Episode 58: Celebrating Grace Wahba—Scholar, Mentor, Pioneer—with Ming Yuan and Yoonkyung Lee

Grace Wahba was awarded the 2025 International Prize in Statistics in recognition of her groundbreaking work on smoothing splines, which has transformed modern data analysis and machine learning. Wahba was among the earliest to pioneer the use of nonparametric regression modeling. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967 as the first female faculty member in the department of statistics. Across more than five decades, she built an extraordinary legacy of advancing science and nurturing students.

Practical Significance cohosts Donna LaLonde and Ron Wasserstein enjoy a conversation with Ming Yuan and Yoonkyung Lee, two of Wahba’s former doctoral students. Yuan, professor in the department of statistics at Columbia University, and Lee, professor of statistics at The Ohio State University, share personal stories about Wahba’s teaching, guidance, and encouragement, highlighting how she cultivated curiosity, perseverance, and collaboration in her students.

The episode underscores Wahba’s legacy not only in advancing statistical science but also in building a community of researchers inspired by her vision and humanity. This month, Yuan and Lee will travel to The Hague to give presentations on Wahba’s behalf at the 65th ISI World Statistics Congress, where she’ll be honored with the International Prize in Statistics. Enjoy this inspiring episode.

And for those who are fans of statistics and Halloween, you won’t want to miss Ron’s traditional Top 10, “Top Ten Costumes to Wear to the Statistics Department Halloween Party.”

Our thanks to Stata for sponsoring the October episode of Practical Significance. For more than 40 years, Stata has been the trusted statistical software choice for researchers, analysts, and data professionals who demand accurate, reproducible results—from data management to visualization to advanced statistics and reporting—all in one intuitive platform. Backed by a global user community and expert support, Stata empowers you to focus on your research, not your software. Discover how Stata can power your research and analyses.