January 2009 • Issue #379 AMSTAT The Membership MagazineNEWS of the American Statistical Association Salary Survey of Biostatistics and Other Biomedical Statistics Departments and Units ALSO: ASA Supports Independence of Census Bureau CAUSE Reports Fun, Fun, Fun Publications Agreement No. 41544521 JANUARY 2009 • IssUe #379 Executive Director Ron Wasserstein: [email protected] Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations F eATURes Stephen Porzio: [email protected] Director of Programs 3 President’s Corner Martha Aliaga: [email protected] 4 Distance Graduate Program Rated a ‘Best Buy’ Director of Science Policy 4 PIRe Accepting Partnership Proposals Steve Pierson: [email protected] 5 AsA supports Independence of Census Bureau Managing Editor Megan Murphy: [email protected] 6 Agent-Based Modeling explores Challenges to Theory, science Production Coordinators/Graphic Designers Melissa Muko: [email protected] Lidia Vigyázó: [email protected] 7 NsF, CBMs Announce Conference series Publications Coordinator Val Snider: [email protected] Advertising Manager Claudine Donovan: [email protected] Contributing Staff Members Amy Farris • Rick Peterson • Eric Sampson • Kathleen Wert Amstat News welcomes news items and letters from readers on matters AsA supports of interest to the association and the profession. Address correspondence Independence of Census Bureau to Managing Editor, Amstat News, American Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA, or email p. 5 [email protected]. Items must be received by the first day of the preced- ing 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 art- work will be accepted 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 Statistical Association, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Amstat News, 732 North Washington Street, Alexandria VA 22314-1943 USA. Send Canadian address changes to Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor 9 SPAIG Committee Wants to Know Your salary ON N9A 6J5; [email protected]. Annual subscriptions are $50 per year for nonmembers. Amstat News is the member publication of the 9 Volunteers in search of Work ASA. For annual membership rates, see www.amstat.org/join or contact Statisticians Without Borders Ready to Begin Project ASA Member Services at (888) 231-3473. American Statistical Association 10 Staff spotlight 732 North Washington Street Alexandria, VA 22314–1943 USA (703) 684–1221 • FAX: (703) 684-2036 ASA GENERAL: [email protected] ADDRESS CHANGES: [email protected] AMSTAT EDITORIAL: [email protected] ADVERTISING: [email protected] WEB SITE: www.amstat.org Salary Survey of Printed in USA © 2009 Biostatistics and Other American Statistical Association Biomedical Statistics Departments and Units VISION STATEMENT To be a world leader p. 12 in promoting statistical practice, applications, and research; publishing statistical journals; improving statistical education; and advancing the statistics profession MISSION STATEMENT Support excellence in statistical practice, research, journals, and meetings. Work for the improvement of statistical education at all levels. Promote the proper application of statistics. Anticipate and meet the needs of our members. Use our discipline to enhance human welfare. Seek opportunities to advance the statistics profession. Column Contributors Funding Opportunities Salary Survey of Biostatistics and Other Biomedical Statistics Departments and Units p. 12 DePARTMeNTs Keith Crank, assistant director for research and gradu- ate education at the AsA, writes about activities in 21 Meetings the Washington, DC, area that are of interest to AsA First Comes DC’s History, Then Comes JsM 2009 members. These brief articles include information about new research solicitations and the federal bud- 25 Education get for statistics. Comments or suggestions for future articles may be sent to [email protected]. CAUse Reports Fun, Fun, Fun LearnsTAT Courses for spring 2009 Crank Crank has a BS in mathematics education and an MS in mathematics from Michigan State University and a PhD in statistics from Purdue University. Prior to joining the ASA, he was a program officer at the National Science Foundation, primarily in the probability program. First Comes DC’s History, Then Comes Science Policy News JsM 2009 Science in the Presidential Campaign and the Obama p. 21 Administration p. 15 stephen W. Pierson, the AsA’s director of science policy, reports on what the AsA is doing to promote the inclusion of statistics in policymaking and the funding of statistics research. To suggest science CAUse Reports policy topics for the AsA to address, contact Pierson Fun, Fun, Fun at [email protected]. p. 25 Pierson Pierson earned his PhD in physics from the University of Minnesota. He spent eight years in the physics department of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and later became head of government relations at the American Physical Society. MeMBeR NeWs Master’s Notebook 26 People News What Do Statisticians and Biostatisticians Do? 29 Award Deadlines and Information p. 19 31 section News 41 Chapter News This column is written for statistician with master’s degrees and highlights areas of employment that 42 Calendar of events will benefit statisticians at the master’s level. This 49 Professional Opportunities month’s notebook was written by the AsA’s Director for Research and Graduate education, Keith Crank. Comments and suggestions should be sent to him at [email protected]. cover design by Megan Murphy Lakshminarayanan Contributing Editor: Mani Lakshminarayanan is director of biostatistics at Centocor, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in Malvern, Pennsylvania. He earned his PhD in statistics from Southern Methodist University in 1984. PRESIDENT’S CORNER Dear Members, hank you for electing me as the 104th pres- energy to the specific topics—form the basis of each ident of the American Statistical Association. workgroup. The ASA membership and board also The three-year president-elect, president, have representation on each workgroup. I have asked Tand past president cycle offers a training year to the workgroups to be visionary, but also practical, in learn about the many aspects of the ASA. their recommendations—with specific action items to Throughout 2008, I was particularly impressed by be considered—and to use previous task force reports the passion and generosity of the many members and other ASA documents as primary building blocks who participate in a multitude of ways to promote for their work. As these initiatives move forward, we and support the association’s vision “to be the world will share their progress with all members. leader in promoting statistical practice, applica- My election platform also identified another tions, and research; publishing statistical journals; dimension of the strategic plan as a planned focus in improving statistical education; and advancing the 2009: visibility and impact in policymaking. The asso- statistics profession.” The ASA depends entirely on ciation has taken important steps toward this dimen- the good efforts of volunteers and the dedication and sion and gathered momentum over the past several skill of its staff. I am grateful for the many and varied years due to the leadership and contributions of many. contributions made by you on behalf of the statisti- Individual actions include, but are not limited to, cal community. Please do not hesitate to contact me hiring ASA Science Policy Director Steve Pierson in sally C. Morton at [email protected] with your ideas and suggestions. 2008, forming the Science Policy Task Force in 2007– In my president-elect year, I focused on several 2008, increasing the number of ASA statements, activities: learning more about the association and visiting government agencies, collaborating with the reaching out to its members, organizational entities, Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, and working and sister societies; appointing approximately 150 closely with the ASA committees that focus wholly or committee members; and planning the 2009 presi- partially on policy. As physics teaches us, momentum dential initiatives. With respect to this last task, I am is conserved, and the association is poised to have an fortunate to be the first president since the launching even more meaningful impact in the coming years. of the new strategic plan (see www.amstat.org/about/ I encourage you to register for the Joint Statistical index.cfm?fuseaction=strategicplan). This plan is our Meetings, the largest gathering of statisticians in the association’s road map, albeit an evolving and dynam- world, to be held this August 1–6 in Washington, ic one, for the coming years. We will assess objectives DC. The theme for this year’s conference is “Statistics: via its paradigm, evaluate activities through its lens, From Evidence to Policy,” underscoring our discipline and schedule tasks based on its planning cycle. In an and association’s contributions to policymaking, as upcoming column, I will report on the state of the well as the conference location. Program Chair Wendy strategic plan, including its use, review, and updating. Martinez and her