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 provides financial support for Statistical Science majors presenting at external research conferences. The proposal-writing team of Dr. Maria Tackett, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science, and Dr. Joan Combs Durso, Coordinator of Undergraduate Training, Research, and Development, has been supported each year by the department’s Business Manager, Mrs. Nicole Scott, and faculty including the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor of the Practice Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, as well as Dr. Yue Jiang, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science.
A large portion of the grant will support the department’s Introduction to Undergraduate Research in Statistics workshop for students early in their statistics studies who have not previously participated in independent research or campus programs. During the workshop, students work in teams to conduct data-driven research mentored by Statistical Science Ph.D. students and faculty members. This year’s workshop will also include a small group of rising seniors pursuing a Graduation with Distinction thesis in the 2024 – 2025 academic year. These students will complete their thesis proposals under the mentorship of a Ph.D. student in addition to their thesis advisor. The workshop meets virtually for two weeks in May, allowing for participation from any location without interfering with longer summer commitments.
Applications will open in March.
More information about the workshop, Undergraduate Conference Fund, and other departmental undergraduate research initiatives maybe found at https://stat.duke.edu/research-opportunities. Please email dus@stat.duke.edu for questions about this and other undergraduate programs in Statistical Science.
