Steve the Matchmaker: Marriage of Statistics and Computer Sciences in the World of Data Privacy

• Activity Number: 11
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 4, 2013 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: CHANCE
• Author(s): Aleksandra Slavkovic *+
• Companies: Penn State University
• Keywords: confidentiality ; disclosure limitation ; data privacy ; interdisciplinary statistics ; computer sciences

Abstract

Steve Fienberg's career is the very epitome of what an interdisciplinary statistical research and education are and should be. Steve has been a tireless leader in promoting the importance of statistics to the broader scientific community, government, media, policymakers, students, and the general public, and in establishing collaborations between statistics and many other disciplines. In the area of data privacy and confidentiality, Steve has been a key player in bringing computer scientists and statisticians to work together on one of the fundamental problems of modern society. His contributions to methodology of disclosure limitation and their impact to a more general problem of privacy protection and confidentiality will be discussed. An emphasis will be put on the many insights offered by his students and collaborators.