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Abstract:
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From (and even before) the 1988 “Sacks/Olkin Report” Cross-Disciplinary Research in the Statistical Sciences until his retirement as Director in 2000, Jerry Sacks led NISS in implementing the national statistics community’s vision for a free-standing institute that would form cross-disciplinary research teams to address important societal problems. From the perspective of twenty-two years as its Associate Director and Director, I will review ways in which NISS did—and did not—realize that vision, as well as Jerry’s role in the process. Among the successes were demonstrating the value of postdoctoral positions in the statistical sciences; national-scale, cross-disciplinary projects on the environment, transportation, education, software engineering and official statistics; and the NISS building in Research Triangle Park. Challenges not met to varying degrees included participation of senior leaders; full engagement of the national statistics community; and a sustainable business model.
A number of photographs of Jerry and others who played key roles in the creation and maturation of NISS will be included.
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