ASA Member News Archive
ASA Member News October 2007
Welcome to the October edition of ASA Member News, the ASA's monthly e-newsletter.
STATbit
Did you know the ASA honors the recipients of eleven awards at the Presidential Address and Awards session of the annual Joint Statistical Meetings? Awards.
In Amstat News
In this month’s President’s Corner, Mary Ellen Bock discusses the statistics major and how it is becoming more popular among U.S. students who have the potential to go on to graduate work in statistics.
Upcoming Deadlines
REVISING JSM PROCEEDINGS PAPERS – Deadline: October 29, 2007
If you submitted a paper by midnight on October 8, you have until October 29 to resubmit a corrected paper. More information.
UN OPPORTUNITIES FOR STATISTICIANS – Deadline: October 31, 2007
The U.S. Department of State has requested the ASA’s assistance in recruiting qualified U.S. citizens with a statistics background to apply to take the 2008 United Nations National Competitive Recruitment Examination (NCRE). This examination is used by the UN to identify candidates for certain entry-level professional positions, which may lead to a satisfying career with the UN. Examinations will be held in NYC in February 2008. Questions?
NEW NSF PROGRAM SOLICITATION – Deadline: November 20, 2007
A new NSF program solicitation is now available: Foundations of Data and Visual Analytics (FODAVA).
EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC SUMMER INSTITUTES FOR U.S. GRADUATE STUDENTS - Deadline: December 12, 2007
The East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) program offers U.S. graduate students in science and engineering a unique opportunity to study abroad with foreign researchers (in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, or Taiwan) for eight weeks during the summer. In 2008, the EAPSI awards will include a stipend of $5,000, an allowance for international travel, and support to attend a pre-departure orientation in Washington, DC.
SECTION ON STATISTICS IN DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY 2008 STUDENT PAPER AWARD - Deadline: February 1, 2008
The ASA’s Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security awards an annual prize for the best student paper about the use of statistics on a problem in defense or national security. Nomination letters and the paper should be submitted via email to Lionel Galway.
Events Outlook
FEDERAL COMMITTEE ON STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY 2007 RESEARCH CONFERENCE – Arlington, Virginia – November 5–7, 2007
The 2007 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Research Conference will be held November 5–7, 2007, at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, Virginia. The conference provides a forum for experts from around the world to discuss and exchange current research and methodological topics relevant to federal government statistical programs. Sessions feature papers and demonstrations by government, private sector, and academic researchers from nine countries.
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOPHARMACEUTICAL STATISTICS – Shanghai, China – June 30–July 2, 2008
The 2008 symposium is cosponsored by, among others, the American Statistical Association. The purposes of the symposium are to provide an international forum for statistical professionals to share and exchange information and to improve and promote the harmonization of statistical practice in the industry at the international front. The symposium will cover a wide range of topics in research; development; and regulations of drugs, biologics, medical devices, and biotechnologies.
EVENTS CALENDAR
Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.
@amstat.org
STATISITCS IN BIOPHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH PAPERS AVAILABLE ONLINE PRE-PUBLICATION
Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research abstracts of fully accepted papers are now available on the SBR web page. These papers are available online pre-publication in their entirety to ASA members via ASA Members Only. For more about SBR, contact Editor Joseph Heyse.
CALL FOR ASA FELLOW NOMINATIONS
Becoming an ASA Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed by our organization. On behalf of the ASA, the Committee on Fellows strongly encourages the nomination of deserving members for the ASA Fellow award. We also encourage ASA Chapters, Sections, and Committees to search for and nominate deserving members from their respective constituencies. Nominating a Fellow.
Special Opportunities
STATISTICIAN AMONG THE RECIPIENTS OF THE NIH PIONEER AWARDS
On September 19, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias Zerhouni announced the recipients of the fourth group of Pioneer Awards and the first group of NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards. The recipients will each receive $2.5 million in direct costs over five years. They are selected through a special application and evaluation process that engages 262 experts from the scientific community in identifying the most highly completive individuals in each pool.
ASA SEEKS DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE POLICY
The ASA is seeking a director of science policy to begin in January 2008. The ideal candidate will be a member in good standing with the ASA and have an advanced degree in statistics with expertise in science policy and/or public policy. Major responsibilities of the director of science policy include executing plans designed to increase the participation and visibility of the statistical profession and the ASA in science policy discussions at the national and international levels, promoting the use and appreciation of sound statistical methods in the collection and analysis of the data on which decisions are based, and working with decision makers to help the statistical sciences receive an appropriate share of public funds devoted to scientific research and education. Full job description.
JSM 2008 LOCAL AREA COMMITTEE
Matt Pocernich, president of the ASA Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, is looking for members interested in participating in Local Area Committee activities that will support the Joint Statistical Meetings in Denver, August 3–7, 2008. If you are interested, please contact Pocernich.
ETS R&D FELLOWSHIP AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
The goal of the ETS R&D Fellowship and Internship programs is to provide talented individuals, especially women and under-represented minority scholars and students, opportunities to carry out research under the mentorship of ETS senior research scientists and psychometricians. Areas of emphasis in research encouraged by this program include measurement theory, validity, natural language processing and computational linguistics, cognitive psychology, learning theory, linguistics, speech recognition and processing, teaching and classroom research, and statistics. The application process for 2008 will open on November 1, 2007. No applications will be accepted prior to this date.
PROPOSAL FOR NEW SECTION
The Special Interest Group (SIG) on Statistical Learning and Data Analysis is now soliciting endorsements from ASA members interesting in moving the group from a SIG to an ASA section. This would enable the group to have its own invited paper sessions at ASA meetings, plan joint meetings with other societies, sponsor student papers and presentations, publish special-topic issues, and have greater representation at the ASA. Details of the proposal are available under the “What’s New” tab.
COPSS 2008 AWARDS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Awards are jointly sponsored by the American Statistical Association; the Institute of Mathematical Statistics; the International Biometric Society, ENAR; the International Biometric Society, WNAR; and the Statistical Society of Canada. Nominations are now being accepted for COPSS 2008 awards, including the R.A. Fisher Lectureship, the Florence Nightingale David Award, the Elizabeth L. Scott Award, the George W. Snedecor Award, and the Presidents' Award. Each award consists of a plaque, citation, and cash honorarium.
CHAPTER-GET-A-MEMBER CHALLENGE
Time is running out to recruit new members as part of our Chapter-Get-a-Member Challenge. The challenge started May 1, 2007, and will end October 31, 2007. For each new member you recruit, your chapter will receive a $10 gift certificate good for any ASA product or service. The chapters with the most recruits will receive a complimentary ASA membership for their officers and two free ASA memberships to award to chapter members of their choosing.
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SECTION’S FALL 2007 WEB-BASED TRAINING SERIES
As part of its web-based training program created earlier this year, the Biopharmaceutical Section has launched a training series on adaptive designs in clinical trials presented by topic experts from the pharmaceutical industry and academia. The series begins on October 10 and includes four two-hour courses presented once a month. The Section subsidizes the series to provide its members with a convenient and inexpensive training option.
INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL LITERACY COMPETITION OF THE ISLP
The ISLP’s Statistical Literacy Competition is for students aged 10–18. The competition will take place once a year in early May. Specific dates will be announced to all registered teachers. Teachers register as representatives for the students in their classes who will participate. Each teacher may then involve as many teams of 2–3 students as they want.
Feedback, comments, or suggestions are welcome please email asamail@amstat.org with your ideas.