Statistical Science
Congratulations to Professor Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, who is joining the Executive Committee of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) as a Vice President. With over 400 members, the IASE is an international umbrella organization working to improve statistics education at all levels, from primary school through professional training. Congratulations, Mine! read more about Çetinkaya-Rundel named Vice President of IASE. »
At the recent Joint Statistical Meetings, the Social Statistics Section (SSS) of the American Statistical Association (ASA) awarded Professor David Banks the Social Statistics Section Distinguished Scholar Award for lifetime contributions to the development and application of statistical science to social problems and issues including but not limited to demography, sociology, economics, political science, criminology, education, and public policy. Congratulations, David! read more about David Banks awarded Social Statistics Section Distinguished Scholar Award »
Alyson Wilson, Alum '95, PhD, of Raleigh, NC, has been promoted to interim vice chancellor for research and innovation at North Carolina State University. Wilson joined NC State in 2013. More information about Dr. Wilson is available at https://leadership.ncsu.edu/people/alyson-wilson/ read more about Alyson Wilson, Alum '95, Named Interim VP for Research at NC State »
PhD student Braden Scherting won the best poster award at the 2024 International Statistical Ecology Conference in Swansea, Wales for his presentation “Interpretable ecological community modeling for observed abundance.” Braden worked with Professor David Dunson to introduce a new class of joint species distribution model (JSDM) for abundance data based on sparse, nonnegative matrix factorization adapted to accommodate a variety of dependence structures. The method enables researchers to learn low-dimensional, interpretable… read more about Braden Scherting wins Best Poster Award »
Professor Li Ma has been named ISBA Fellow for his outstanding achievements. The citation reads: “For his innovative and elegant contributions to theory and methods in Bayesian nonparametric inference; for his outstanding contributions to biomedical sciences in developing statistical approaches for microbiome data; for his exceptional service to ISBA; and for generously devoting time to valuable service to the broader scientific community.” Congratulations, Li! read more about Professor Li Ma Named ISBA Fellow »
Statisticians from around the globe recently convened in Venice, Italy for the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA) World Meeting, and numerous Duke scholars were honored for their achievements. Professor Li Ma was recognized as an ISBA Fellow at the gala dinner and awards ceremony. Professor Ma is known for his work on nonparametric modeling and inference, multi-scale inference, recursive partitioning and tree-related methods, and statistical modeling of microbiome sequencing data and flow cytometry. He… read more about Duke Scholars Recognized at ISBA World Meeting »
In March, teams of students from Duke and UNC participated in the annual DataFest competition, hosted at Duke. Organized by the American Statistical Association (ASA), DataFest is a celebration of data, in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich and complex data set. DataFest was founded at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2011, with only 30 students. This year, Duke’s DataFest welcomed 195 students, including 95 from Duke and 90 from UNC. … read more about Students Put Classroom Skills Into Practice at Duke DataFest 2024 »
Dr. Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel was the professional night speaker at this year’s AP Statistics grading event in Tampa, Florida. The AP Statistics grading event is an annual gathering where teachers and college faculty members score the free-response sections of the AP Statistics exam. The professional night talk is a key highlight, providing attendees with an opportunity to gain insights from prominent figures in the field. Dr. Çetinkaya-Rundel's talk, "Statistics in the Age of Data Science," introduced the department's… read more about Dr. Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel gives the Professional Night talk at the AP Statistics Grading Event »
The faculty and staff of the Department of Statistical Science offers heartfelt congratulations to the MSS Class of 2024! Members of this graduating class are part of an incredibly accomplished group. Eight students will be entering prestigious Ph.D. programs at Duke, Johns Hopkins, and UPenn, among others, and most received multiple Ph.D. admissions offers. Other members of the class are stepping into a myriad of industry roles, including data scientists, engineers, and analysts at companies like American Express,… read more about Congratulations, MSS Class of 2024! »
Fan Li has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. As stated on the IMS website, Fellows ".. have demonstrated distinction in research in statistics or probability, by publication of independent work of merit." Congratulations, Fan! read more about Professor Fan Li Has Been Named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics »
Professor Li Ma has been elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. As described on the ASA website, "The designation of ASA Fellow has been a significant honor for nearly 100 years. Under ASA bylaws, the Committee on Fellows can elect up to one-third of one percent of the total association membership as fellows each year. To be selected, nominees must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions to statistical science." read more about Professor Li Ma Attains Fellowship Status with the American Statistical Association »
May 11, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Speaker(s): Jerry Reiter, Professor and Chair of Statistical Science On Saturday, May 11th, 2024, from 4 to 6 p.m., we will celebrate the hard work and dedication of our 2024 graduates and their families with a diploma ceremony. Invitation emails were sent out on April 12th to all upcoming graduates. If you didn't receive the email please contact Karen Whitesell. We look forward to sharing this special moment with you! read more about Diploma Ceremony Scheduled »
Statistical Science undergraduate student Ryan Mitchell was a winner of the 2023 Fall Undergraduate Statistics Research Project Competition, earning 3rd place among all submissions. Mitchell — whose advisor was Assistant Professor of the Practice Yue Jiang — will graduate this Spring with a double major in Computer Science and Statistical Science with a concentration in Data Science. Undergraduate students can submit individual or group projects that were written for a statistics or data science course to the… read more about Q&A with Undergraduate Research Project Competition Winner Ryan Mitchell »
Professor Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel was elected to the International Statistics Institute Council. read more about Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel elected as ISI officer »
Alan Gelfand, Becky Tang, and Jim Clark received an Honorable Mention for the 2023 best paper in the Journal for Agricultural, Environmental, and Behavioral Statistics. Alan is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Statistical Science. Becky is a Ph.D. alumnus in Statistical Science. Jim Clark holds a secondary faculty appointment in Statistical Science and is the Nicholas Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science. read more about Honorable mention for best paper in JABES »
The MSS program celebrated our annual alumni dinner at the JB Duke on February 23rd. The event, hosted by the MSS GCC, featured keynote speaker Dr. Christopher Krapu (MS ’20), who shared his experience and insightful advice, and an alumni panel sharing experiences from across multiple industries and fields, including NVIDIA, Aetna/CVSHealth, and Zillow. Department Chair Dr. Jerry Reiter and Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science Dr. David Banks also shared remarks in support of the MSS program, and current… read more about MSS Welcomes Back Accomplished Alumni for Annual Dinner »
For the fifth consecutive year, the Department of Statistical Science has been awarded a Trinity Research Enhancement Fund grant from the Office of Academic Affairs to support undergraduate research and senior thesis projects. This award of $17,000 for the 2024 - 2025 academic year will fund efforts to promote a sustainable culture of undergraduate research in the department. Portions of the grant will support undergraduate research events during the year and replenish the department’s Undergraduate Conference Fund, which… read more about Department Awarded Grant to Support Undergraduate Research Initiatives »
The MSS program takes pride in preparing our students for whatever comes after graduation, whether it’s a high-paying industry job or admission to a prestigious Ph.D. program. Our program allows students to delve into the very core of statistical theory, methods, computation, and their real-world applications. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increased number of students apply (and be accepted to) respected Ph.D. programs all over the world – and this year is no exception. Our MSS students have already… read more about High Number of Ph.D. Offers for MSS students »
Jerry Reiter, Professor of Statistical Science, was the chair of a National Academies of Sciences consensus panel on managing risks to privacy and confidentiality when sharing blended data products. The panel produced a peer-reviewed report that was released at the end of January 2024. A Link to the report is available. read more about Jerry Reiter leads NAS consensus panel report on data privacy »
An article by former Duke visiting Ph.D. student Maryclare Griffin and Statistical Science faculty member Peter Hoff has been selected for the American Statistical Association Editor's Choice Collection. Their article, "Structured Shrinkage Priors," was one of two articles selected by the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics editors. Other Editor's Choice selections can be found at the following link. read more about Editors’ choice award for Peter Hoff »
An article by Statistical Science Ph.D. student Xiaojun Zheng and faculty member Simon Mak has been selected for the American Statistical Association Editor's Choice Collection. Their article, "PERCEPT: a new online change-point detection method using topological data analysis," was one of two articles selected by the editors of Technometrics. Other Editor's Choice selections can be found at the following link. read more about Editors’ choice award for Simon Mak »
The 2024 student paper award winners for the Section on Environmental Sciences (EnviBayes) of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis all have connections to Duke Statistical Science. The award winners include: 1. Jorge Castillo-Mateo: Spatio-temporal modeling for record-breaking temperature events in Spain (advisors: Ana C. Cebrián, University of Zaragoza and Alan E. Gelfand, Duke University) 2. Sam Gailliot: Data sketching and stacking: A confluence of two strategies for predictive inference in high-… read more about EnviBayes Student Paper Awards! »
The Department of Statistical Science at Duke University in Durham, NC, invites applications for the position of Director of the Master's in Statistical Science (MSS) program. The candidate will also be appointed as a regular rank, non-tenure track faculty member in the department. The MSS is a 2 year degree that provides a modern, comprehensive education in statistical and data science, emphasizing theory, methods and computation. The program brings students into challenging, real world research areas, and prepares… read more about Open Position: Master's Program Director »
PhD student Alex Dombowsky is a winner of the 2024 Section on Bayesian Statistical Science student paper awards. Alex will receive partial travel support to present his work at the Joint Statistical Meetings in 2024. read more about PhD Student Alex Dombowsky Wins SBSS Paper Award »
David Dunson will deliver the 2024 annual Sobel Lecture at UC Santa Barbara. The Sobel Lecture is the most prestigious seminar in the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability at UCSB. See the website for list of recent speakers. read more about David Dunson to deliver distinguished Sobel Lecture »
Congratulations to Statistical Science Ph.D. alum Claudia Tebaldi on being selected among the 2023 American Geophysical Union honorees for Union Fellow, “For her outstanding contributions in statistics and climate science leading to improved understanding." Read more on this award. read more about Congratulations to Alum Claudia Tebaldi for Being Selected as AGU Fellow »
In an impressive display of academic excellence, thirteen students from the Master of Statistical Science (MSS) program have been honored with the prestigious Dean's Research Award this semester. This coveted award serves as a springboard for students, providing them with essential funding to dive deeper into their research pursuits. It covers a range of critical needs, from acquiring necessary research tools and programs to attending influential conferences. Such support is crucial in enhancing the… read more about MSS Students Shine with Dean’s Research Award from The Graduate School »