Welcome to Statistics at Purdue
News and Events
- Departmental News
- Cheng Granted CAREER Award
- Members of Statistics Department Recognized at College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon
- Anirban Dasgupta Named an Executive Editor of Journal of Statistical Planning & Inference
- Ellen Gundlach Selected as IMPACT Faculty Fellow
- Michael Levine elected to ISI
- Bradley and Taylor Named Distinguished Science Alumni for 2012
- Cheng, Figueroa-López, and Neville Granted CAREER Awards
- Figueroa-López Granted CAREER Award
- Ness Awarded Prestigious Boren Fellowship
- Neville Granted CAREER Award
- Congratulations May 2012 Graduates!
- Chong Gu Wins SSC Award
- Potter Wins Poster Competition
- Bemis Awarded NSF GRFP Fellowship, Participates in Minority Outreach
- Cheng Receives Noether Young Scholar Award
- Congratulations August 2012 Graduates!
North American School of Information Theory Coming to Purdue Summer 2013
There will be surveys and tutorials ranging from information theory approaches for both large and wireless networks to bioinformatics and quantum computing. There will also be daily poster sessions, professional development, and extra-curricular events offered. The registration is free for Purdue students.
A second event, a 2-day faculty workshop, will be offered on the evenings of June 5 and 6. The interdisciplinary topic is "Science of Information." This workshop is aligned with a $25 million NSF initiative: The Center for Science of Information, and with an NSF TUES award to specifically support the workshop. The organizers will share materials from courses they have taught in Science of Information. Attending faculty will likewise share their own course experiences. As a key outcome, faculty will be prepared to teach their own Science of Information courses spanning the computational and mathematical sciences, biology, engineering, physics, and beyond.
The 2-day workshop is especially well-suited for junior faculty and/or post-docs who are interested in discussing and learning about teaching courses in the emerging Science of Information field. There is no charge for Purdue faculty to attend.
Mark Daniel Ward (Assistant Professor of Statistics, Associate Director of Actuarial Science, and Undergraduate Chair) and Deepak Kumar (Bryn Mawr College, Center for Science of Information) will be leading the workshop, sharing lessons learned and course materials developed from their respective Introduction to Science of Information courses. Check for updates and register for the workshop at: http://soihub.org/course-workshop
Please contact the organizers with any questions:
- Mark Daniel Ward — mdw@purdue.edu
- Deepak Kumar — dkumar@cs.brynmawr.edu
Congratulations May 2013 Graduates!
On Friday, May 10, 2013, Purdue University and the Department of Statistics awarded graduate and undergraduate degrees to the Class of 2013. Congratulations to all of our May 2013 graduates.
(Click on images below to open a larger version in a new window/tab)
May 2013 - Statistics MS and PhD Graduates
May 2013 - Statistics BS Graduates
May 2013 - Statistics MS and PhD Graduates
May 2013 - Statistics BS Graduates
Many more photos are available on the Purdue Statistics Facebook page.
Best wishes to all of our graduates. We look forward to hearing from you!
Olga Vitek and Guang Cheng Receive Awards
Olga Vitek, Associate Professor of Statistics, and Guang Cheng, Assistant Professor of Statistics, have both received awards from the Office of the Provost for the upcoming academic year, 2013-2014.
Olga Vitek has received a Faculty Scholar Award for the upcoming academic year, 2013-2014. The University Faculty Scholars Program recognizes outstanding faculty members
at the West Lafayette campus who are on an accelerated path for academic distinction. Eligible faculty must hold the rank of tenured associate or full professor and
have been in that rank for no more than five years. Faculty Scholars are appointed for a nonrenewable five year term and receive an annual $10,000 discretionary allocation.
Guang Cheng has received a Teaching for Tomorrow Fellowship Award for the upcoming academic year, 2013-2014. This award is provided by the Classes of 1944 and 1945 in order to
foster continued excellence in teaching and learning on our campus and to facilitate the development of the teaching potential of the faculty. Annually, it
recognizes up to twelve assistant professors (or recently promoted associate professors) for their demonstrated talent for teaching and three senior faculty members
for their long-term contributions to teaching at the University.
Congratulations to Professors Vitek and Cheng for their awards!
New York Times Story Highlights "Hot New Field" of Data Sciences
The New York Times recently featured a story about the "hot new field" of Data Sciences and the increase in the number of
related degree programs offered by Universities. The article points out the multidisciplinary nature of this new field —
touching on statistics, analytics, mathematics, and computer science, among other subjects — and the subsequent need for
Universities to develop new curriculums accordingly.
The article cites data from McKinsey Global Institute in it's assertion that, "Universities can hardly turn out data scientists fast enough. To meet demand from employers, the United States will need to increase the number of graduates with skills handling large amounts of data by as much as 60 percent."
Read the full article on the New York Times website.
The article cites data from McKinsey Global Institute in it's assertion that, "Universities can hardly turn out data scientists fast enough. To meet demand from employers, the United States will need to increase the number of graduates with skills handling large amounts of data by as much as 60 percent."
Read the full article on the New York Times website.
Wolak and Woolford Named Distinguished Science Alumni for 2013
Dan Wolak
Sam Woolford
Read more about our 2013 Distinguished Alumni.
Emeritus Professor William J. Studden: 1935-2013
Donations in honor of Professor Studden may be made to the William J. Studden Publication Award. The William J. Studden Publication Award was established in 2005 and recognizes a Ph.D. student enrolled in the Department of Statistics at Purdue University for an outstanding publication in mathematical statistics.
Members of Statistics Department Recognized at College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon
Members of the Statistics Department pose with Dean Jeffrey Roberts after receiving College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards
Congratulations to Guang Cheng, Tadd Colver, Diane Martin, Mark D. Ward, and Hao Zhang, all of whom were recognized at the College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards luncheon held on Thursday, February 21, 2013 in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom.
Professional Achievement Award
"In recognition for his ability to get things done. Whether it is chairing a seminar committee, or hosting a guest, Guang's consistent performance in the Department of Statistics is exceptional."
Outstanding Service to the College
"In recognition for his achievement in gaining and organizing the new Statistics Help Room (HAAS 115) that benefits all undergraduates taking Statistics courses, and for his dedication to the overall teaching mission of the Department of Statistics and the College of Science."
Customer Service Award
"In recognition for her organization skills in preparation and administration of the 8th International Symposium on Statistics, and for her tremendous assistance to both the Department of Statistics and the College of Science."
Graduate Student Mentoring Award
"In recognition of his dedicated mentoring of both undergraduate and graduate students in the Actuarial Science Program, and in the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in the Department of Statistics."
Graduate Student Mentoring Award
"In recognition of his commitment to the Graduate Program in Statistics, our graduate students, and the overall well-being of the Department of Statistics."
Dr. Roland Thorpe Visits Campus
Click on picture (above) to watch a short excerpt from Dr. Thorpe's presentation
As part of Purdue's Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, Purdue Statistics alumnus Dr.
Roland Thorpe presented "Improving Health Disparities Research in the United
States: What Can Statisticians Do?" to a standing room only audience from
across campus. After obtaining a Masters in Applied Statistics (1997) from
Purdue Statistics, Dr. Thorpe completed his Ph.D. (2004) in veterinary epidemiology from the Department of
Veterinary Pathobiology, Purdue University.
Currently, Dr. Thorpe is an Associate Scientist and Director of the Program for Research on Men's Health at the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. The mission of the program under Dr. Thorpe's direction is to create and disseminate knowledge that advances research, training, practice, and policy in reducing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status disparities in men's health, as well as optimizing the health and quality of life for males across the life course.
Currently, Dr. Thorpe is an Associate Scientist and Director of the Program for Research on Men's Health at the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. The mission of the program under Dr. Thorpe's direction is to create and disseminate knowledge that advances research, training, practice, and policy in reducing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status disparities in men's health, as well as optimizing the health and quality of life for males across the life course.
Gundlach Discusses Students' Information Literacy & STAT113
Ellen Gundlach describes STAT113 in new Information Literacy video (click to watch on YouTube)
In this new video, Ellen discusses the importance of empowering students with the ability to collect, interpret, and question the many sources of information they will encounter during their time at Purdue. Watch the video or learn more at the Information Literacy @ Purdue website, or click the image above to watch the video directly on YouTube.
Ghosh Awarded Honorary D.Sc. Degree
Jayanta Ghosh (right) receives Honorary D.Sc.
Congratulations again, Professor Ghosh!
Please welcome visitors Dr. Doug Baumann, Dr. Xiongzhi (Chee) Chen, Dr. Jicheng Liu, Professor Jinglai Shen, Professor Ciprian Tudor, Dr. Tao Wang, and Mr. David Warner to Purdue Statistics
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Doug Baumann, Dr. Xiongzhi (Chee) Chen, Dr. Jicheng Liu, Professor Jinglai Shen, Professor Ciprian Tudor, Dr. Tao Wang, and Mr. David Warner as visitors of Purdue Statistics this (Spring 2013) semester.
Dr. Doug Baumann
Dr. Xiongzhi (Chee) Chen
Dr. Jicheng Liu
Professor Jinglai Shen
Professor Ciprian Tudor
Dr. Tao Wang
David Warner
Please help make our visitors welcome, and feel free to stop by their offices to introduce yourself.
Statistics Students Featured in Insights Article About Diversity
RavindranRajesvaran
RobertNess
You can read the article at http://c89.science.purdue.edu/insights/fall2012/many-perspectives.php, or click on the image above to download the entire magazine as a PDF.
Rubin Named to Inaugural Class of AMS Fellows
The AMS hopes that the program will, among other things, "honor not only the extraordinary, but the excellent," and "lift the morale of the profession by providing an honor more accessible than those currently available." The responsibilities of the Fellows will include taking part in the election of new Fellows, presenting a "public face" of excellence in mathematics, and advising the President and/or the AMS Council on public matters when requested.
Gundlach & STAT113 Featured in IM:PACT Video
Ellen Gundlach interacts with students in Changing Classroom video
Gundlach is shown in the video interacting with her students over whiteboards, as well as offering her thoughts on the value of supplementing online course material with direct, interactive learning, such as that shown in the video. "It's exciting to see them learning in front of my eyes," she says. She then explains that such interaction with the students allows the instructor to identify parts of the lesson the students didn't understand or that the online portion of the course didn't explain well enough, which allows the instructor to fix the problem on the spot. She finishes by saying, "I love the feeling that we're creating the lesson together."
You can watch the entire video at http://www.purdue.edu/president/video/changingclassroom/, or learn more about the IM:PACT program at http://www.purdue.edu/impact/.
Undergraduate Statistics Programs On the Rise, according to ASA
Read the entire article at http://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2012/08/01/prescornerundergradstats/, or click on the image above to download a copy of the article.
Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science Program Honor Outstanding Alumni
Congratulations to Bhramar Mukherjee and Bob Beiderman, the 2012 Outstanding Alumni in Statistics and Actuarial Science. This year the Department of Statistics awarded Bhramar Mukherjee (Ph.D. Statistics 2001) with the Statistics Outstanding Alumni Award. The Actuarial Science program, administered jointly by the Department of Statistics and the Department of Mathematics, awarded Bob Beiderman (B.S. Applied Statistics 1983) with the Actuarial Science Outstanding Alumni Award. The Outstanding Alumni Award honors an alumnus for their contributions and leadership within their profession. On Friday, September 28, 2012, Bhramar Mukherjee will present a talk entitled Graduate School Revisited: The Moments and the Journey in LWSN B155 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM. The department will have a brief reception for her before the talk, at 10:00 in HAAS 111.
Bhramar Mukherjee
Bhramar Mukherjee, Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan
Bhramar Mukherjee grew up in Kolkata, India and earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Statistics, Purdue University in 2001 under the direction of Professor Bill Studden. She received her Masters of Science from Purdue University in 1999. Professor Mukherjee is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan. Her research program is focused on statistical methods in epidemiology, case-control studies, gene-environment interaction, and Bayesian modeling and inference. She is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association, has received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for the School of Public Health, and the John G. Searle Assistant Professor award for the Department of Biostatistics.
Bhramar's favorite memories at Purdue are her daughter, Ms. Mrittika Ghosh, being born; feisty intellectual debates with her advisor, Bill Studden; receiving the Irving W. Burr award for her doctoral work; and screaming for the women's basketball team during the NCAA championships.

Robert K. Beiderman
Robert K. Beiderman, Manager, Retirement Programs, Southern Company
Bob Beiderman earned his Bachelor of Science degree (1983) in Applied Statistics at Purdue University. He is an Enrolled Actuary, an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Bob currently serves as a co-chairperson for the Enrolled Actuary Examination Committee for EA-2A.
Currently, Bob is Manager of the Retirement Programs at Southern Company in Atlanta, Georgia. He has over 25 years of consulting experience. Bob works with numerous plan sponsors to develop and implement frozen plan solutions to manage costs and mitigate risk. He has assisted several clients with total HR transformation projects which included assessing current value, developing and implementing plan design alternatives, and overseeing process management effectiveness. Additionally, he has worked with various organizations on retirement design, communication, post-retirement medical plans, and financial management issues. Throughout his career as a retirement consultant, Bob has served as national chairperson for new client transition/implementation, national chairperson for retirement training, and national chairperson for recruiting.
To read more Alumni Profiles, please visit our Alumni Profiles archive.
Bemis Awarded NSF GRFP Fellowship, Participates in Minority Outreach
The NSF GRFP also encourages fellows to participate in outreach programs that broaden participation of underrepresented populations in the sciences. Bemis is a member of the Zuni tribe, and is active in several Native American groups on campus, including the Native American Student Association (NASA), and is the current Vice-President of the Purdue chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). Bemis is also a Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) fellow. This summer, Bemis and other native Purdue SIGP students mentored Alaskan Native high school students through the Alaskan Natives in Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) and other underrepresented minorities through the Minority Education Through Traveling and Learning in the Sciences (METALS) program, led by Purdue geology professor Ken Ridgeway. Bemis and the other students spoke about their research and experience in science at Purdue to encourage the new generation of young scientists to pursue study in the sciences.
About Purdue AISES: http://www.purdue.edu/naecc/aises.html
About the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership: http://www.purdue.edu/naecc/sloan.html
Blog about METALS trip (and other related activities): http://purduenaecc2012.wordpress.com/
Statistics at Purdue
Our commitment to core areas of research in Mathematical, Methodological, and Applied Statistics, and Probability supports and enhances our focus areas of research in:
- Bioinformatics - Our work in this area started in 1995. Interdisciplinary collaborations with agronomists, biologists, and computer scientists are essential components.
- Climate Change and Computational Science - statistical models of Climate Change; long term collaborations with Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
- Computational Finance - Cutting edge investment science; collaborations with Computer Science, Economics, Industrial Engineering, Management, and Mathematics.
- Statistics and Computer Science: Mining, Learning, Visualization and Massive Data - Statistics and Computer Science are natural partners today, and bringing together knowledge from the two disciplines holds great promise for the future of learning from data.
- Science Education - foundation developed by distinguished Professor for the scholarship of teaching.
Our StatCom program is a community service program directed and staffed by graduate students in the Department.
The Department's Statisical Consulting Service offers free statistical software and design consultations to University researchers. Students and staff participate in Purdue's Technical Assistance Program (TAP) which helps Indiana's businesses and industries implement new technologies.
All of our work is supported by our state of the art facilities, enabling our faculty, staff, and students to realize their full potential.
Questions or comments? Please send e-mail to webmaster@stat.purdue.edu

