April 2011 • Issue #406 AMSTATNEWS The Membership Magazine of the American Statistical Association • http://magazine.amstat.org

April 2011 CELEBRATE Mathematics Awareness Month MATHEMATICS ALSO: by Unraveling Recognizing the ASA’s Complex Systems Longtime Members Meet James Lynch, Director of BJS

Publications Agreement No. 41544521

AmstatNews APRIL 2011 • Issue #406

Executive Director Ron Wasserstein: [email protected] features Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Stephen Porzio: [email protected] 3 President’s Invited Column Director of Education 5 Recognizing the ASA’s Longtime Members Martha Aliaga: [email protected] 15 Applying for Accreditation: It All Starts with Intent Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson: [email protected] 16 Statisticians Participate in Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill Managing Editor Megan Murphy: [email protected] 17 Davidian to Give Keynote at Women’s Symposium Production Coordinators/Graphic Designers 17 Papers Sought for FCSM Research Conference Melissa Muko: [email protected] Kathryn Wright: [email protected] 18 Celebrate Mathematics by Unraveling Complex Systems Publications Coordinator 20 Statisticians Evaluate Program-Ranking Methods Val Nirala: [email protected] 21 Meet James Lynch, Director of BJS Advertising Manager Claudine Donovan: [email protected] 23 Administration Affirms Role of Data-Driven Decisionmaking with FY12 Budget Requests

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 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. Articles will be edited for space. Accompanying artwork will be accepted columns in graphics file formats only (.jpg, etc.), minimum 300 dpi. No material in WordPerfect will be accepted. Amstat News (ISSN 0163-9617) is published monthly by the American 25 Funding opportunities Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314- FY 2012 Federal Budget Request 1943 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Amstat News, 732 This column highlights research activities that may be of interest to ASA members. These North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA. Send Canadian brief articles include information about new research solicitations and the federal budget address changes to APC, PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Rich Hill, for statistics. Comments or suggestions for future articles may be sent to ASA Research ON L4B 4R6. Annual subscriptions are $50 per year for nonmembers. Amstat and Graduate Education Manager Keith Crank at [email protected]. News is the member publication of the ASA. For annual membership rates, see www.amstat.org/join or contact ASA Member Services at (888) 231-3473. Contributing Editor American Statistical Association Keith Crank earned a BS in mathematics education and an MS in 732 North Washington Street mathematics from Michigan State University and a PhD in statis- Alexandria, VA 22314–1943 USA tics from Purdue University. Prior to joining the ASA as research (703) 684–1221 • FAX: (703) 684-2037 and graduate education manager, he was a program officer at the National Science Foundation, primarily in the probability program. ASA GENERAL: [email protected] ADDRESS CHANGES: [email protected] Crank AMSTAT EDITORIAL: [email protected] ADVERTISING: [email protected] 27 Science Policy WebSite: http://magazine.amstat.org Measuring Innovation: Better Data to Help Design Policies Printed in USA © 2011 American Statistical Association to Revive Economic Growth This column is written to inform ASA members about what the ASA is doing to promote the inclusion of statistics in policymaking and the funding of statistics research. To suggest science policy topics for the ASA to address, contact ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson at [email protected].

Promoting the Practice and Profession of Statistics The American Statistical Association is the world’s largest Contributing Editor community of statisticians. The ASA supports excellence in Dale Jorgenson is the Samuel W. Morris University Professor at the development, application, and dissemination of statistical Harvard University. A Fellow of the ASA since 1965, he is the recipient science through meetings, publications, membership services, of the 2010 Julius Shiskin Memorial Award for Economic Statistics education, accreditation, and advocacy. Our members serve in for his leadership in the integration of the U.S. National Accounts industry, government, and academia in more than 90 countries, and contributions to the measurement of productivity, innovation, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to capital, human capital, and poverty. inform public policy and improve human welfare. Jorgenson columns

29 STATtr@k From Computer Scientist to Statistician Stumbling backward and landing well 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. Online Articles If you have suggestions for future articles, or would like to submit an article, please email The following articles in this issue can be found Megan Murphy, Amstat News managing editor, at [email protected]. online at http://magazine.amstat.org. Contributing Editor The Third International Workshop in Sequential Andrew Beamer is a second-year Methodologies (IWSM) will be held at Stanford master’s student at North Carolina State University. As an undergradu- University from June 14–16. The three main themes ate, he majored in computer science, are sequential and adaptive design of clinical trials computer engineering, and electrical and other sequential methods in biostatistics; engineering, also at NC State. Beamer sequential change-point detection, quality control and surveillance, sequential methods in signal processing, and sensor networks; and sequential estimation, testing, ranking and selection, optimal stopping and stochastic control, applications to finance and economics, and related topics in statistics and probability. The 70th birthdays of both Gary Lorden and David Siegmund also will be celebrated. Visit http://magazine.amstat.org to read more.

Judges Sought for ASA Project Competition departments The ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum 31 education in Statistics and Probability is seeking judges for Workshops Lined Up Ahead of USCOTS the ASA Project Competition. Judging takes place via email during the summer and requires about 33 meetings four hours of your time. If interested, email Jamis CDC Symposium to Focus on Massive, Perrett at [email protected]. Complex Data in Public Health

Project Competition Deadline Extended to June 9 Introduce K–12 students to statistics through the annual project competition directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. The competition offers opportunities for students to formulate questions and collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. Winners will be member news recognized with plaques, cash prizes, certificates, 34 People News and Texas Instruments calculators. Also, their 37 Section • Chapter • Committee News names will be published in Amstat News. Projects, for all grades, are now due on June 39 Calendar of Events 9 to accommodate AP Statistics students 40 Professional Opportunities who will be taking the exam in early May. For more information, including two instructional webinars, visit www.amstat.org/education/ posterprojects.

2 amstat news april 2011 president’s invited column

Statistics without Borders Gary Shapiro, Statistics without Borders Chair

You probably know the ASA has chapters (www.amstat.org/chapters) and sections (www. amstat.org/sections). However, you may not know there is a third type of ASA group—the outreach group. There are four, including the Caucus of Academic Representatives, Friends of Australasia, Isolated Statisticians, and Statistics without Borders (SWB). For the April president’s column, I invited Gary Shapiro, SWB chair, to describe this group and tell you about its activities.

~ Nancy L. Geller, ASA President

tatistics without Borders is an apolitical group featured on National Public Radio (http:// that was formed in late 2008 to provide pro media.theworld.org/audio/060120109.mp3). bono statistical support to organizations involvedS in not-for-profit international health • Each year, the Food and Nutritional (broadly defined) efforts. The goal of the group is Technical Assistance II (FANTA-2) to achieve better statistical practice, including sta- project at the Academy for Educational tistical analysis and design of experiments and sur- Development reviews and provides com- veys. To that end, there are about 250 members ments about baseline survey plans for newly from many countries, far exceeding expectations. awarded food security programs in develop- While SWB members have a wide range of ing countries funded by USAID’s Office of expertise, most projects so far have involved Food for Peace. For the last two years, SWB survey planning and/or analysis of survey data. volunteers have served as statistical review- Most work has been done through email, but ers of these plans. there have been occasional trips to developing • SWB helped prepare a proposal for the countries. Following are a few examples of SWB Inter-American Development Bank to sur- projects: vey households in Mexico about their use of • SWB assisted the company SciMetrika with bottled water. SWB was extensively involved a cell phone survey to assess the economic in the early planning and assisted with the impact of the January 2010 earthquake in general sample design and questionnaire. Haiti. The specific goals were to estimate the employment and housing status of the • SWB is working on a long-term project with Haitian population. SWB volunteers visited UNICEF to evaluate health interventions in Haiti to begin the planning and are now Sierra Leone. SWB assisted with the design of analyzing the survey results. This work was the baseline survey, data cleaning, and survey

april 2011 amstat news 3 Serving as a volunteer on an international health project can be a personally rewarding and satisfying experience.

weighting. Ongoing work will include data analysis and planning for a post-interven- tion survey. An unsolicited comment from our main UNICEF contact follows: “… [your SWB volunteer] did an outstanding job. I could not have done it without her. She was so patient with cleaning the data and dealing with unexpected problems related to revisits. …” • KOMAZA (www.komaza.org) works with farmers in Kenya to promote the plant- ing of Eucalyptus trees. They sought SWB assistance to assess the social and economic impact of their program over time. SWB volunteers helped KOMAZA plan a base- line survey. They proposed a stratified sample design, recommended a sample size to achieve the desired reliability, advised on training sessions for nonresponse follow up (enumerator training sessions), and advised on the conduct of the survey. It is clear from these examples that many organiza- tions in the United States and other countries would benefit greatly from statistical consulting and support, but cannot afford to pay for it. SWB is particularly eager to spread the word of its services to organi- zations that can use statistical help. Please email me at [email protected] if you know of any such organization. Serving as a volunteer on an international health project can be a personally rewarding and satisfying experience. SWB volunteer Sowmya Rao said, “The most gratifying part … was teaching the statisticians from Sierra Leone techniques to analyze data since they were very enthusiastic, eager to learn, and appre- ciative of the opportunity to be part of the project beyond data collection.” The dedication of so many SWB volunteers who have worked on projects is quite astounding. ASA can be proud of its far reach. To learn more about SWB, visit http://community. amstat.org/amstat/StatisticsWithoutBorders. n

CORRECTION: In the February issue of Amstat News, Juanita Lott was unintentionally left off the Annual Fund drive 500+ list. We regret the error.

4 amstat news april 2011 Recognizing the ASA’s Longtime Members he American Statistical Association would like to thank its longtime members by continuing its tradition of honoring those members who joined the association 35 years ago or Tmore. This year, we recognize the following members for their distin- guished and faithful membership. If you are a longtime member and will be attending the 2011 Joint Statistical Meetings in Miami, Florida, please join us for a reception in your honor. If your name is not listed below and you believe it should be, please contact Alessandra Boniface at alessandra@ amstat.org to correct your record. 50+ Years John W. Adams Elmer S. Biles John W. Cotton Charles Federspiel Dorothy M. Joseph W. Hines Gilford Carol H. Ammons Richard R. Blough David R. Cox Leonard S. Feldt Ronald R. Hocking Gerald J. Glasser Sigmund J. Colin R. Blyth Lolafaye Coyne Ivan P. Fellegi Robert V. Hogg Amster Ramanathan Donald J. Bogue Herbert A. David Arlin M. Gnanadesikan Arthur G. Holms Theodore W. Feyerherm Anderson Jack R. Borsting Martin H. David Arnold F. J. Stuart Hunter David John Goodman Virgil L. Anderson Shirley D. S. John S. De Cani Finney Hiroshi Ikeda Braverman Leo A. Goodman Charles E. Antle Kweku T. Degraft Marc F. Fontaine Robert A. Israel David R. Brillinger Johnson Donald Guthrie Kenneth J. Arrow Richard L. Forstall Arthur G. Itkin Dolores Bryla Arthur P. Irwin Guttman Kiyoharu Azai Dempster Murray F. Foss Thomas B. Jabine Charles R. Gerald J. Hahn Barbara A. Bailar Buncher Paul M. Densen Donald A. S. J. Edward Jackson Fraser William J. Hall John C. Bailar Norman Bush Frank T. Denton Robert J. Rudolf J. Freund Morris Hamburg Johansen Noel S. Bartlett Herman Chernoff Thomas E. Doerfler Wayne A. Fuller Martin A. Lyle V. Jones Hamilton Glenn E. Bartsch Victor Chew Thomas Downs Donald A. Graham Kalton Gardiner J. Wayne Rex J. Bates John S. Chipman Hamman Norman R. Draper Marvin A. Charles E. Gates Gary S. Becker Virginia A. Clark Kastenbaum Satya D. Dubey Roy Dean Hardy Donald P. Gaver Carl A. Bennett David E. Clement Shriniwas K. Katti Arthur M. Dutton Gordon M. David W. Gaylor Harrington Donald L. Bentley Arthur Cohen Kathleen M. L. Lee Eberhardt Keenan Edmund A. Kenneth Alan P. Berens Theodore Colton Harwood Jonas H. Ellenberg Gehan John J. Kinney Robert H. Berk Richard G. Cornell Milton C. Heuston Roger H. Farrell Francis G. Melville R. Klauber Giesbrecht

april 2011 amstat news 5 Morton Albert Madansky Mervin E. Muller Edward Pollak Richard N. N. Scott Urquhart Kupperman Schmidt Richard Maisel Charles R. Richard F. Potthoff John Van Dewater Thomas E. Kurtz Mummery Stanley Schor Colin L. Mallows John W. Pratt Constance van Ronald E. R. Bradford Shayle R. Searle Eeden Kutscher Lester V. Murphy Charles H. Proctor Manderscheid Donald T. Searls Pearl A. Van Natta Max Lacroix Jack Nadler Dana Quade Jack A. Marshall Daniel G. Seigel Harvey M. Wagner Eugene M. Laska Charles B. Nam Richard E. Quandt Margaret E. Norman C. Severo Joe H. Ward William J. Latzko Martin Marc Nerlove Joseph H. Rabin William F. Shaw William G. Warren Marvin A. Robert A. McLean John Neter J. N. K. Rao Lavenhar Jacob S. Siegel Irving Weiss Gertrude A. W. Michael Quentin R. Malcolm R. McQuaid O'Fallon Remein Monroe G. Sirken Raymond L. Leadbetter Wilder Curtis Meinert Bernard Ostle Robert H. Norbert Soltys

50+ Years 50+ Ferdinand Lemus Riffenburgh John W. Wilkinson Peter F. Merenda Vernon E. Palmour Paul N. Somerville S. D. Leonard Paul H. Rigby William H. Paul W. Mielke Louis A. Panek David G. Stahl Williams Fred C. Leone Larry J. Ringer Forest L. Miller Emanuel Parzen John J. Stansbrey Othmar W. Daniel B. Levine Naomi B. Robbins Winkler Leo Morris James L. Pate Joseph Steinberg Eugene Levine Douglas S. John Harmon Wolfe Donald F. Rusi K.N Patell Robson George P. H. Styan Paul S. Levy Morrison Donald E. Young John F. Pauls Joan R. Rosenblatt Zenon Z. Robert E. Lewis John W. Morse Szatrowski Edward B. Perrin Paul F. Ross Marvin Zelen Robert E. Lipsey Joseph M. Moser Arthur R. Thomas Haynes Phillips Jagdish S. Rustagi Calvin Zippin Herman J. Loether Jack Moshman Bruce E. Trumbo Earl S. Pollack David Schenker Gerald E. Abrahms Edward MacNeal H. Donald Moss James W. Turbitt 45–49 Years

Wallace R. Norman P. Bresky David W. Abdel Latif Barry C. Arnold John J. Blischke Chapman Abul-Ela Beauchamp Joseph R. Assenzo Norman Breslow Saul Blumenthal Janet E. Cherry Khazan C. Gerald J. Beck Agrawal David W. Bacon Lyle D. Rudolf J. Beran Thomas J. Broemeling Leonard Chiazze Boardman Dennis J. Aigner R. Clifton Bailey Mark L. Berenson Donna J. Brogan Howard B. Alan Bostrom Christensen Murray A. Aitkin John J. Bartko Donald A. Berry Maurice C. Bryson Kimiko O. P. Larry Claypool Philip J. Ambrosini Asit P. Basu William C. Bowman Thomas W. Calvin Blackwelder Robert P. Clickner Gary M. Andrew David L. Bayless Thomas L. John M. Bratcher Chambers Arthur Cohen

6 amstat news april 2011 Ayala Cohen Joseph L. Bob S. Hodges Uwe Koehn G. Arthur Mihram Ronald H. Randles Gastwirth Roger D. Coleman Vincent Hodgson Stephen L. Jerry L. Moreno Gipsie B. Ranney Jane F. Gentleman Kozarich William D. Paul W. Holland Carl N. Morris Joan S. Reisch Commins Thomas M. Gerig Lawrence L.

Myles Hollander Kupper Gary M. Mullet Gladys H. Years45–49 William Jay Jean D. Gibbons Reynolds Conover C. Easley Hoy Keith Kussmaul Thomas D. Rudy A. Gideon Murphy Bruce E. Rodda John A. Cornell Boris Iglewicz Peter A. (Tony) Warren G. Lachenbruch Janet M. Myhre Richard S. Ross William M. Cox Gilchrist Gudmund R. Iversen John C. Lambert Peter Naeve Edward Rothman J. R. Crespo Dennis C. Gilliland Laurence F. Thomas W. Patricia L. Nahas C. Bradley Russell Ralph B. Phil D. Gilliland Jackson Langford D'Agostino Joseph I. Naus Robert A. Richard R. Giroux Aridaman K. Jain William H. Lawton Rutledge Miles Davis Wayne B. Nelson Leon J. Gleser Jeffrey E. Jarrett Eun S. Lee Harold B. John J. Deely Mark J. Nicolich Sackrowitz V. P. Godambe Donald R. Jensen David Levine Manavala M. Desu Patrick L. Odell David S. Salsburg Charles H. Douglas H. Robert A. Lew Dennis O. Dixon Goldsmith Johnson Anthony R. Olsen Charles B. Thomas M. Sampson Lewinson Kjell A. Doksum Alan M. Gross Bruce Johnston Richard A. Olshen Innis G. Sande Dennis V. Lindley Douglas M. Dunn Ronald C. Richard H. Jones Anthony M. Gulezian Orlando Eberhard G. Morris L. Eaton Karl G. Joreskog Bertram D. Litt Schaich William L. Takis Bradley Efron Harkness Joseph B. Kadane Don O. Papaioannou Richard L. Loftsgaarden Scheaffer Dale O. Everson Donald L. Harnett Chandrakant Robert P. Parker Kapadia James M. Lucas Robert R. Scheer William B. Fairley David A. Harville Minu K. Patel James G. Karas Brian D. J. Richard Schmid Macpherson William R. Victor Hasselblad Ganapati P. Patil Fairweather Bruce Kardon Stanley L. Sclove Clare M. Mahan Roy E. Heatwole Douglas A. Kenneth H. Falter Marvin J. Karson Penfield William Seltzer Sam Hedayat Henrick J. Malik Paul I. Feder Gordon M. Thomas J. Perrone Robert J. Serfling Ronald W. Helms Kaufman Charles R. Mann Manning Feinleib Robert L. Perry Babubhai V. Shah William J. F. DeWitt Kay Nancy R. Mann Stephen E. Hemmerle Roger C. Stanley H. Shapiro Fienberg C. D. Kemp Harry F. Martz Pfaffenberger William G. Shashi N. Sharma Alan B. Forsythe Henderson William J. Sati Mazumdar Walter Piesch Kennedy Lawrence A. Sherr Martin R. Frankel Jan H. Henriksson John I. McCool S.R.S. Rao Poduri Jon R. Kettenring Betty J. Skipper Ralph F. Neil W. Henry Edmund B. Ralph D. Pollard Frankowski Benjamin F. King McCue Armand V. Smith Jay Herson Thomas W. Edward L. Frome Elizabeth S. Robert L. Popham William Boyce John E. Hewett King-Sloan McKnight Smith Carol Holly E. S. James Press Fuchs Seiko Higa Michael H. Klein James M. Ronald D. Snee McPartland Alton J. Rahe A. Ronald Gallant Bruce Hoadley Gary G. Koch Daniel L. Solomon april 2011 amstat news 7 Edward J. Spar Douglas B. Tang George C. Tiao Chris P. Tsokos Ray A. Waller Robert L. Winkler

Douglas E. Elliot A. Tanis Lowell H. Robert K. James A. Walsh John J. Splitstone Tomlinson Tsutakawa Wiorkowski Judith M. Tanur William D. Warde Stephen M. Stigler James Tonascia Edward R. Tufte John E. Witcher Michael E. Tarter Steve Webb Bruce C. Straits Carlos E. Toro- Willem R. Van Janet Wittes James R. Vizcarrondo Zwet Bruce S. Weir D. Derk Swain Thompson Shelemyahu J. Richard Trout James R. Veale Herbert I. Zacks Paul Switzer William O. Weisberg Thompson Wen-Hung Tseng Joel I. Verter David L. Sylwester

40–44 Years

Abdelmonem Abdolrahman Gordon J. Samprit John R. Crigler Francois A. Dupuis 40–44 Years A. Afifi Azari Brackstone Chatterjee David S. Crosby Robert A. Agnew Robert S. Edwin L. Bradley Edwin H. Chen Benjamin S. Barcikowski Larry H. Crow Duran Alan Agresti Gary L. Brager Smiley W. Cheng Charles K. Bayne Jonathan D. Cryer Danny Dyer Per A. T. Akersten William M. Raj S. Chhikara Richard J. Brelsford Gary R. Cutter Robert G. Easterling Arthur E. Albert Beckman Joseph J. Chmiel Robert L. Brennan Gerard E. Dallal Donald H. Ebbeler Mir Masoom Ali James C. Beebe Lee-Jay Cho Dwight B. Brock James M. Brenda Kay Mukhtar M. Ali Mary S. Beersman Domenic V. Davenport Edwards Mark Brown Cicchetti J. Richard Kenneth N. Berk Kenneth W. Davis Janet D. Elashoff Alldredge Marshall N. William S. William R. Best Brunden Cleveland Robert L. Davis David Elesh David M. Allen Peter J. Bickel Maurice E. Bubb Jerry L. Coffey Enrique de Alba Roger Erickstad Stan Altan Lynne Billard John A. Burkart Guy M. Cohen Jose R. Deliz Milton C. Fan Alfred Jerry Anderson Christopher Kenneth P. Stanley H. Cohen Timothy A. Bingham Burnham DeRouen Robert E. Fay Robert L. Robert J. Condon Andrews David S. Birkes Patricia L. Busk Susan J. Devlin Walter Feibes Peter A. Cook W. Tad John A. Blessing William L. Carlson Jay L. Devore Alan H. Feiveson Archambault R. Dennis Cook Brent A. Steven T. Carrier Paula H. Diehr Alan C. Fisher Jesse C. Arnold Blumenstein Lewis Margaret D. Coopersmith W. Erwin Diewert Andrew J. Flatt Ersen Arseven Lennart Bodin Carroll Robert J. Costello Darryl J. Downing Jairus D. Flora James N. Arvesen Christine C. Boesz Raymond J. Carroll Louis J. Cote Michele Dramaix- Sandra Forman Orley Ashenfelter Aroona S. Wilmet Borpujari Walter H. Carter Bradford R. Crain James W. Frane Corwin L. Atwood Dennis A. DuBose Giles L. Crane 8 amstat news april 2011 Daniel H. William E. Griffiths Frank L. Hurley David C. Korts Ronald G. Marks Subhash C. Narula Freeman Joseph A. Huynh Huynh Neal Koss Robert L. Mason Charles R. Nelson Mark C. Fulcomer Guarnieri Dar-Shong Mary Grace Kovar Takashi Matsui Glenn L. Nelson Howard N. Richard F. Gunst Hwang

Fullerton Helena C. Clement J. Anna B. Nevius Years40–44 Shelby J. Ronald L. Iman Kraemer Maurath Mitchell H. Gail Haberman S. Edward Nevius William G. Jackson Joseph B. Kruskal George P. McCabe Edward J. Gainer Hermann David S. Newman Habermann Joan R. Jacobs Richard J. Kryscio Lyman L. Richard Gaines McDonald James A. Nickel Robert E. Hale David Jacobson Arabinda Kundu Daniel J. Gans J. Thomas Earl Nordbrock Robert E. Hall F. E. James Lynn Roy LaMotte McEwen Fernando L. Julia A. Norton Garagorry Silas Halperin Sreenivasa Rao Kenneth C. Land John D. McKenzie Jammalamadaka Marija J. Norusis John A. Gaudiosi Chien-Pai Han James M. Glen D. Meeden J. D. Jobson Landwehr Janet L. Norwood Gauri L. Ghai R. Choudary Jeff B. Meeker Hanumara Clifford L. Per Lange Paula K. Norwood P. D. Ghangurde Johnson James I. Mellon Lynne B. Hare Chang S. Lao Robert L. Glenn H. Dallas E. Johnson Gayle T. Meltesen Obenchain Gilbreath Galen F. Hart Kinley Larntz Richard A. William L. Peter C. O'Brien Edward J. Gilroy Larry D. Haugh Johnson William D. Lawing Mietlowski Jerry L. Oglesby Howard Seth Robert M. Hauser Paul K. Jones Jerald F. Lawless Satish Chandra Gitlow Misra Morris Olitsky Douglas M. Peter R. Jones Anthony James John R. Gleason Hawkins Lawrance Melvin L. Moeschberger Leonard John H. Oppenheimer T. F. Glover William F. Heiland Kalbfleisch Kenneth D. Robert Lawrence J. Keith Ord James H. Karl W. Heiner John D. Mondschein Godbold Kalbfleisch Russell V. Lenth Gordon H. Otto Robert W. Hertz Douglas C. Prem K. Goel Balvant K. Kale Montgomery Yves Lepage Albert C. Agnes M. Roderick Ovedovitz Judith D. Herzberg William D. Donald Lewin Goldberg Kalsbeek Montgomery Maurice E. B. Klaus Hinkelmann David L. Libby Owens Robert N. Howard S. Kaplon Billy J. Moore Goldman David V. Hinkley Robert F. Ling William J. Padgett Joseph D. Kasile David S. Moore Matthew David C. Hoaglin Robert G. Lovell Connie F. Page Goldstein Myron J. Katzoff John K. Moore Theodore R. George W. Lynch Darrel W. Parke J. Douglas Holford Thomas Keefe Effat A. Moussa Gordon James R. Maar Leonard J. Parsons Stephen C. Hora Ralph L. Kent Robb J. Muirhead Louis Gordon Bruce E. Mackey Harold C. Pasini David W. Hosmer David L. Kimble Henry D. Muse Bernard S. Gorman Edward R. Wayne L. Myers Jon K. Peck David C. Howell Robert Kinnison Mansfield Jack W. Green Jun-mo Nam Arthur V. Peterson Lawrence J. Roger E. Kirk Dennis R. Mar Hubert Jeffrey J. Green Krishnan Charles G. Pfeifer Robert C. Helen Marcus- William F. Hunt Kohberger Namboodiri David M. Grether Roberts Eswar G. Phadia

april 2011 amstat news 9 Louis A. Pingel Donald C. Ross Neil C. Jon J. Shuster Moon W. Suh George H. Wang Schwertman Forrest H. Pollard Dwight N. Rousu Moshe Sicron Michael James F. Ward Stuart Scott Sutherland Mike Pore Donald B. Rubin Robert L. Sielken James H. Ware Nell Sedransk Richard D. Terrell Stephen L. Barbara J. Jagbir Singh Larry S. Webber Portnoy Rutledge Subrata K. Sen Ronald A. Thisted Nozer D. Edward J. Ross L. Prentice Julia Sabella Jolayne W. Service Singpurwalla Carol B. Wegman Thompson Philip J. Press Susan T. Sacks Jayaram Walter Sloboda Lynn Weidman Sethuraman Steven F. Bertram Price John J. Salera Stephen C. Thomson Sanford Weisberg Charles E. Shaffer Smeach Philip C. Prorok Francisco J. Bruce W. Turnbull K. Laurence Samaniego Juliet Popper Dennis E. Smith Weldon David A. Pyne Shaffer Neil R. Ullman Douglas A. Mitchell Snyder James P. Whipple J. G. Ramage Samuelson Nagambal D. Gerald van Belle Shah F. Michael Speed Owen Whitby Calyampudi R. Patricia D. Joseph Van Den Rao Saunders Paul Shaman Randall K. Spoeri Reysen David A. Wise

40–44 Years Carol K. Redmond James J. Gary M. Shapiro M. K. Srirama Lonnie C. Vance Douglas A. Wolfe Schlesselman George F. Reed Michael W. Sherrill Muni S. Srivastava Wayne F. Velicer Robert F. Woolson Joyce A. Schlieter Benjamin Reiser Ronald E. Shiffler Michael R. Stoline Hrishikesh D. Gooloo S. Josef Schmee Vinod Wunderlich Louise C. Remer Iris M. Shimizu Robert L. Stout James Schmeidler R. Lakshmi Morty Yalovsky Vishnuvajjala John A. Rice James G. Shook Jerrell T. Stracener William R. Mark C. Yang Schucany Frederic A. Vogel Hans Riedwyl Albert P. Shulte William E. Strawderman Rita Zemach Eugene F. Robert H. Kenneth W. Richard D. Rippe Schuster Wachter Shumway Nariaki Sugiura Eric R. Ziegel Bernard Rosner Sylvan Wallenstein Stuart O. Zimmerman 35–39 Years

Dennis Aaron Frances J. Adox Bengtung Ben Saad T. Bakir Richard A. Becker Roger L. Berger Ang Julian Abbott Donald R. Akin Vincent P. Barabba Jay H. Beder Timothy M. Lawrence Bergquist Annable Robert D. Abbott Francis B. Alt William A. Barnett Steven Belle James S. Bergum Taka Ashikaga Sandra C. Abbott Dallas W. John L. Barone David R. Bellhouse Anderson Catherine S. Anthony C. Berkey John M. Abowd Michael P. Kerry G. Bemis Atkinson Keaven M. Battaglia Anderson Robert B. Bendel Jose Miguel Bovas Abraham Bernardo Agustin F. Ayuso Eileen J. Beachell Robert J. Jacqueline Lee R. Abramson Ernst R. Berndt Anderson Leroy Bailey Robert J. Beaver Benedetti

C. J. Adcock David J. Bernklau Sharon Anderson Stephen P. Baker Patricia C. Becker George Benson

10 amstat news april 2011 Bibhuti B. Kenneth R. W. William P. R. B. Deal Michael J. Evans Turkan K. Bhattacharyya Brewer Cleveland Gardenier Michael L. Deaton Ray E. Faith Wayne F. Bialas J. Michael Brick George W. Cobb Edward E. Gbur Pierre C. Delfiner David L. William T. Bielby Ron Brookmeyer Timothy C. Farnsworth Robin T. Geiger

Coburn David L. DeMets Years35–39 Paul P. Biemer Dean S. Bross Thomas B. Farver Alan E. Gelfand Steven B. Cohen Lorraine Denby Robert H. Bigelow Rocco L. Brunelle Alan Fask John F. Geweke James J. Wayne S. Desarbo Richard A. Bilonick Edward C. Bryant Colaianne Gerald M. Fava Dhirendra N. Thomas F. Devlin Ghosh David A. Binder Shirrell Buhler John R. Collins John P. Fazio Terry E. Dielman Malay Ghosh Stephen F. Richard K. Burdick Salvatore V. Ronald S. Fecso Colucci Bingham E. Jacquelin Dietz David E. A. Giles John M. Bushery Michael L. Giselle Binstok Loveday L. Feldstein Brenda Wilson Conquest David P. Doane Thomas J. Bzik Gillespie Jeffrey B. Birch Allan P. Donner Martin Feuerman Kennon R. Phyllis A. Gimotty Lawrence S. Copeland Herbert L. Bishop Cahoon Joseph R. David F. Findley Dennis R. Givens Margaret D. Donovan Thomas A. Bishop Patrick J. Cantwell Copenhaver Carl Thomas Janice L. Dubien Finkbeiner Beth C. Gladen Richard M. Thomas P. Capizzi Thomas W. Bittman Copenhaver Joseph W. Nicholas I. Fisher Marcia A. Grant D. Capps Duncan Glauberman Jan F. Bjornstad Charles D. Cowan Allen I. Fleishman Arthur Carpenter William D. Dupont Joseph Glaz Ernest A. Blaisdell Brenda G. Cox James W. George Casella Ann Durand Flewelling Frederick P. Glick Mark M. Anne P. Cross Blanchard Frank C. L. Marlin Eby Nancy Flournoy Fred Goettler Castronova Suzanne L. Cross Peter Bloomfield William F. Eddy Hans T. Forst Shirly A. Goetz Amrut M. John J. Crowley Harvey Blumberg Champaneri Marlene J. Egger Peter E. Fortini Huseyin A. Goksel Kenny S. Crump Dan C. Boger John P. Chandler Kathleen Louise Mary A. Foulkes Richard F. Goldstein Andrew Joseph Emery Robert J. Boik Judith-Anne W. Cucchiara Janet F. Fowler Chapman Wil B. Emmert Joe Fred Gonzalez James A. William G. John D. Fox Bolognese Yogendra P. Cumberland Curtis S. James H. Chaubey Engelhard Leroy A. Franklin Goodnight James T. Bonnen L. Adrienne Gina G. Chen Cupples Richard M. Martin D. Fraser Robert D. Gordon Dennis Boos Engeman Michael R. Robert D. Curley Carol L. French Jerren Gould Marie V. Bousfield Chernick Kurt Enslein Lester R. Curtin David Frontz Stephanie J. John E. Boyer Robert D. Chew Thomas W. Epps Green Andrew I. Dale David S. Fryd Norman M. Nanjamma Samuel M. Timothy A. Green Chinnappa Bradburn Prithwis Dasgupta Epstein Barbara A. Gabianelli William H. Greene Ann Cohen Joan Sander William H. Epstein Chmiel William W. Davis Brandwein Stephen J. Joel B. Greenhouse Roberta W. Day Eugene P. Ericksen Ganocy Ellen F. Brewer Jai Won Choi John Vic Grice Forest C. Deal James W. Evans Roan A. Garcia- Adam Chu Quintana april 2011 amstat news 11 Susan Groshen James L. Hess David Jaspen Albert Kingman Nicolaas F. Roger Laubscher Longbotham Cynthia R. Gross Eugene R. Jean G. Jenkins Ignatius A. Heyman Kinsella Philip T. Lavin Michael T. Marvin H. J. Linda W. Jennings Longnecker Gruber James J. Higgins Nancy J. Sheila M. Robert W. Kirkendall Lawrence Thomas A. Louis Leslie S. Grunes Robert Hill Jernigan Syed N.U.A. Johannes Milton W. Loyer Victor M. Guerrero Steven C. Hillmer Bruce E. Johnson Kirmani Ledolter Jay H. Lubin Farrokh Guiahi Susan M. Hinkins Paulette M. Rudolf G. Kittlitz Clifford J. Lee Johnson Dennis W. Luckey Perry D. Haaland Jerry L. Hintze Beat Kleiner Kelvin K. Lee Gerald A. Donald M. Luery Timothy O. Haifley Raymond G. Joireman Richard E. Kerry L. Lee Hoffmann Kleinknecht James Lynch David B. Hall Ian T. Jolliffe Martin L. Lee Thomas P. Hogan Stuart A. Klugman John MacIntyre James L. Hall David C. Jordan James D. Leeper Robert M. Holmes Ralph L. Kodell Michael E. Mack Nancy R. Hall Harmon S. Jordan Stanley A. Alan Hopkins Kenneth J. Lemeshow Kathleen S. Koehler David C. Hamilton Henry D. Kahn Madsen

35–39 Years Berne Martin Ramon V. Leon Kenneth J. Janet M. Hanley Howard Lee D. Kaiser Jay Magidson Kopecky Heryee H. Leong Ina P. Howell Paul B. Kantor Linda C. Malone Robert C. Edward L. Korn Hannum James M. Louis Hsu Theodore G. Lepkowski Eric J. Mandel Kenneth J. Koury James N. Hansen Karrison Elizabeth T. Trudy J. Lerer Charles F. Manski Huang Daniel Kasprzyk Ioannis A. C. David Hardison Koutrouvelis Martin L. Lesser Agustin Maravall Lee Huang Masatoshi William V. Harper Andrew Kramar Katsuhara Marcia J. Kanti V. Mardia Marla L. Levenstein Frank E. Harrell Abba M. Krieger Huddleston Richard W. Katz Michael J. Bruce Levin Stephen P. Harris Margreta Mark L. Hudes Robert M. Katz S. David Kriska Charles Lewis Diane S. Harry Mary A. Marion Mohammad F. Roswitha E. Kelly Pieter M. Huque Kroonenberg Frederick W. Kenneth R. Ray L. Marr Sheryl F. Kelsey Leysieffer Hartmann Robert Kushler David N. Ikle Donald L. Marx James L. Kenkel Shou-Hua Li Robert E. Alan H. Kvanli Hausman Duane M. Ilstrup Paula E. Mason James R. Kenyon Walter S. Liggett John M. Lachin Maurine A. Haver John M. Irvine Frances J. Mather James L. Kepner Lawrence I-Kuei James R. Lackritz Lin Ronald W. Alan J. Izenman Victor M. Hawkinson Andre I. Khuri Matthews Kirk A. Jackson Nan Laird Carol L. Link Richard M. Ruth Ann Killion LeRoy T. Mattson Heiberger William E. Jackson Mansum A. Lam Robert E. Little Charles L. Timothy A. Max Lance K. Heilbrun Eva E. Jacobs Kincannon Carol J. Lancaster George A. Livingston Margaret W. Harold V. Peter J. Jacobs Donald W. King Patricia Maxfield Henderson Langenberg Greta M. Ljung Michael A. Roland E. King Scott E. Maxwell Ellen Hertzmark Jacroux Wallace E. Nancy C. Lo Larimore Terry L. King Michael J. Mazu Thomas Herzog Raj K. Jain 12 amstat news april 2011 Janet E. Lawrence H. J. Burdeane Orris Dale J. Poirier John E. Rolph David A. McDougall Muhlbaier Schoenfeld Joyce Orsini William E. Pollard Paul R. Stephen A. Leigh W. Murray Rosenbaum Timothy L. McGuire Melvin L. Ott Jessica Pollner Schofield John C. Nash James L.

Joseph W. Willis L. Owen Darwin H. Poritz Rosenberger Friedrich W. Years35–39 McKean Elliott Nebenzahl Scholz David J. Pack Frank J. Potter N. Phillip Ross Geoffrey J. Reinhard Neck John H. McLachlan Schuenemeyer Mari Palta Randall W. Potter Roch Roy John T. Neely Christine E. Lawrence V. Donald J. McLaren William S. Pan Manfred Precht Schuirmann Gary L. Neidert Rubinstein Don L. McLeish Arthur C. Dale L. Preston Alastair J. Scott James W. Neill Papacostas Estelle Russek- Cohen Ronald E. Kevin Price Thomas A. Paul I. Nelson Swamy A.V.B. McRoberts Carl T. Russell Scripps Paravastu Lloyd P. Provost Margaret A. William Q. Meeker Thomas P. Ryan William L. Seaver Nemeth Sung H. Park Peter Purdue Robert J. Meier Michael S. Jeanne L. Robert L. Won J. Park John N. Quiring Sebaugh Newcomb Saccucci Kathleen A. Mellars William C. Parr Tony K. S. Quon Joseph Sedransk H. Joseph Thomas W. Sager Newton Rudolph S. Parrish Roy Mendelssohn Alfred W. John P. Sall Teddy I. Rademaker Seidenfeld Kai Wang Ng Van L. Parsons Ulrich William M. Sallas Menzefricke Damaraju Thomas R. Sexton Thomas W. Nolan Jeffrey S. Passel Raghavarao Allan R. Sampson Michael M. Meyer Glenn R. Shafer El-Sayed E. Nour Jagdish K. Patel Volker W. Rahlfs Ester Samuel- Terry G. Meyer Cahn Arvind K. Shah Thomas S. Charles L. Paule Philip H. Ramsey Nunnikhoven Joel E. Michalek Gilles F. M. Santini Mohammed A. Karl E. Peace Rose M. Ray Shayib Barry D. Richard O. Nussbaum Thomas J. Santner Michaud N. Shirlene William J. Raynor Shingo Shirahata Pearson David Oakes Robert L. Santos Mary-Jane Susan L. Reiland Patrick E. Shrout Mietlowski Raymond C. Peck Kevin F. O'Brien Nathan E. Savin Mark R. Reiser Andrew F. Siegel John A. Miller Peter H. Peskun Ralph G. O'Brien Richard L. Sawyer Kenneth J. Resser Richard S. Sigman Katherine L. Monti A. John Petkau Michael W. William G. Saylor O'Donnell Mark William Judith D. Singer Thomas F. Moore Maurice Riggs Pfannestiel Patricia A. Scanlan Judith Rich Robert D. Small George E. Morgan William C. O'Fallon Stephen Schacht Daniel Rinaman Robert K. Smidt David R. Pfeffermann Walter W. Offen Nancy K. Schatz Morganstein Paula K. Roberson Murray H. Smith Charles B. Pheatt Douglas M. Kenneth Max D. Morris Okamoto Rosemary A. Patricia L. Smith Philip J. Pichotta Roberts Schechtman Norman Morse Patrick D. O'Meara Perry A. Scheinok William A. Linda Williams Frank W. Rockhold Sollecito Michael L. Mout Pickle Bernard V. O'Neill Mildred E. Robert N. Dan J. Sommers Joseph G. Pigeon Rodriguez Schmidt Barbara G. Terence John Mroczkowski O'Neill Frank C. Sonsini Brian D. Plikaytis Russell H. John D. Schmitz Roegner april 2011 amstat news 13 Keith A. Soper Michael M. Strand Richard B. Tiller Kerstin Vannman Daniel L. Weiner

John David Donna F. Stroup Ronald R. Titus Stephen B. Jon August Sparkes Vardeman Wellner Walter W. Stroup Jerome D. Terence P. Speed Toporek Denton R. Roy E. Welsch Perla Subbaiah Vaughan Bruce D. Spencer Lynn D. Torbeck Fredrick S. Whaley James P. Summe Niels H. Clifford H. Robert D. Tortora Veldhuijzen Robert M. Spiegelman Richard A. Wharton Sundheim David C. Trindade Joseph S. Nancy L. Spruill Verducci Andrew A. White Robert Ishwari D. Tripathi Donald M. Sutherland Hajime Wago Roy W. Whitmore Stablein J.R. Roger Trudel David A. Swanson Joel A. Waksman Howard L. Wiener William M. Stanish L. Claire Tsao Gerald R. Swope Esteban Walker Rand R. Wilcox Richard M. Stanley Kam-Wah Tsui Richard J. Joseph J. Walker Leland Wilkinson Bert Steece Sylvester James P. Tuck Katherine K. Andrew R. Willan Wallman J. Michael Steele Prem P. Talwar Alan R. Tupek

35–39 Years Jean F. Williams Chao Wang Lynda K. Steele Ajit C. Tamhane David L. Turner Stephen R. David W. Stewart Robert M. Tardiff Sophronia W. Williams Gregory W. Ulferts Ward Gerald R. Stewart Erica S. Taucher William J. Wilson Richard F. Ulrich Herbert W. Ware John A. Stewart Marcia A. Testa Michael A. Wincek Jessica M. Utts John Warren

Robert A. Stine A. Cole Thies Pamela M. Vacek Lawrence C. Stanley Wolfe Wasserman Sandra S. Stinnett John M. Thomas Hernando Kirk M. Wolter Valencia William L. Weber Anne M. Stoddard John H. Thompson Michael G. Richard L. Valliant William E. Wecker Michael A. Stoto Yochmowitz Mary E. George H. Van Thomas E. Wehrly Miron L. Straf Thompson Amburg Sarah T. Young William W. S. Wei Robert F. Strahan Theodore J. Richard Craig Van James R. Thompson Nostrand zumBrunnen

14 amstat news april 2011 Applying for Accreditation: It All Starts with Intent

ow that the ASA’s accreditation program is up and running, perhaps you are giving some thought to applying. Applications Nfor accreditation are handled entirely online. First, go to www.amstat.org/accreditation and review the guidelines to be sure of your eligibility. You’ll find a button leading to the guidelines on the left side of the screen. Second, click on the “intent to apply” button • A list of your professional development activi- (www.amstat.org/accreditation/intenttoapply.cfm) to ties in the last three years fill out a short form. The purpose of this form is • Contact information for two referees. These are to notify the ASA of your interest. Filling out the two people who will provide references for you. form creates no obligation on your part, but it does trigger a process that leads to an email from the ASA The online application form provides detailed inviting you to apply. information about what is expected for each of When you receive this email, log in to ASA these components. Members Only at www.amstat.org/membersonly. On Once your application is submitted, your refer- the left side of the screen, you’ll see the PStat but- ees will be notified and pointed to an online refer- ton. When you click on it, your online application ence form. When the ASA receives these references, will open. your application will be sent to three members of Your application should be a thoughtfully assem- the accreditation committee for review. bled document that makes clear to the accredita- Approval is by the committee’s “rule of three”; tion committee that you meet the requirements for it takes three affirmative votes to grant accredita- accreditation. To guide you, your online application tion and three negative votes to deny it. If the ini- consists of the following components: tial review team has a split vote, then your applica- tion will be reviewed by two additional committee • Contact information. This is filled in for you members who are unaware of the initial vote. At based on your record in the ASA database, but that point, there will be at least three votes to either you may update the information for your appli- approve or deny. Votes of 3-2 will be, in certain cation. It will be updated in your ASA record, cases, subject to further discussion by the accredita- as well. tion committee. • A cover letter (uploaded as a PDF file). This In most cases, applicants will receive notifica- letter summarizes and clarifies the materials sub- tion of the committee’s decision within two to four mitted in the application and helps make clear weeks. In the case of a negative decision, applicants to the accreditation committee why you meet will receive guidance for improving their applica- the criteria for accreditation. tion and qualifications prior to reapplying. Again, filling out the intent-to-apply form and • A résumé or CV (uploaded as a PDF file) starting an application does not obligate you to • A list of degrees earned and statistics cours- ultimately submit an application; however, get- es taken ting started on an application opens up a wealth of information to help you apply. • A detailed list of relevant experience as a prac- If you have questions about the accredita- ticing statistician tion process, drop a note to Ron Wasserstein, ASA executive director, at [email protected] or Iain • Up to five examples of work product (uploaded Johnstone, accreditation committee chair, at imj@ as a PDF file) stanford.edu. n

april 2011 amstat news 15 Statisticians Participate in Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill

ive members of the ASA’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change Policy Fjoined 30 scientists from other dis- ciplines to participate in the first Climate Science Day (CSD) on February 17. Sponsored by the ASA, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, and others, the scientists formed multidisci- plinary teams to meet with mem- bers of Congress or their staffs about climate science and offer their help in answering questions relating to climate science. Targeting freshman offices, Murali Haran with Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Penn State the teams visited nearly 100 and colleague Patrick Drohan, a professor of pedology emphasized potential regional effects of climate change. They speak directly to agronomy and also shared the executive sum- 18 science organization heads— soil science issues.” maries of the 2009 U.S. Global including 2009 ASA President Peter Craigmile comment- Change Research Program Sally Morton—stating a shared ed, “It was interesting to learn report, Global Climate Change common view that climate about the interactions between Impacts in the United States, and change is occurring and green- policy and science, but I the 2010 National Academies’ house gases emitted by human think the bigger message that report Advancing the Science, as activities are the primary driver. I brought home was that new well as a 2009 letter signed by To help prepare for the day of visits, participants attended member offices were receptive “Congress 101,” a day of sessions to us as sources of climate sci- teaching CSD objectives and how ence information.” to have a successful Hill visit and Based on feedback from the It was interesting to learn about communicate on climate change. offices visited, the scientists There was also a panel with involved, and the society staff, four Congressional Committee the groups have agreed to start the interactions between policy staffers and a Republican and planning for 2012 Climate Democrat from both the House Science Day. The society staffs and science, but I think the bigger and Senate. also are discussing how to sup- Three of the ASA’s participants, port the goals of Climate Science who were teamed with crop/soils Day through other activities. message that I brought home scientists and geoscientists, had Other ASA participants were positive comments about CSD Mark Berliner of The Ohio State was that new member offices and their reception. Murali Haran University, Leonard Smith of the of Penn State said, “By having our London School of Economics, were receptive to us as sources of focus be on local concerns at the and Richard Smith of The start, we helped make the staffers University of North Carolina/ much more receptive to what we SAMSI. Additionally, the ASA climate science information. had to say about climate science Section on Statistics and the later on. It also really helped to Environment helped support the have someone with me who could ASA’s involvement. n

16 amstat news april 2011 Davidian to Give Keynote at Women’s Symposium Kim Weems, North Carolina State University

arie Davidian, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Statistics and direc- torM of the Center for Quantitative Sciences in Biomedicine at North Carolina State University, will deliver the keynote address at the Join the North Carolina Symposium for Women in Mathematics and Conversation Statistics, to be held at NC State on April 16. Her talk will focus on a variety of applications that It is now easier than ever to require combining mathematical become engaged in the ASA and statistical modeling. Davidian and its members through In addition to the keynote, social media. there will be 20-minute contrib- opportunity for graduate stu- uted talks and small group dis- dents to present their research in cussions. Graduate students are a relaxed, friendly, and supportive especially encouraged to present environment. ASA Community— their work, and expository talks The symposium is being orga- Join this online setting describing a problem of interest nized by the North Carolina for ASA members also are welcome. Enhancing Diversity in Graduate to communicate, The goals of the symposium Education (EDGE) Mentoring collaborate, and share. are to build a network of female Network in collaboration with mathematicians and statisti- NC State. For more information, Twitter—Follow cians in North Carolina to fos- contact Kim Weems at kim_ Amstat News on Twitter ter mentoring and collaborative [email protected]. n @AmstatNews and relationships and to provide an keep up to date on the profession.

Facebook—Check out the ASA’s page on Papers Sought for FCSM Facebook to keep up with the latest deadlines, Research Conference news, and activities and to share your tips he Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology is planning and comments with a research conference—to be held at the Washington colleagues worldwide. Convention Center, Washington, DC, from January 10–12, T2012—and abstracts are being accepted. The conference will feature mostly contributed papers with for- mal discussion and software demonstrations on topics related to Engage your fellow statisticians and a variety of statistical research issues. Papers and demonstrations enhance your mind, education, and should address methodology, empirical studies, relevant issues, or career at www.amstat.org. needs for statistical research. Papers must be original and not previ- ously published or disseminated. The deadline for abstract submission (300 or fewer words) is May 6. Visit www.fcsm.gov/events for a list of possible topics and abstract tem- plate, and then submit your abstract via email to [email protected]. n

april 2011 amstat news 17 AprilMathematics 2011 Awareness Month Celebrate Mathematics by Unraveling Complex Systems

ow do epidemics spread, the theme “Unraveling Complex birds flock, and stock mar- Systems” to highlight the role math- kets operate? Answers to ematics plays in them. Hthese and many other such questions Understanding complex sys- fall within the realm of mathematics. tems can help people manage and From natural entities such as liv- improve the reliability of such criti- ing cells, insect colonies, and whole cal infrastructures of everyday life, ecosystems to man-made inven- as well as allow them to interpret, tions like power grids, transporta- enhance, and better interact with tion networks, and the World Wide natural systems. Mathematical mod- Web, one sees complex systems els can delineate interactions among everywhere. Deciphering the math- components of these systems, ana- ematics behind such systems can lyze their spontaneous and emergent unravel well-structured networks behaviors, and help prevent undesir- and discernible patterns in natural able developments while enhancing and artificial structures. That is the desirable traits during their adapta- idea behind Mathematics Awareness tion and evolution. 2011 Mathematics Awareness Month Month this April. To download a free poster and poster; download at www.mathaware.org In an effort to improve the under- view activities and resources, visit standing of such systems, the Joint www.mathaware.org. n Policy Board of Mathematics chose

april 2011 amstat news 19 Statisticians Evaluate Program-Ranking Methods Ron Wasserstein, ASA Executive Director

ssessing the quality of aca- assessments seems to be satisfac- determined that at least the fol- demic programs has tory.” According to Fisher, some lowing five elements are worthy become an increasingly of the limitations derived from of note: importantA issue. Such assessments failure to be specific about the Creativity in discovery. An can have major impact on choice diverse quality requirements of effective academic institution fos- of graduate program, careers of different target audiences, which ters an environment in which the individual researchers, funding meant there was no sound basis creative component of discovery opportunities, and strategic deci- for identifying suitable indica- is enhanced. sions. University administrators, tors of the quality of graduate Quality versus productivity. politicians, and thought leaders are programs. He thinks bringing Quantitative approaches for rank- looking for ways to assess the qual- statistical ideas and methods to ing departments or programs rely ity of programs out of concern for bear on these issues could lead to largely on measures of productivity cost and societal return on invest- greatly improved assessments. because they are readily available ment for higher education. With this in mind, the ASA and less susceptible to the criticism However, as Nick Fisher, a conducted a two-day workshop, of subjectivity. But the quality of statistician who specializes in funded through the ASA’s Member departments and programs is more performance measurement for Initiative Program, during which inherently qualitative. enterprises and programs, noted, Fisher and 16 others evaluated Impact of measurement on “None of the existing methodol- methodologies and developed an behavior. Setting productiv- ogies developed to carry out these agenda for further research. They ity targets, rather than continually improving the workplace, may well be counterproductive. There is evi- dence that this also may be true for graduate programs. University goals sharply differ from corporate goals. There is a tendency for many to view univer- sities as corporations and to assess a university’s quality and effective- ness as they would that of a cor- poration. However, insisting on the narrow corporate model risks diminishing the intellectual envi- ronment that nurtures creativity and discovery. Transparency is better than rankings. The “inputs” and “out- puts” of academic institutions and programs should be publicly available. However, transparency should be moderate, lest it stifle frank discussion. Workshop participants evaluat- ed a number of methodologies for ranking graduate programs and developed an agenda for further research. To read the entire work- shop report, visit www.amstat.org/ misc/AQGPworkshop.pdf. n

20 amstat news april 2011 Meet James Lynch, Director of BJS

mstat News invited new Bureau of Justice Statistics Director James Lynch to respond to the following questions so readers could learn more about him and the agency he directs. Look for more interviews with Anew statistical agency heads in forthcoming issues.

corner of the justice system are using automated data BJS Fast Facts and the exchange of these data to improve service. The federal government has spent a great deal of money BJS is part of the Department of improving these operational systems and we should Justice Programs explore their ability to be used for statistical purposes. Exploiting these data poses a number of logistical, sta- Website: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov tistical, policy, and legal challenges that we are working through with pilot programs. Fiscal year 2010 budget: $69 million How can the statistical community help you? Staff size: 60 The statistical community includes a number of groups with different interests and abilities. It is easier for me to respond to this question if I can focus on What about this position appeals to you? specific entities in this broader community, such as the Inter-Agency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) and I have worked with crime statistics for more than the American Statistical Association (ASA), represent- 30 years. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is the ed by the Committee on Law and Justice Statistics. principal source of statistical data on crime and crimi- The ICSP brings together the family of federal nal justice matters in the United States, so being the statistical agencies that have a unique perspective on director gives me a chance to implement many of the the federal statistical system, while the Committee on changes and improvements in these statistics that I Law and Justice Statistics includes a much broader (and others) have advocated for many years. It also group sharing a general set of skills and knowledge. gives me the opportunity to work with some very The ICSP has become, for me, a helpful group in committed and talented colleagues within the agency. sharing approaches to common problems, includ- ing strategies for preserving independence, recruiting James P. Lynch was con- Describe the top two or three priorities you have for the firmed as the director Bureau of Justice Statistics. staff, vetting statistical products, and routinely com- of the Bureau of Justice municating with constituencies and consumers. This Statistics by the Senate The biggest challenges for BJS involve building statis- kind of cooperation could blossom into more ambi- in June 2010. Lynch is tical infrastructure, including systems to describe those on leave from John Jay tious commonwealth efforts such as pooling resources parts of the criminal justice system not well covered College in New York, to get the assistance of world-class statisticians that no where he is a distin- and improving the quality of existing data series. More single agency could sustain in terms of worth prob- guished professor. He specifically, I am committed to restoring the National earned his PhD in sociol- lems and money. Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to its former ogy from The University The Committee on Law and Justice Statistics can of Chicago and has levels of precision and quality and to getting more provide advice to the agency on a number of statistical published three books, 25 useful information out of it on a routine basis. I also refereed articles, and more issues, including the following: am committed to exploring ways to change the design than 40 book chapters Disclosure policies for micro data and other publications. and organization of the survey to produce more useful Lynch also has chaired estimates for subnational areas such as states and large Assessing the relative merits of general variance the American Statistical cities, improving the quality of estimates of sexual vio- Association’s Committee formula estimates of standard errors versus those on Law and Justice lence, and getting better estimates of crime for juve- from direct estimates using empirical variance esti- Statistics. niles. These goals all involve research and development mation procedures work that is under way. Beyond the NCVS, I am eager to take advantage Balancing the reporting obligations of a federal of the increase in the quality of operational and admin- statistical agencies with the confidentiality rights of istrative records in the criminal justice system to give agencies supplying administrative record data us better data on offenses known to the police, arrest information, and recidivism. Line agencies in every Approaches to imputation: when is imputation appropriate, inappropriate, and essential

april 2011 amstat news 21 Advantages and disadvantages of different the direct estimates work will be available in the next approaches to subnational estimation with the month or two. NCVS The NCVS has long been criticized for its measure- ment of rape and sexual assault. Substantial improve- Estimating standard errors for multi-year aggrega- ments were made in this area in 1992, but alternative tions of the NCVS for both rate estimation and methodologies have been used since that time that pro- multivariate modeling vide very different estimates of the level and change in Methods for assessing data quality, scope of cover- level of these crimes. These conflicting estimates raise age, and record linkage in using administrative damaging doubts about self-report surveys of victim- records and addressing the consent and disclosure ization. We must confront these difficult measurement issues resulting from the linkage of administrative issues and determine the optimum set of procedures records with survey data for measuring sexual violence and whether the NCVS can be altered to accommodate those procedures or The budget for BJS was increased by nearly a third a different vehicle is required. We are negotiating an in fiscal year 2010 to improve the National Crime agreement with CNSTAT to begin this process. Victimization Survey (NCVS). Please describe the The measurement of juvenile victimization is com- progress to improve NCVS and what remains to be done. plicated by a parallel set of methodological issues, and we must decide if the NCVS is the appropriate vehicle The increased budget for the NCVS was divided for addressing this population and, if so, what changes into two components—funds for restoring the to the design are required. core survey and funds for redesigning the survey to enhance its utility. The CNSTAT panel was not Describe your interactions with other components of the critical of the basic design of the NCVS, but they U.S. Department of Justice and the role of BJS within the focused on ways to accommodate the flat funding department. of BJS and the survey. Some of these accommo- Part of BJS’ role in DOJ is the same as its role with dations had large negative consequences for the respect to the public: to provide routinely high- quality of the survey data. With additional funding quality statistics on crime and the criminal justice for the core, exploration of these accommodations at the federal, state, and local levels. Increasingly, was given less priority and efforts were directed at however, various components of the department restoring the sample size and quality controls that have come to rely on BJS for all things statistical were gradually, but substantially, eroded over the and ask for statistical analysis in support of their last two decades. mission. While we try to service these requests with The first increment in sample was introduced this existing reports, they often result in special analyses past October, and the first interviewer training will be of available statistical series. This kind of respon- conducted in April. Another increment in sample will siveness is important for establishing the relevance be introduced in January. of statistics, but it also can detract from the main- Restoring the survey is complicated by the need tenance of statistical infrastructure and the produc- to avoid another break in series for the victimization tion of routine reports. statistics as occurred in 2007, when changes to the sur- With John Laub as director of the National Institute vey were introduced without a plan for understand- of Justice (NIJ) (the research arm of the DOJ), we are ing their effects on victimization rates. All the actions looking for ways that BJS and NIJ can work togeth- taken to restore the NCVS must be done in a manner er more closely. We are considering ways of sharing that lets us understand and take account of effects on information at an early point in the planning and the statistical series. budget process to determine how our programs can Efforts to redesign the survey to enhance its util- inform each other. In planning its research agenda, for ity are focused on three major areas—improving example, NIJ may be able to use routinely collected subnational estimates of victimization, measurement data from BJS to determine if a specific solicitation is of sexual violence, and the victimization of juveniles, necessary or whether the assumptions on which the including those under 12. In 2010, we began to assess research program is based are accurate. In turn, many alternative strategies for providing routine estimates of the measurement issues of concern to BJS can be for states and large cities. These alternatives include informed by some of the research funded by NIJ. direct estimation with the current sample and with Both John and I look forward to making these and enhanced and reallocated samples; indirect estimates, other exchanges more formal and systematic. n including blended estimates from low-cost boosts to the current sample; and using low-cost options for Editor's Note: The entire interview can be viewed free-standing local surveys. The initial results from online at http://magazine.amstat.org.

22 amstat news april 2011 Administration Affirms Role of Data- Driven Decisionmaking with FY12 Budget Requests Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy

FY11 FY12 n President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 (FY12) Agency (amounts in millions of $) FY10 Request Request budget request, released on February 14, the Bureau of Economic Analysis 97.3 113 113 federal statistical agencies’ budgets generally seeI the increases requested for FY11 request post- Bureau of Justice Statistics 69 70 66 poned a year. Acknowledging the atmosphere of Bureau of Labor Statistics 611 645 647 fiscal restraint and the uncertainty around the still Bureau of Transportation Statistics 27 30 35 unresolved FY11 budget, the administration Economic Research Service 82 87 86 largely affirms its belief in the value of the federal statistical system through the FY12 request. Energy Information Administration 111 129 124 As the table to the right illustrates, the National Agricultural Statistics Service 162 165 165

National Center for Health Statistics, Energy National Center for Education Statistics 264 279 279 Information Administration (EIA), and Bureau of Economic Analysis still see the large increases National Center for Health Statistics 139 162 162 requested for FY11 (over FY10) in the FY12 Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, SSA 28 32 35 request, although EIA’s requested increase is Statistics of Income Division, IRS 43 44 44 more modest. The small increases requested in FY11 for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau 7225 1267 1025 Economic Research Service, and National Center for Education Statistics also are mostly left intact in the FY12 request. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and Social Security Administration’s Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (ORES) both see larger requested increases in the FY12 request. With its 30% requested increase, BTS would establish a safety data analysis program to “cen- tralize, standardize, and address gaps in safety data” across all transportation modes. It also would expand the sample for the Commodity Flow Survey and conduct the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey—last conducted in 2002—on the physical and operating characteristics of trucks on the nation’s roads. With its 25% requested increase, ORES would “expand disability research by creating a disability research consortium and commissioning expert studies on critical program design issues.” The main exceptions to the trends above are the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The Census Bureau’s FY12 request is $1.025 billion, down from the $1.267 billion request for FY11, largely because of the continued wrap-up of the 2010 decennial census. The FY12 request con- tinues the FY11 request plans to increase the sample size of the American Community Survey and con- tinue developing the supplemental statistical pover- ty measure. Other major programs seeing increases april 2011 amstat news 23 The BJS budget request is $3 million below the FY10 level and $4 million below the FY11 The Bureau of Transportation Statistics request, but still substantially above the FY09 level in order to continue revitalizing the National Crime (BTS) and Social Security Administration’s Victimization Survey. It’s essential for the statistical community to communicate the importance of the statisti- Office of Research, Evaluation, and cal agencies to Congress. The following excerpt from the opening paragraph of the Strengthening Statistics (ORES) both see larger requested Federal Statistics chapter of the FY12 Analytical Perspectives says it well:

increases in the FY12 request. The ability of governments, businesses, and the general public to make appropriate decisions about budgets, employment, investments, taxes, and a host of other important matters depends critically on the ready availability of relevant, accurate, and timely federal statistics.

in the FY12 request include the 2012 Economic For sources of request levels and further infor- Census, planning for the 2020 decennial census, mation, see the blog post “FY12 Statistical Agency and enhancing the statistical agencies’ ability to use Budget Requests” at http://community.amstat.org/ administrative records. amstat/amstat/blogs. n

24 amstat news april 2011 columns

Funding Opportunities FY 2012 Federal Budget Request

Keith Crank, ASA Research and Graduate Education Manager

resident Obama submitted his fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget to Congress on PFebruary 14, outlining his priori- ties and beginning the public debate about how much money the government should spend and on what it should be spent. When you read this, the FY 2012 budget should be the only one under consideration, though, as I write this, the FY 2011 bud- get has not been completed. The federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) at the level of the FY 2010 appropriations. That CR is set to expire on March 4, at which time Congress will probably pass another two-week CR before completing the 2011 appropria- tions. This makes it impossible to identify the year-to-year change essentially no change from FY being requested 2011. (Defense-related discre- Currently, there are (at least) tionary spending is $0.7 trillion, three levels for FY 2011 that which is a 5.0% decrease over could be used for comparison: the FY 2011 request.) the FY 2011 request to Congress, While these overall numbers the FY 2010 appropriations (the may be of interest to a few of current CR level), and the cur- you, I would like to focus on the rent proposal being debated by budgets for the National Science the House of Representatives. Foundation (NSF), its Division The total request for FY 2012 of Mathematical Sciences For NSF, the FY 2012 is $3.7 trillion, compared to an (DMS), and the National request is $7.8 billion, which estimated $3.8 trillion for FY Institutes of Health (NIH), since is a 13% increase over the FY 2011. Of this $3.7 trillion, $0.5 these are the places from which 2010 appropriations of $6.9 trillion is nondefense, discre- most of the federal money for billion. When compared to the tionary spending. The FY 2012 academic statisticians and bio- FY 2011 request of $7.4 billion, request for this category reflects statisticians comes. it represents a 4.6% increase,

april 2011 amstat news 25 columns

In FY 2011, DMS planned to reduce its education funding by about $2 million. For FY 2012, an additional $5.5 million will be moved to the research and related activities side of the budget. DMS will no longer provide funding for IGERT, interdisciplinary training for undergraduates in biological and mathematical sciences, or the graduate research fellow- ships. Overall, the budget for the core research activities in the division is expected to increase by more than $26.5 million, or and when compared to the $6.6 over the FY 2010 appropriations about 12.4%, when compared billion currently being con- (a 1.6% increase over the FY to FY 2010. sidered by the House, it repre- 2011 request). This is also not Details about the NSF sents an 18.3% increase. This spread evenly, and DMS would budget request can be found increase is not spread evenly receive a 7.9% increase over FY at www.nsf.gov/about/budget/ over the various directorates; 2010 (a 2.9% increase over the fy2012/index.jsp. the Mathematical and Physical FY 2011 request). As with NSF, the president’s Sciences Directorate (MPS) DMS is continuing to scale budget includes an increase for would only see a 6.0% increase back its educational activities. NIH, albeit a more modest 2.4% increase over the FY 2010 appropriations (and a 1.0% decrease from the FY 2011 request). It’s impossible to tell 2011 ASA Quality and Productivity how much is spent on statis- tics and biostatistics, but we’ve Research Conference been making a strong effort to emphasize the importance of our discipline to the NIH The conference will be held at the Hotel Roanoke and research activities over the past Conference Center, in Roanoke, VA from June 8-10, 2011. 18 months. The NIH budget request is At the conference, Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey, Dean of the Col- at http://officeofbudget.od.nih. gov/br.html. lege of Textiles at North Carolina State University, will be It’s a long way from the pres- honored for his many contributions in the fi elds of quality ident’s budget request to the management and business statistics, and for service to the congressional appropriations, statistical community. and it will be many months before we see what happens this year. Hopefully, it will not Short Course on June 7, 2011: The conference will also take as long as the FY 2011 has feature a short course on Statistical Engineering taught by taken, but with different par- Dr. Ronald D. Snee and Dr. Roger W. Hoerl. ties controlling the House of Representatives and the Senate, Check the conference web site at http://www.qprc2011.org/ it is difficult to predict. To contact me, send an email for additional information on the conference program, to [email protected]. Questions student scholarships, registration, and accommodations. or comments about this article, as well as suggestions for future articles, are always welcome. n

26 amstat news april 2011 columns

SCIENCE POLICY Measuring Innovation: Better Data to Help Design Policies to Revive Economic Growth Dale Jorgenson, Harvard University

I’m honored to have Dale Jorgenson as this month’s guest columnist. A Fellow of the ASA since 1965 and the recipient of the 2010 Julius Shiskin Memorial Award for Economic Statistics, Jorgenson discusses the components of economic growth in the context of furthering the U.S. economic recovery. ~ Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy

he great preponderance of economic growth in the United States involves Tthe replication of existing tech- nologies through investment in equipment and software and expansion of the skilled labor force. Replication generates eco- nomic growth with no increase in productivity. Productivity growth is the key economic indi- cator of innovation and accounts for less than 12% of U.S. eco- nomic growth, despite its importance in industries such as computers and software. Although innovation contrib- utes only a modest portion of growth, this is vital to long-term gains in the American standard of living. The predominant role of rep- lication of existing technologies in U.S. economic growth is critical to the formulation of economic policies. As the U.S. economy recovers from the Great Recession of 2007–2009, economic pol- icy must focus on reviving the growth of employment and small number of sectors in which KLEMS framework was endorsed stimulating investment. Policies innovation takes place. by the Advisory Committee on that concentrate on enhancing The U.S. statistical system Measuring Innovation in the 21st the rate of innovation will have a has begun to incorporate inputs Century Economy to Secretary of modest impact over the interme- of capital, labor, energy, materi- Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. The diate run. However, the long-run als, and services (KLEMS), as Bureau for Economic Analysis growth of the economy depends well as outputs and productiv- and the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the performance of a relatively ity for individual industries. The are now implementing this

april 2011 amstat news 27 columns

detail on industries that produce equipment and software. The trade information technology hard- industries head the list of innova- The trade industries head the ware, software, and services. tors because of leading firms such An examination of economic as Walmart and Cisco that have growth by industrial sector for used information technology to list of innovators the period 1960–2007 reveals integrate supply chains around the that more than half was due to world. These supply chains link trade and services industries that electronic cash registers at retail are particularly intensive users of outlets and business-to-business approach to measuring produc- information technology equip- ordering systems with order dis- tivity. The U.S. Census Bureau is ment and software. The infor- patch and transportation schedul- providing important new data on mation-producing industries— ing at remote factories. inputs and outputs of services. computer hardware, software, Semiconductors and comput- The U.S. statistical system has services, and the related indus- ers have sustained high rates of shifted gradually to the North tries—accounted for slightly less innovation through new prod- American Industry Classification than 10%. The rest of economic ucts and processes pioneered by System (NAICS), beginning growth is accounted for by the firms such as Apple, IBM, and with the Business Census of remaining industries in manu- Intel. The rapid pace of inno- 1997. The national accounts facturing and mining, as well as vation in information technol- converted to NAICS in the 2003 service industries that do not use ogy and software has continued Comprehensive Revision of the information technology equip- through successive generations National Income and Product ment and software intensively. of technology, beginning with Accounts. An important advan- The industries that lead in mainframe computers and tage of NAICS is the greater innovation are, surprisingly, head- continuing with minicomput- detail available on the service ed by wholesale and retail trade, ers and then personal comput- industries that make up a grow- which comprise a large swath of ers. Recently, this has shifted to ing proportion of the U.S. econ- the U.S. economy and have rapid- services accessed through the omy. NAICS also provides more ly adopted information technology Internet such as cloud comput- ing. Voice, data, and video com- munications moved onto the Internet as broadband services became available to households, along with mobile and landline communications services. Successful applications of information technology require new organizational structures to manage the steady procession of new generations of equipment and software. These organiza- tional structures rapidly become antiquated so that executive- level management of informa- tion technology–based businesses must direct a continuous process of restructuring. Business systems have become imbedded in soft- ware that requires incessant updat- ing as business needs evolve. For details, download “New Data on U.S. Productivity Growth by Industry,” by Dale W. Jorgenson, Mun Ho, and Jon Samuels at www.worldklems.net/ conferences/worldklems2010_jor- genson.pdf. n

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STATtr@k From Computer Scientist to Statistician Stumbling backward and landing well

Andrew Beamer, NC State University

nlike most students entering a graduate sta- tistics program, my backgroundU is not in statistics or mathematics. As an undergradu- ate, I majored in computer sci- ence and engineering. I took courses on topics such as ANOVA and basic random variables, but, as I later found out, I knew very little statistical theory (just ask my first-year professors). After graduating, I found myself working for a biotech company on projects that bor- dered on both computer science and statistics. I mainly wrote R scripts for data analysis, but increasingly became involved with projects that were statistical in nature and found that my sta- tistical ability was wanting. Through a fortuitous series of events, I became engaged with the EPA’s computational toxicol- ogy research program, in which there are many talented scientists working on a vast array of prob- lems, nearly all of which have a large statistical component. I was working on a nonlinear regression problem and found the standard approach of Gauss-Newton often two and getting nowhere, I final- It was at this point that I failed, even with a concerted and ly abandoned hubris. was put in contact with Alison meticulous search for initial val- Doing what any good com- Motsinger-Reif of the NC State ues. I distinctly remember the puter scientist would do when at statistics department. She helped supervising statistician telling an impasse, I threw more com- refine my original idea, taking my coworker and me that what putation at the problem using a time out of her busy schedule to we were embarking on would parallel search technique. My idea help me, despite my not being a be difficult for most graduate was to view the regression as a student. The approach worked students in statistics. I naïvely searching and optimization prob- well, and we put together a paper thought it would be no sweat, lem, something I knew a great outlining the technique. since I “was so good at program- deal more about. In this context, I After a year of work, I was ming.” Statistics was easy, right? could use methods I was familiar offered the chance to pursue a After struggling for a month or with to solve the problem, such as master’s of science in statistics evolutionary algorithms. while working on problems with

april 2011 amstat news 29 columns

could solve just one problem in statistics, what would it be?” ... what we were embarking on would be difficult Surely I was missing something, but I was unable to find a satis- for most graduate students in statistics. I naïvely factory answer. I was aware of the work being done in other fields—physicists thought it would be no sweat, since I “was so good were searching for the Higgs- Boson (also called the “God” at programming.” Statistics was easy, right? particle) while trying to formu- late the theory of everything; mathematicians were hard at work on famous problems such the EPA computational toxicol- just too easy to be interesting.” I as Goldbach’s, the Hodge, and ogy group. Given the interesting didn’t expect my classes to be easy the Twin Prime conjectures; problems I would be working on (which, of course, they were not), computer scientists wanted to and how badly I wanted the sta- but I think his comment reflects know if P = NP; and biologists tistical training, I eagerly agreed the general lack of understanding were untangling the foundations and submitted my application to of what “real” statisticians do. I of life. David Hilbert once said, NC State. certainly had no idea as an engi- “If I were to awaken after hav- I’m not sure what my expec- neering student what my statis- ing slept for a thousand years, tations were as I entered my tics professors worked on when my first question would be, ‘Has first year. I knew my reasons for they weren’t teaching. Was there the Riemann hypothesis been being there, but I didn’t have a more to it? proven?’” Was there an equiva- clear picture of what statistics As my first year progressed lent question for the slumbering really was as a discipline. Andrew and I delved deeper into the statistician? Gelman once remarked in an world of statistics, I occasionally I eventually discovered what Amstat News article that he “… asked, “What are the ‘big’ ques- “real” statisticians do, and the was worried that statistics was tions in statistics?” or “If you answer was simpler than I imag- ined. Everything. Statisticians are involved in a formative role in nearly all science disciplines, in addition to laying new statisti- cal theory. John Tukey once said, “The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard.” We are now being told about the coming “data deluge” and how statistics is the new “sexy” profession. Statistical savoir- faire beyond p < 0.05 is quickly becoming a necessity for most research scientists. When fellow graduate students in other fields learn I am studying statistics, most of them express a longing to know more about it. I know the feeling of statistical confusion and am glad it is receding. So, if you are like me and stumbled somewhat backward into statistics, be glad for it; you have landed well. n

30 amstat news april 2011 education Workshops Lined Up Ahead of USCOTS

The 2011 United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS) will be held May 19–21 at the Embassy Suites in Raleigh/Cary, North Carolina. This biennial meeting is the largest gathering dedicated to statistics education in North America and features provocative plenary talks and active breakout sessions.

he Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education is pleased to join four other National Science TFoundation–funded projects to offer United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS) pre- conference workshops in Raleigh/Cary, North Carolina, from May 17–19. The workshops will be held on the SAS campus. There is no registration fee and lunch will be pro- vided; however, advance registration is required for all workshops. Space is limited, so participation will be based on a first-registered, first-admitted basis. tr@ Acceptance into the workshops will be confirmed via STAT k email. Workshop offerings include the following: a website geared toward Teaching the Big Ideas in Introductory Statistics, taught by Deborah Rumsey of The Ohio State young statistics professionals University and Marjorie Bond of Monmouth College Facilitating Student Projects in Elementary STATtr@k offers tips on: Statistics, taught by Brad Bailey of North → how to apply for a job Georgia College & State University → how to be a successful graduate student Teaching Statistics with R, taught by Danny Kaplan of Macalester College, Nick Horton of → how to make the transition from Smith College, and Randy Pruim of Calvin College coursework to research Computationally Intensive Methods in Teaching Introductory Statistics, taught by Webster West of Texas A&M University and Roger Woodard STATtr@k also offers information about of North Carolina State University career and mentorship sites, upcoming Workshop registration is part of USCOTS conferences, and awards and competitions. registration at www.causeweb.org/uscots/register. New articles will appear monthly. Participants may apply for an USCOTS registra- tion grant if they do not have their own funds. For details, visit www.causeweb.org/uscots/workshop. The special conference lodging rate of $109 is http://stattrak.amstat.org guaranteed until April 16. For details, visit www. CAUSEweb.org/uscots. n

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CDC Symposium to Focus on Massive, Complex Data in Public Health Lester R. Curtin and Myron Katzoff, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics

he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 13th Biennial TSymposium on Statistical Methods will be held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Decatur, Georgia (Atlanta metropolitan area), May 24–25. The theme of this year’s confer- ence is “Statistical Applications Using Massive and Emerging A short course on complex This venue provides statis- Data in Public Health.” networks and statistics will be ticians, social and behavioral As health information tech- offered on May 23 in conjunction scientists, epidemiologists, nology continues to advance, with the symposium. The course economists, policy analysts, larger and more complex data will be taught by Eric Kolaczyk and other health researchers sets will be available to research- from Boston University and a unique opportunity to gain ers for both primary and second- be based on his book Statistical knowledge and stimulate fur- ary data analysis. These data sets Analysis of Network Data. The ther methods development in could be based on standardized course will run from 8:30 a.m. the area of massive data sets administrative records collected to 5:00 p.m. and focus on net- and complex networks and to through federal entitlement pro- work mapping (creating a net- exchange ideas with sympo- grams, private health insurance work representation), network sium contributors through for- or health provider companies, sampling (in particular, respon- mal and informal discussions. large or combined clinical tri- dent driven sampling), network Presenters represent academia, als, or state-based health record modeling, and the dynamics of private industry, and federal systems. With the emergence of networks with respect to contact and local government agencies. such large and complex data sets processes and epidemics. The CDC Statistical Advisory come new statistical, logistical, There will be invited and Group, Agency for Toxic and legal problems. contributed oral presentations Substances and Disease Registry, The focus of this year’s CDC and contributed poster sessions. and the ASA are sponsoring symposium will be on statistical Provision has been made for ses- the symposium to promote the applications for complex net- sion topics to include statistical development and application of works, administrative and legal and epidemiological applica- statistical methods. This sympo- (privacy) issues in data linkage, tions of the large CMS data set; sium is designed to draw from and the confidentiality issues design issues based on adaptive statistical and related quantita- that may arise in primary and sampling and related method- tive and information sciences secondary analysis of large linked ology; analytic innovations in across a variety of public health data sets for the confidentiality public health surveillance and applications, disciplines, and for new and emerging data sets. medical screening applications information technology concepts Special emphasis will be placed on using multiple data sources; that relate to emerging data sets the use of data from the Centers analysis of text, image, or quali- and the ability to synthesize such for Medicare and Medicaid tative data; secondary analysis information for use in public Services (CMS) for epidemio- of nonpublic released data sets; health practice. For more infor- logical studies and public health and simulation models for pre- mation, visit www.cdc.gov/sag. n research and surveillance. dicting disease outcomes.

april 2011 amstat news 33 people news

C. R. Rao was recently award- This annual award was estab- Manning Feinleib, professor lished to honor Marvin Zelen’s Read about ed an honorary doctor of science emeritus of the Johns Hopkins degree at the first convocation of long and distinguished career as Bloomberg School of Public your colleagues the Jawaharlal Nehru Technical a statistician and his major role Health in the department of epi- and friends in University, Kakinada, India. He in shaping the field of biostatis- demiology, the recipient of the the news. Go delivered the convocation address tics. It recognizes an individual 2011 Distinguished Alum Award. to www.amstat. with a talk titled “The Role of in government, industry, or Each year, the Distinguished org and click on Statistics as the Key Technology academia who, by virtue of his/ Alum Award is given to an indi- of the Future.” her outstanding leadership, has vidual in government, industry, “Statisticians in Rao has received 33 honor- greatly affected the theory and or academia who—by virtue of the News.” ary degrees from universities practice of statistical science. applications to support research, in 18 countries spanning six While individual accomplish- methodology and theory, signifi- continents. n ments are considered, the most cant organizational responsibility, distinguishing criterion is the and teaching—has affected the awardee’s contribution to the theory and practice of statistical The department of biostatistics creation of an environment in science. The overall career of the at the Harvard School of Public which statistical science and its individual is considered, with an Health recently named Richard applications have flourished. emphasis on how the nominee Landis will deliver a public Landis the recipient of the 2011 has used their experience to bring lecture on statistical science Marvin Zelen Leadership Award out the best in life with research on May 20 at the Harvard in Statistical Science. Landis is a and academics. School of Public Health and be professor in the department of Feinleib, who graduated from presented with a citation and biostatistics and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health’s honorarium. n the University of Pennsylvania department of biostatistics in School of Medicine and profes- 1966 with his PhD, will be pre- sor of statistics at the Wharton sented with a plaque and deliver a The Department of School at the University of lecture during the fall of the 2011– Biostatistics at the Harvard School Pennsylvania. 2012 academic year at the Harvard of Public Health recently named School of Public Health. n

JSM 2011

Registration Opens April. 28! Learn more at www.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2011

Join the largest gathering of statisticians in the world. Enjoy technical sessions, special receptions and gatherings, and an exhibit hall. Also, register for Continuing Education courses, the Career Placement Service, and more.

Early Bird Deadline: May 26 Regular Deadline: July 13

Register online at www.amstat.org/jsmregistration.

34 amstat news april 2011 people news

Obituaries

Bernard Harris Duesseldorf, Germany; and the reliability, and risk analysis. Bernard Harris passed away peace- Kungliska Techniska Hogskolan. He In addition to his academic inter- fully on January 28, 2011, at Tulane also was a member of many com- ests, Harris enjoyed a variety of music University Medical Center in New missions and advisory boards for (classical, opera, and jazz), reading, Orleans, Louisiana, following compli- the government, including a review gourmet cooking, films, and doing the cations from heart surgery. board of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory New York Times crossword puzzles in Harris was born on June 20, 1926, Commission and the Statistics Task ink. He also loved to create puns. in New York City. An academically Force for the FAA/DOD Committee In lieu of flowers, memorials may precocious youngster, he graduated at on Material Properties. be directed to the American Statistical an early age from Townsend-Harris Harris was an elected Fellow of the Association to support the education of High School, and entered City Institute of Mathematical Statistics and young statisticians. College of New York. During the the American Statistical Association. midst of his college education, he was He was proud to be a founding James Richard Murphy drafted into the Army, assigned to the member of the ASA Section on Risk James Richard Murphy died peace- Counter Intelligence Corps, and sent Analysis and served as its first chair. fully during his sleep on December to Germany near the end of World He was a member of the Classification 21, 2010. War II. Upon completion of military Society of North America, serving He earned a bachelor’s in chemis- service, he finished his bachelor’s on its board of directors. He was try from The University of Chicago degree in business administration at also a member of the International and a master’s in mathematics from City College in 1946. He changed Classification Society and the the University of Denver. In 1977, he his academic focus to mathemat- American Mathematical Association. earned his PhD in biostatistics from ics and statistics, earned a master’s Harris received the Pioneers of The Johns Hopkins University. degree from The George Washington Science Award. He was a perennial Murphy served as director of the University in 1953, and, in one year, advocate of and contributor to statis- biostatistics core of the University completed his doctorate at Stanford tical science for the Department of of Colorado Cancer Center and was University in 1958. the Army. He participated as part of head of the division of biostatistics During the years between his the Mathematics Research Center at at the National Jewish Medical and master’s and doctorate degrees, Harris Wisconsin that supported the Army Research Center. worked as a statistician at the U.S. in addressing research questions and To read more about Murphy’s Census Bureau and as a mathemati- presented his work at countless annual life, see http://attheforefront.ucdenver. cian for the National Security Agency. statistical conferences. edu/?p=1236. He became an associate professor in Harris’s contributions to risk analy- the department of mathematics at sis, reliability, probability, and statistical Patrick W. Crockett the University of Nebraska-Lincoln inferences with application to open Patrick W. Crockett, 58, passed away after completing his doctorate and Department of Defense questions was on December 29, 2010, in his home in moved to the University of Wisconsin- recognized in 1982 with the Wilks Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Madison to work as a professor in the Award for Contributions to Statistical Born in Houston, Texas, Crockett Mathematics Research Center from Methodologies in Army Research, attended The University of North 1964 to 1985 and as a professor in Development, and Testing. His work Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he the statistics department from 1966 continued to address current problems earned his PhD in 1983. He was to 2002. After Harris retired from in his later years, with recent work director of statistical sciences for UW-Madison, he rejoined the faculty concerning mathematical methods 14 years at SRA International in of the statistics department at the in combating terrorism and his 2010 Research Triangle Park. University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an paper, titled “Random Contamination Crockett was an avid sailor and adjunct faculty member until his death. of Semiconductor Materials.” loved the ocean. He was also a talented He enjoyed visiting professorships Harris was the author of the book painter and boat builder, whose hand- at the Technical Institute in Munich, Theory of Probability and the editor painted wooden kayaks were admired Germany; Technical University of of Spectral Analysis of Time Series and by many. He enjoyed camping and Eindhoven, Netherlands; University Graph Theory and Its Applications. He cycling with family and friends and of Lund, Sweden; the Mathematics published hundreds of articles and will be remembered for his special Institute Steklova, Moscow, Russia; reviews over the course of his career, sense of humor, spirituality, warmth, University of Muenster, Germany; but was most proud of his work in and child-like wonder. Heinrich Heine University in random mappings, combinatorics,

april 2011 amstat news 35 36 amstat news april 2011 section • chapter • committee news

sectionnews

Business and Economic Statistics International Conference on Methods for Surveying The Business and Economic Statistics Section and Enumerating Hard-to-Reach Populations, (B&E) is offering up to two travel awards— rough- which will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, ly $350—for students in doctoral programs in busi- from October 31 to November 3, 2012. For more ness, economics, econometrics, statistics, or allied information about these meetings, visit www.amstat. disciplines. The awards will help students attend org/meetings. the 2011 Joint Statistical Meetings, to be held in More information about the section can be To view Miami Beach, Florida, from July 30 to August 4. found online at www.amstat.org/sections/sgovt or section news in Applicants should be either presenting a paper or http://magazine.amstat.org/?cat=17. its entirety, visit participating in a poster session. Quality and Productivity http://magazine. Applications will be accepted until May 6 and amstat.org. should be sent to (email preferred) Stuart Scott, This year’s Quality and Productivity Research Chair, B&E Student Travel Award Committee, Conference will center on quality and productivity 5611 Lee Hwy., Arlington, VA 22207; stuscott@ in a global economy from June 8–10 in Roanoke, comcast.net. Virginia. The conference will feature a range of To download an application form or for more technical sessions covering topics in reliability, the information, visit http://magazine.amstat.org/?cat=17. design and analysis of experiments (including com- To fill out an application form online, visit www. puter experiments), statistical process control, and amstat.org/sections/bus_econ/index.html. Questions measurement systems analysis. On June 7, Ronald may be sent to Scott. Snee and Roger Hoerl will lead a short course called “Using Statistical Engineering to Solve Large, Government Statistics Unstructured Problems.” Registration is open for John Dixon, outgoing section chair, recognizes the both the short course and conference at www.cpe. accomplishments of the 2010 executive committee, vt.edu/qprc/index.html. which produced last year’s program at JSM and a Also, the section will sponsor an invited ses- successful poster competition. sion and five roundtable discussions during the The section sponsors the Pat Doyle, Roger 2011 Joint Statistical Meetings in Miami Beach, Herriot, and Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring awards, Florida. The invited session is titled “Quality as well as the Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship. Issues in Health Care” and will feature speakers Details about the awards and how to apply for them Benjamin Kemper, Jason Gillikin, Victoria Jordan, can be found at www.amstat.org/sections/sgovt. and James Benneyan. The roundtables include GSS also is a permanent sponsor for the “Effective Statistical Training in Industry” with International Conference on Establishment Willis Jensen, “Bayesian Reliability” with Alyson Surveys, which takes place every three or four Wilson, “Measurement System Assessment” with years and explores the current state of the art in Stefan Steiner, “Quality Excellence in Design and survey methodology for business, institutional, Manufacturing: A Roadmap to Customer Delight” and agricultural surveys. The next conference will with Daksha Chokshi, and “What Is a Statistical be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada, from June Engineer, and Do I Want to Be One?” with Jennifer 11–14, 2012. Additionally, GSS cosponsors the Van Mullekom.

april 2011 amstat news 37 section • chapter • committee news

Finally, the 55th Annual Fall Technical Conference ranging from climate change to wildlife manage- will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, from October ment. TIES aims to foster the development and use 13–14. The theme is “Quality and Statistics: Getting of statistical and other quantitative methods in the up to Date.” Short courses are offered the day before environmental sciences, environmental engineering, and after the conference. For additional information, and environmental monitoring and protection by pro- visit www.asqstatdiv.org/ftc.htm. moting the participation of statisticians, mathemati- The section is always interested in receiving pro- cians, scientists, and engineers in solving environmen- posals for short courses. Contact Reid Landes at rdlan- tal problems. Abstract submission runs through May [email protected] for details. 30. For details, visit www.uwlax.edu/conted/ties2011. For more information about the section, visit Amstat News online at http://magazine.amstat.org/?cat=17. Survey Research Methods Statistics and the Environment The Survey Research Methods Section is offering Margaret Short, ENVR Publications Chair up to three travel awards for students in doctoral The International Environmetrics Society (TIES) programs in statistics, survey methodology, or allied North American Regional meeting will be held in disciplines. The awards of up to $500 will offset the LaCrosse, Wisconsin, from July 18–20. The theme cost of attending the 2011 Joint Statistical Meetings is “Quantitative Methods for the Analysis of Long- in Miami Beach, Florida, from July 30 to August 4. Term Monitoring Data.” Special sessions will be Preference will be given to students presenting a paper devoted to natural resource monitoring problems or poster at the conference. The application deadline is April 15, and questions may be directed to Jill A. Dever at [email protected]. The section also is sponsoring the webinar “Reconsidering Mail Survey Methods in an Internet World,” by Don Dillman of Washington State University. Information about the webinar can be found at www.amstat.org/sections/srms/webinar.cfm. For more information about the travel awards and webinar, visit http://magazine.amstat.org/?cat=17. committeenews Scientific and Public Affairs Finishing his six years as chair of the ASA Scientific and Public Affairs Committee (SPA), David Marker reflects on the committee’s accomplishments, including organizing a climate change workshop, working with fair-election activists to improve the accuracy of elections, and helping the ASA orga- nize a dozen professional organizations to support action in Congress. Now chaired by Clyde Tucker, SPA is holding an invited panel discussion at JSM 2011 to focus on the measurement issues involved in Race to the Top, financial reform legislation, economic statistics, and measuring greenhouse gases. This will be followed by an invited session on statistics and climate change. For details and to read more about SPA’s accom- plishments, visit http://magazine.amstat.or/?cat=17. n

38 amstat news april 2011 calendar of events

2011 Stanford University, Stanford, CA The following events are the latest additions to 94305-4065; (650) 725-2229; the ASA’s online calendar of events. Announce- [email protected]. ments are accepted from education and not-for- profit organizations only. To view the complete list May *22–24—Graybill 2011 of statistics meetings and workshops, visit www. Conference on Modern amstat.org/dateline. *16—Pictures at an Exhibition: Nonparametric Methods, Fort The Visual Display of Collins, Colorado * Indicates events sponsored by the ASA or one of Quantitative Phenomena, For details, visit www.stat.colostate. its sections, chapters, or committees Cleveland, Ohio edu/graybillconference or contact For information, visit www.bio. Jean Opsomer, Colorado State ri.ccf.org/ASA/cspring.html or con- University, Fort Collins, CO 80523; 25–29—International tact Jerry Moreno, John Carroll [email protected]. University, University Heights, OH Chemometrics Research 44118; (216) 397-4681; moreno@ Meeting (ICRM 2011), Berg jcu.edu. en Dal (Nijmegen), The July Netherlands 18–20—Third North American For details, visit www.icrm2011.org 18–20—Conference of Applied or contact Renger Jellema, P.O. Box Statistics in Ireland (CASI), Regional Meeting of the International Environmetrics 1, Delft, International 2600 MA, The Galway, Ireland Netherlands; [email protected]. For details, visit www.maths.nui- Society, La Crosse, Wisconsin galway.ie/~jnmaths/CASI2011 or For more information, visit www. contact John Hinde, NUI Galway, uwlax.edu/conted/ties2011 or To view Galway, International GA1, Ireland; contact Brian Gray, ties.na2011@ October the entire list environmetrics.org. +353 91 492043; john.hinde@nui- 19–21—International of statistics galway.ie. Conference on Machine meetings and 27–29—Fordham Learning and Data Analysis workshops, visit Psychometrics Conference, 2011, San Francisco, California *24–25—13th Biennial CDC New York, New York For more information, visit www. www.amstat. Symposium on Statistical For more information, visit www. iaeng.org/WCECS2011/ICMLDA2011. org/dateline. Methods, Decatur, Georgia fordham.edu/fcap/conference or html or contact the IAENG In conjunction with the symposium, contact Stephen Cubbellotti, 441 Secretariat, Unit 1, 1/F, 37-39 a short course will be offered on E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458; Hung To Road, Hong Kong, May 23. For more information, visit (718) 817-0654; [email protected]. International HK; (852) 3169-3427; www.cdc.gov/sag or contact Lisette [email protected]. Werbowetzki, 732 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 684- 1221, [email protected]. August 16–18—useR! Conference, 2012 University of Warwick, June Coventry, United Kingdom For details, visit www.R-project. 14–16—Third International org/useR-2011 or contact Jennifer February Workshop in Sequential Rogers, Department of Statistics, Methodologies (IWSM 2011), University of Warwick, Coventry, *16–18—2012 American Stanford, California International CV4 7AL, UK; Statistical Association For details, visit http://iwsm2011. [email protected]. Conference on Statistical stanford.edu or contact Tze Lai, Practice, Orlando, Florida Department of Statistics, Stanford For more information, visit www. University, Sequoia Hall, Stanford, amstat.org/meetings/csp/2012/index. CA 94305-4065; (650) 723-2622; September cfm or contact the ASA Meetings [email protected]. 8–10—Society for Research Department, 732 N. Washington on Educational Effectiveness St., Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 684- 17–18—GPS11: Conference Fall 2011 Conference, 1221, [email protected]. in Genetics, Probability, and Washington, DC Statistics in Honor of David For more information, visit www. Siegmund, Stanford, California sree.org/conferences/2011f or con- For more information, visit stat. tact Evelyn Asch, 2040 Sheridan stanford.edu/gps11or contact Cindy Road, Evanston, IL 60208-4100; (847) Kirby, Department of Statistics, 467-7093; [email protected].

april 2011 amstat news 39 professional opportunities

Professional Opportunity listings may not exceed 65 words, plus equal oppor- Indiana tunity information. The deadline for their receipt is the 20th of the month two n Eli Lilly is seeking a data mining months prior to when the ad is to be published (e.g., May 20 for the July issue). leader, advanced analytics, to lead a Ads will be published in the next available issue following receipt. small group focused on the broad use Listings are shown alphabetically by state, followed by international list- of data mining in R&D and business ings. Vacancy listings may include the institutional name and address or be applications. Qualified candidates identified by number, as desired. will be responsible for developing new Professional Opportunities vacancies also will be published on the ASA’s methods/tools, building models from website (www.amstat.org). Vacancy listings will appear on the website for the data mining efforts, and understanding entire calendar month. Ads may not be placed for publication in the magazine variability and spurious/biased findings only; all ads will be published both electronically and in print. that may come from data mining proj- www.lilly. Rates: $320 for nonprofit organizations (with proof of nonprofit status), ects. Apply directly online com and reference number 50406727. $475 for all others. Member discounts are not given. For display and online Lilly is an equal opportunity employer. advertising rates, go to www.amstat.org/ads. Listings will be invoiced following publication. All payments should be made to the American Statistical Association. All material should be sent Lousiana to Amstat News, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314- n Tulane University School of Public 1943; fax (703) 684-2036; email [email protected]. Health and Tropical Medicine is seek- Employers are expected to acknowledge all responses resulting from pub- ing applications for three tenure-track lication of their ads. Personnel advertising is accepted with the understanding faculty positions (associate/assistant that the advertiser does not discriminate among applicants on the basis of professor level). Two positions focusing race, sex, religion, age, color, national origin, handicap, or sexual orientation. on genomics/bioinformatics/statisti- Also, look for job ads on the ASA website at www.amstat.org/jobweb. cal genetics. One position focusing on survival analyses and clinical trials methodology. A letter summarizing experience and research interests and curriculum vitae including contact information for three references to: Department of Health and Human Services Susan Gautier, [email protected]. National Institutes of Health Assistant professor–level applicants National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases should provide graduate-level tran- scripts. Tulane University is an EEO/ Postdoctoral Fellow AA employer. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducts and supports a global program of research aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment, Massachusetts and prevention of immunologic, allergic, and emerging infectious diseases. NIAID’s n MS Biostatistician-Brigham mission is driven by a strong commitment to basic research, which incorporates the and Women's Hospital, Boston, complementary fi elds of vaccine research, immunology, microbiology, and infec- Massachusetts. The division of sleep med- tious diseases. icine invites applications for an MS-level Statisticians at NIAID are involved in the design, monitoring, and analysis of clinical biostatistician position. The biostatistician studies and laboratory experiments, as well as conducting independent research will work with other team members, in statistical methodology. NIAID off ers a broad range of opportunities for collabo- including physicians, biostatisticans, epi- ration, including large cooperative AIDS research groups, vaccine development, demiologists, project coordinators, and immunology, transplantation research, and biodefense. The ability to conduct research assistants on study design, data research on statistical methodology are required, as is a doctorate in statistics, bio- management/analysis, and manuscript/ statistics, bioinformatics, or related fi eld. grant proposal preparation. The position To apply for this vacancy, send your resume to Michael Fay, [email protected], has excellent work conditions and oppor- and formally apply through the NIH Offi ce of Intramural Training & Education (OITE) tunities to advance. If interested, apply system at http://www2.training.nih.gov/apps/publicForms/postdoctoral/forms/ to requisition 2205723 online at careers. adIndex.aspx?strSearch=NIAID. The selected candidate will have an anticipated start brighamandwomens.org. date of September 2011, but the vacancy will remain open until it is fi lled.

HHS and NIH are equal opportunity employers

40 amstat news april 2011 n Proud to be recognized as one of Fortune magazine's “100 Best Companies to work for” in 2011, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company has two FTEs (both clini- cal and nonclinical statistics) and one summer internship positions in biosta- tistics department. For more informa- tion, please visit www.joinmillennium. com/AMSTAT. AA/EOE.

New York n Research Statistics Analyst. Provide statistical support on assigned research projects and assist end-user com- munity with report requests and data analysis. You will also prepare reports, develop executive summaries and computer programs for data manage- ment and statistical analysis. Requires a master's in statistics, biostatistics, or related field and at least two years of experience. To apply, visit www. nslijcareers.com and enter Job Number NSH0001AB. EOE.

april 2011 amstat news 41 Pennsylvania n Postdoctoral fellow in statistical genetics within biostatistics division at University of Pennsylvania. The candi- date will develop and implement sta- tistical and computational methods for genetic studies. PhD degree in statistics, Statistician, Tenure-Eligible or Tenure-Track Investigator Position, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human biostatistics, bioinformatics, computer Services (DHHS) sciences, or other quantitative fields and programming skills in C/C++/Perl The Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB, http://dceg.cancer.gov/reb, Chief, Dr. Martha and at least one statistical package are Linet), a component of NCI’s intramural Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), is recruiting a statistician to develop an independent research program focusing on required. To apply, send CV, publica- development of statistical models that incorporate dose uncertainties, that provide cancer risk tion reprints, 3 references to ruifeng@ projections for low-dose exposures, that can be used to estimate radiation-induced lifetime upenn.edu. www.med.upenn.edu/apps/ risks, that quantify the effect of key modifi ers on radiation-related cancer risks, or that provide my/bpp_postings/index.php?pid=13411. mathematical formulations of biological models for radiation carcinogenesis. University of Pennsylvania is an AA/EOE. Current REB research includes studies of late effects of radiological diagnostic examinations, radiotherapy, occupational exposures, or nuclear fallout from above-ground tests, military sources (Japanese atomic bomb survivors) or radiation accidents (Chernobyl). REB is also Texas evaluating late health effects of new radiation technologies in medicine including the estima- n The department of preventive tion of doses, extremely low-frequency and radio-frequency electromagnetic fi eld exposures, and ultraviolet radiation. In addition, REB studies are examining gene-radiation interaction medicine and community health at The in studies of breast and thyroid cancer, etiologic and genetic studies (including genome-wide University of Texas Medical Branch at association studies) of brain tumors and thyroid cancer, and the development of various strate- Galveston is recruiting a tenure-track gies for reconstructing historical radiation doses of medical radiation workers and populations exposed to environmental, military, and accidental sources of radiation exposure. Challenges associate professor of biostatistics to play for the statistician include modeling the excess relative and absolute risk as a function of dose, an active role in teaching, conducting evaluating the modifying effects of dose-rate and type of radiation, addressing effects on risk estimates of uncertainties from complex dosimetry systems, developing appropriate analytic approaches for special study designs, identifying and describing gene-environment interaction, and developing strategies to identify true associations in genome-wide scans for disease-pro- ducing genetic variants. REB investigators are encouraged to collaborate with scientists in other parts of the DCEG, including members of the Biostatistics Branch and the Human Genetics Program.

Candidates must have a doctorate in biostatistics, statistics, mathematics or a related discipline (with additional post-doctoral experience in statistics). They must have at least two years of post-doctoral research experience and an established record of publications that demonstrates Looking for a their ability to apply cutting edge, appropriate statistical models and analyze and interpret data from radiation epidemiology studies. They should also have knowledge of and demonstrated capacity to apply state-of-the-art statistical and epidemiologic methods in at least one of the following areas of research: risk assessment, measurement (dosimetry) errors, genetic suscep- tibility in relation to radiation carcinogenesis, or mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis. Col- JOB? laboration with epidemiologists, dosimetrists, health or medical physicists, radiologists, and laboratory investigators is central to the success of our research. Candidates must document the strong verbal and written communication skills that will be required to write effective re- search papers, present work at scientifi c meetings, and convey information clearly to staff, collaborators, consultants and contractors. Candidates must also be suffi ciently experienced Let the ASA help you realize to function independently, both in the development of their own research efforts and in the your professional goals. mentoring and supervision of less experienced investigators. Appropriate offi ce space and resources will be provided. JobWeb—The ASA JobWeb is a targeted job database and résumé-posting service Salary is competitive and commensurate with research experience and accomplishments, and a www.amstat.org/jobweb full Civil Service package of benefi ts (including retirement, health insurance, life insurance, and a thrift savings plan) is available. Candidates may be eligible for the NIH Loan Repayment Pro- JSM Career Placement Service— gram (http://www.LRP.NIH.gov ). This position is not restricted to U.S. citizens. Interested A full-service recruiting facility held individuals should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, brief summary of research interests, annually at JSM, with hundreds of statistical experience and future plans, copies of no more than 5 selected publications and three letters employers seeking qualifi ed applicants of reference to: www.amstat.org/meetings/jsm Ms. Judy Schwadron Amstat News—The ASA’s monthly Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics membership magazine, which features National Cancer Institute notices of employment opportunities in 6120 Executive Blvd., Room EPS 8073 each issue Rockville, MD 20852-7242 Email: [email protected]

The closing date of the advertisement is April 15, 2011. A completed package of your application is required in order to be considered for this position. Promoting the Practice and Profession of Statistics DHHS and NIH are Equal Opportunity Employers

42 amstat news april 2011 translation and population health sci- ence research, and obtaining external funding. Applicants must have a PhD or DrPH in biostatistics, statistics, or the equivalent. Submit letter of interest and CV to [email protected]. UTMB is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that proudly values diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Utah n The Study Design and Biostatistics Center at the University of Utah School of Medicine seeks an applied PhD or MS statistician to play a leadership role in an interdisciplinary research environ- ment. Proficiencies in data analysis, writing statistical sections of grant applications and manuscripts, and abil- ity to communicate with biomedical researchers are essential. Please send CV, 3 references, and cover letter to Camie Derricott at camie.derricott@hsc. utah.edu. The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity

april 2011 amstat news 43 employer. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individu- als with disabilities. The University of Utah is committed to diversity in its workforce. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Nationwide n PRA International is a leading global clinical research organization. Due to our continued growth, we have sev- eral openings for biostatisticians at varying levels, from biostatistician II through senior and principal levels. Possible locations include Raleigh, NC; Charlottesville, VA; Lenexa, KS; or Victoria, BC, Canada. Senior-level candidates who reside in other areas may be considered for regional posi- tions. If interested, please email CVs to [email protected]. PRA is an equal opportunity employer.

44 amstat news april 2011 n PPD, Inc. continues to grow! We are hiring experienced biostatisticians (all levels) and experienced SAS pro- grammers (all levels) for our North Job opening America, EMEA, and China offices. Are you a Below is a list of the opportunities. North America - AD biostatistics, bio- PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY METHODOLOGIST? statisticians, and SAS programmers. EMEA - biostatisticians, SAS program- Looking for a great career opportunity? mers. China - senior biostatisticians, biostatisticians, and SAS programmers Th e Offi ce of Opinion Research at the U.S. Department of State (Shanghai and Beijing). All job descrip- is looking for a well-qualifi ed STATISTICIAN with a strong tions can be found at www.ppdi.com/ background in survey methodology and solid experience with careers or email [email protected]. public opinion polls PPD is an EEOC.

Where? Washington, DC International What level? GS-13 ($89,033.00 - $115,742.00 a year) n PRA International is a leading global clinical research organization. Due to What we need: our continued growth, we have sev- We are an offi ce of survey research and area specialists who design eral openings for biostatisticians at varying levels, from biostatistician II and conduct international public opinion research on political, through senior and principal levels. economic, social, and security issues. We’re looking for someone Possible locations include Raleigh, who can advise us on: NC; Charlottesville, VA; Lenexa, KS; · Overall survey design (including innovative research designs for challenging environments or hard-to-reach populations) · Sampling strategies for stringent probability-based sampling in face-to-face, telephone, online or mixed mode/multiple- frame surveys NORC conducts high quality social science research in the public interest from its head- · Questionnaire design (including measuring constructs such quarters at the University of Chicago and as political effi cacy, social distance and nationalism) from its offices in Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, Bethesda, MD, and Berkeley, CA. · Advanced multivariate analysis of public opinion data We conduct research in economics, demo- with a wide range of strategies for identifying signifi cant graphics, education and child development, patterns, segmenting potential audiences and estimating health, substance abuse, mental health, justice, and survey quality both in the U.S. sampling error in complex sample designs and internationally. We offer full-service survey design and operations as well as strengths in analysis, information technol- A successful candidate will also have excellent communication ogy, and technical assistance. NORC sup- skills to be able to train other members of the staff in research ports the research needs of government in design, sampling and statistical analysis. the U.S. and abroad, international donor agencies, foundations, academic research- ers, and private organizations. Th is job is open to all U.s. citizens. NORC is actively seeking statisticians, survey methodologists, statistical program- For additional information, contact: mers, data managers, survey directors, and social scientists with advanced training Anna Dean, Acting Director, Offi ce of Opinion Research or experience in survey research or survey ([email protected]) operations. New staff will be based in our Chicago, IL or Washington, DC offices. To learn more about NORC and to apply for Th e formal job posting will be available in April or May 2011 at employment, visit our website at: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/. http://www.norc.org/careers Keyword: Statistician NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer Where: Washington, DC that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce.

april 2011 amstat news 45 The ASA’s Popular Web- Based Learning Program Is Now Available ANYTIME ANYWHERE

nDemand

Enjoy previously recorded web-based lectures on an on-demand, pay-per- view basis. Each two-hour webinar features top statisticians discussing their specialties. Available topics include: Bayesian clinical trials Stratifi ed analysis Survey research methods Please visit www.amstat. org/learnstatondemand for the full catalog and to register.

46 amstat news april 2011 or Victoria, BC, Canada. Senior-level candidates who reside in other areas may be considered for regional posi- tions. If interested, please email CVs to [email protected]. PRA is an equal opportunity employer. n PPD, Inc. continues to grow! We are hiring experienced biostatisticians (all levels) and experienced SAS program- mers (all levels) for our North America, EMEA, and China offices. Below is a list of the opportunities.North America - AD biostatistics, biostatisticians, and SAS programmers. EMEA - biostat- isticians, SAS programmers. China - senior biostatisticians, biostatisticians, and SAS programmers (Shanghai and Beijing). All job descriptions can be found at www.ppdi.com/careers or email [email protected]. PPD is an EEOC. n

april 2011 amstat news 47 april 2011 • Issue #406

AMSTATNEWS ADVERTISING DIRECTORY

Listed below are our display advertisements only. If you are looking for job- placement ads, please see the professional opportunities section. For more job listings or more information about advertising, please visit www.amstat.org.

misc. products and services Colorado State University Continuing Education. . p. 23 CRC Press...... p. 36 Northwestern University...... p. 28 Penn State University...... p. 4 Quality & Productivity Research Conference. . . . p. 26

professional opportunities Geisinger Health System...... p. 43 Millenium Pharmaceuticals...... p. 41 NCI/NIH ...... p. 42 NIH/NIAID...... p. 40 NORC...... p. 45 Office of Opinion Research...... p. 45 Penn State University College of Medicine. . . . . p. 43 Smith Hanley...... p. 44 Travelers Companies...... p. 47 U.S. Census Bureau...... p. 46 University of Connecticut Health Center...... p. 41 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. . . . . p. 44 Westat...... p. 47

software Cytel Inc...... p. 24 JMP, a business unit of SAS...... cover 4 Minitab Inc...... centerfold NCSS...... p. 20 Salford Systems...... p. 32 SAS...... cover 3 StatSoft...... cover 2 Systat Software...... p. 30

48 amstat news april 2011