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May 2012 • Issue #419 AMSTATNEWS The Membership Magazine of the American Statistical Association • http://magazine.amstat.org JSM BOUND ALSO: When Statistics Education and State Policy Meet Statistical Consulting in a University Research Setting AMSTATNEWS MAY 2012 • ISSUE #419 Executive Director features Ron Wasserstein: [email protected] 3 President’s Corner Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Stephen Porzio: [email protected] 5 Highlights of the March 2012 ASA Board of Directors Meeting Director of Science Policy 6 Workshop on New Developments in Econometrics and Steve Pierson: [email protected] Time Series Director of Education Rebecca Nichols [email protected] 7 Call for Proposals for SAMSI Summer Programs and Workshops Managing Editor 8 Chapter, Section Microsites a New ASA Benefit Megan Murphy: [email protected] 8 Leading Economic Forecaster Chosen as Economic Production Coordinators/Graphic Designers Luncheon Speaker Melissa Muko: [email protected] Kathryn Wright: [email protected] 9 Petitions Requested for New Section Publications Coordinator 10 Technometrics Highlights Val Nirala: [email protected] Service Accessibility Analyzed with Novel Methods in May Issue Advertising Manager 11 Meet Economic Research Service Administrator Mary Bohman Claudine Donovan: [email protected] 13 The World Is Calling; Should We Answer? Contributing Staff Members Donna Arrington • Kalil Deschamps • Amy Farris 16 Nominations Sought for Deming Lecture, Noether Awards Rebecca Nichols • Rick Peterson Amstat News welcomes news items and letters from readers on matters of interest to the association and the profession. Address correspondence to Managing Editor, Amstat News, American Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA, or email amstat@ amstat.org. Items must be received by the first day of the preceding month departments to ensure appearance in the next issue (for example, June 1 for the July issue). Material can be sent as a Microsoft Word document, PDF, or within an email. 18 meetings Articles will be edited for space. Accompanying artwork will be accepted in graphics file formats only (.jpg, etc.), minimum 300 dpi. No material in WordPerfect will be accepted. JSM Bound Amstat News (ISSN 0163-9617) is published monthly by the American Keynote Speakers Chosen for Knowledge, Dedication Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314- 1943 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and additional Writing Workshop for Junior Researchers to Take Place at JSM mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Amstat News, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA. Send Canadian How to Get the Most Out of Your First Joint Statistical Meetings address changes to APC, PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Rich Hill, ON L4B 4R6. Annual subscriptions are $50 per year for nonmembers. Amstat News is the member publication of the ASA. For annual membership rates, San Diego Offers JSM Attendees Much to Do, See see www.amstat.org/join or contact ASA Member Services at (888) 231-3473. American Statistical Association 732 North Washington Street Alexandria, VA 22314–1943 USA (703) 684–1221 • FAX: (703) 684-2037 ASA GENERAL: [email protected] columns ADDRESS CHANGES: [email protected] 27 SCIENCE POLICY AMSTAT EDITORIAL: [email protected] When Statistics Education and State Policy Meet ADVERTISING: [email protected] This column is written to inform ASA members about what the ASA is doing to WEBSITE: http://magazine.amstat.org promote the inclusion of statistics in policymaking and the funding of statistics Printed in USA © 2012 research. To suggest science policy topics for the ASA to address, contact ASA American Statistical Association Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson at [email protected]. Contributing Editor Promoting the Practice and Profession of Statistics Christine Franklin is the Lothar Tresp Honoratus Honors Professor in Statistics at the University of Georgia. She was the The American Statistical Association is the world’s largest lead writer for the ASA Pre-K–12 GAISE Framework that served community of statisticians. The ASA supports excellence in as the basis for the statistics strand in the Common Core State the development, application, and dissemination of statistical Standards. She is also a past AP Statistics chief reader and was science through meetings, publications, membership services, honored in 2006 with the Mu Sigma Rho National Statistical Education Award. education, accreditation, and advocacy. Our members serve in Franklin industry, government, and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. columns 29 STATtr@k Collaboration with Statisticians STATtr@k is a column in Amstat News and a website geared toward people who are in a statistics program, recently graduated from a statistics program, or recently entered the job world. To read more articles like this one, visit the website at http://stattrak.amstat.org. If you have suggestions for future articles, or would like to submit an article, please email Online Articles Megan Murphy, Amstat News managing editor, at [email protected]. Contributing Editor The following articles in this issue can be found online Danny Modlin earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from at http://magazine.amstat.org. Elon University. After teaching middle- and high-school mathemat- ics for six years, he earned his master’s degree in mathematics from Roderick Little will deliver the COPSS Fisher Lecture, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington and his master’s degree in statistics from North Carolina State University. Modlin is “In Praise of Simplicity, Not Mathematistry! Ten Simple, employed as a statistical training specialist at SAS Institute Inc. and Powerful Ideas for the Statistical Scientist,” in San working toward his PhD in statistics. Modlin Diego, California, during the Joint Statistical Meetings. Little has been a leading researcher in the modeling, evaluation, and analysis of missing data, sample survey, and causal inference. At the University of Michigan, 31 MASTER'S NOTEBOOK he has played important roles in various collaborative Statistical Consulting in a University Research Setting projects across campus. He currently serves as director This column is written for statisticians with master's degrees and highlights areas of of the biostatistics cores for three major research employment that will benefit statisticians at the master's level. Comments and sug- centers. A special article on Little’s accomplishments, gestions should be sent to Megan Murphy, Amstat News managing editor, at megan@ prepared by John Kalbfleisch and Ross L. Prentice, amstat.org. can be found online at http://magazine.amstat.org/ Contributing Editor blog/2012/05/01/roderick-little. Gregory J. Stoddard, a master’s degree–level biostatistician, is co- director of the Study Design and Biostatistics Center at the University The National Center for Health Statistics invites you of Utah, which provides statistical consultations on applied research to the 2012 National Conference on Health problems throughout the university. Statistics, to be held August 6–8, 2012, at the Renaissance Washington, DC, Downtown Hotel. Stoddard Registration is open. For details, visit www.cdc.gov/ nchs/events/2012nchs. There are many places to see when you are in San 34 175 Diego for JSM, some of which are an hour or more Reaching 20k away. Therefore, members of the JSM local area The ASA will celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2014. In preparation, column “175”— written by members of the ASA’s 175th Anniversary Steering Committee and other ASA committee compiled a list of longer trips within members—will chronicle the theme chosen for the celebration, status of preparations, San Diego County. To view, visit http://magazine. activities to take place, and, best yet, how you can get involved in propelling the ASA amstat.org/blog/2012/05/01/longer-trips. toward its bicentennial. Contributing Editor Monica Johnston is chair of the ASA Committee on Membership Retention and Visit the ASA Calendar of Events, an online Recruitment and cofounder of the Section for Statistical Programmers and Analysts. She database of statistical happenings across the globe. is an independent consultant and serves as director at Mostly Math, an education services Announcements are accepted from educational and center in Walnut Creek, California. not-for-profit organizations. To view the complete list . of statistics meetings and workshops, visit www.amstat. org/dateline. Many of the sections and committees sponsor member news events and host workshops and meetings. For details 35 People News about these events and other news, make sure you 39 Section • Chapter • Committee News visit our section, chapter, and committee pages online at http://magazine.amstat.org. 41 Calendar of Events 42 Professional Opportunities 2 amstat news may 2012 president's corner Photo courtesy of the NCSU Department of Statistics From left: Faculty members Alison Motsinger-Reif, Montserrat Fuentes, and Peter Bloomfield congratulate PhD recipient Shenek Alston at the 2011 commencement ceremony of the department of statistics at North Carolina State University. Graduation Time: Is Your Commencement Speech Ready? ay is graduation month, a time to cele- Their answers were insightful. One student brate the accomplishments of new grad- wrote, “My education