity journals is evidence of his recognized expertise and leadership in the statistical community.
Jensen is a sought-after speaker and an excellent, enthusiastic communicator. His presentations resonate with audiences as he seamlessly integrates research and practice. He is a three-time winner of the Shewell Award for the best presentation at the Fall Technical Conference. Jensen’s research—the result of collaborations between industry and academia—has focused on applications of statistical methods for solving problems. His publications have earned numerous accolades, including the Soren Bisgaard Award for best paper in Quality Engineering and the Lloyd Nelson Award for best paper in the Journal of Quality Technology. In 2019, Jensen was elected fellow of the American Society for Quality for the “training of numerous students in employer-sponsored, quality-related courses; statistical leadership in industry; significant research contributions and presentations in statistical process control and design of experiments; outstanding service to multiple American Society of Quality journals; and for helping bridge the gap between the theory and practice of industrial statistics.”
Throughout Jensen’s career, he’s made lasting impacts and demonstrated leadership in promoting quality and productivity through statistical methods in industry, service, and mentorship. For these reasons, Jensen is a deserving recipient of the ASA Gerald J. Hahn Q&P Achievement Award.
Jensen will give the Q&P plenary address at the Fall Technical Conference.
Nominations for the 2027 award will open later this year.
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