With the theme “Statistics and Data Science: Informing Policy and Countering Misinformation,” this conference anticipates more than 5,000 attendees and 600 sessions. Learn about the featured speakers and events.
US Census Bureau
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.
Significance: October Issue Shows How to Climb Mt. Everest, Find Clothes to Fit
How can you ensure your Everest expedition ends in success? Why is it so hard to find a good fit when shopping for clothes? This issue of Significance has statistical answers to both these questions and a good many more besides.
Census Bureau Seeks Applications for Postdoctoral and Fellowship Programs
Apply for the Postdoctoral Research Program or Dissertation Fellowship Program by January 31, 2024.
Statistics and Data Science Hall of Fame
ASA President Dionne Price welcomes your nominations to the Statistics and Data Science Hall of Fame.
Pamela McGovern
Pamela McGovern grew up in Connecticut and majored in mathematics in college while working as an actuarial intern during the summer. Being an actuary seemed like a good fit for a math major, but the job also exposed her to statistics and she changed course. McGovern went on to earn a master’s degree at the University of Connecticut. Through the ASA, she learned about career opportunities in the federal government and decided to pursue a mathematical statistician position. After graduating, she began her career in the federal statistical system at the US Census Bureau. She currently works as a senior mathematical statistician at the US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Throughout her 27-year career as a federal statistician, her work has focused on survey statistics and methodology.
My ASA Story: Wendy Martinez, Mathematical Statistician
Wendy Martinez has had many great experiences during her years as an ASA member, and her service as ASA president is at the top of her list.
Andrea Roberson
Born in Brooklyn, Andrea Roberson grew up in the suburbs of Long Island, New York. When she was a child, her father would tell her bedtime fairy tales. Her favorite, the tale of the African Princess of Mapungubwe—who was given the superpower of mathematics—could always compute the right solutions, earning her freedom from any threat. However, undiagnosed autism and ADHD created obstacles to learning and performing in the classroom for Roberson. Achievements in the mathematical sciences seemed an ill-fated dream. This changed when she met Nagambal Shah, who encouraged Roberson to persist. Today, Roberson is a leader in the US Census Bureau’s big data initiative. Her innovative research in artificial intelligence and machine learning keeps the nation as the world’s forerunner in the production of economic statistics.
Establishing and Maintaining Trust in a Federal Statistical Agency: A Discussion from the National Academies
The Office of Management and Budget, Congress, and National Academies deem professional independence necessary for an agency to establish trust in its products. Professional independence includes an agency’s autonomy over its budget, information technology, hiring, publications, contracting, and data collection and analysis. To further the understanding of the importance of statistical agency autonomy, we include the autonomy portions of a discussion between Robert Groves and Hermann Habermann, James Lynch, and Charles Rothwell.
Meet Robert Santos, US Census Bureau Director
Robert Santos’s career spans more than 40 years in survey research, statistical design and analysis, and executive-level management.