The ASA recently added the open access journal Data Science in Science to its portfolio of publications to showcase statistical science as a core competency for interdisciplinary collaborations. Here, ASA President Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar shares excerpts of an interview with the journal’s founding editor, David Matteson, and former ASA President Kathy Ensor.
Black History Month
Kobi Abayomi
Kobi Abayomi once dreamed of becoming a physicist, but switched majors after he took his first class in statistics at Georgia Institute of Technology. Today, is head of science for Gumbel Demand Acceleration—a Software as a Service (SaaS) company for digital media—and Betaside Recordings, both data science startups at the intersection of demand and supply curves for musicians, artists, and music listeners. He also holds an appointment at Seton Hall University, where he teaches in the undergraduate and master’s in data science program.
Celebrating Black History Month 2024
In celebration of Black History Month, we recognize eight individuals from the Black/African American collective who have made contributions to the statistics field as mentors, professors, and entrepreneurs.
Christophe Toukam Tchakoute
Christophe Toukam Tchakoute grew up in Cameroon during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is how he became interested in STEM. His interest was reinforced when he attended the University of Cape Town in South Africa and became curious about the chemistry and cell biology of HIV and how the virus can hijack the immune system for its own benefit. Consequently, he interned in the HIV/AIDS department at the World Health Organization and was introduced to epidemiology and biostatistics. He now works at Genentech and leverages statistics and real-world data to inform clinical trial design for different oncology programs.
Lloyd J. Edwards
Lloyd Edwards earned a master’s in mathematical statistics at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1982 and then worked for TRW Defense Systems for three years as a software engineer focusing on antisubmarine warfare. He graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 with a PhD in biostatistics, leading to a career as a faculty member in the University of North Carolina Department of Biostatistics for close to 25 years. Since 2017, Edwards has been a professor in the department of biostatistics in the school of public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Chandra Erdman
Chandra Erdman started college at 15 and earned her first degree in mathematics by 20. Eventually, she become the first Black person to earn a PhD in statistics from Yale University.
Embracing JEDI Is Embracing the Intellect of All
Dionne Price discusses the work the Anti-Racism Task Force is doing with the Nova Collective to move the ASA forward in its diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
History of Statistics: A STEM-Based Study Abroad Experience
Inspired by The Lady Tasting Tea, two University of Florida professors took a group of students abroad to learn about the historical beginnings of the statistics discipline in England.
Celebrating Black History Month 2021
In celebration of Black History Month, we recognize 10 individuals from the Black/African-American collective who have made tremendous contributions to the field of statistics.