IOLs & Late-Breaking Sessions

Introductory Overview Lectures

Introductory overview lectures (IOLs) provide brief, high-quality introductions to important and timely statistical topics covered in a more specialized form than in other JSM sessions.

In some cases, IOLs present material from rapidly developing areas of methodology or applications. In others, they introduce important and challenging statistical topics that are mature but may not be well known outside a specialist group. In all cases, IOL topics are selected because of their potential to enrich the future directions of statistical theory and practice through broader dissemination.

Alexandra Schmidt, JSM 2025 program chair, accepts proposals via email from September 1 to November 21, 2024. They should include the following:

Session Title
Session Description (including a summary of its statistical and scientific content, an explanation of its timeliness, and comments about the specific audiences for which it will be of principal interest)
Session Format
Names of the session organizer; chair; and all speakers, panelists, and discussants (prospective session participants should have agreed to participate in the session before the session proposal is submitted)
Complete affiliation and contact information (mailing address, phone, email) for organizer, chair, and all participants
Title for Each Presentation

Late-Breaking Sessions

A late-breaking session covers one or more technical, scientific, or policy-related topics that has arisen in the one-year period before the JSM in which the session is proposed to appear. Alexandra Schmidt, JSM 2025 program chair, accepts proposals via the online system from mid-February to April 15, 2025. They should include the following:

Session Title
Session Description (including a summary of its statistical and scientific content, an explanation of its timeliness, and comments about the specific audiences for which it will be of principal interest)
Session Format (paper or panel)
Names of the session organizer; chair; and all speakers, panelists, and/or discussants (prospective session participants should have agreed to participate in the session before the session proposal is submitted)
Complete affiliation and contact information (mailing address, phone, email) for organizer, chair, and all participants
Title for Each Presentation (if paper session)
Links to Relevant Technical Reports (if applicable)

Invited Sessions

JSM is developed by a program committee comprised of members from participating JSM societies. Each group is responsible for a specific number of invited sessions picked and/or developed specifically by these groups. Anyone can propose a session, but someone from the committee must accept the proposal for it to be part of the invited program. Of particular interest are sessions that appeal to diverse audiences and are closely related to the JSM theme.

Invited sessions include invited papers, panels, and posters:

Invited paper sessions consist of 2–6 presenters and/or discussants.
Invited panels have 3–6 panelists providing commentary about a topic. Note: there are no individual abstracts/presentations in a panel session.
The invited poster session has 30–40 participants with e-posters (offered on a 42” LCD display in the landscape position) addressing a common theme. If interested in proposing an invited poster session topic, please contact the JSM 2025 poster chair, Shirin Golchi.

An invited session proposal includes a session title, general description of the session, list of participants, and tentative talk titles.

There are a limited number of invited session slots. Those proposals not accepted as invited sessions can be resubmitted as topic-contributed session proposals.

JSM 2025 Theme

The theme for JSM 2025 is “Statistics, Data Science, and AI Enriching Society.” To have the best chance of receiving an invited session slot, you should do the following:

Have solid new work in an important field
Know some of your competitors working in the same field
Be willing to reach out to your competitors and forge a session with energy in it

Propose an Invited Session

If you are interested in organizing an invited session, select a session topic and solicit potential speakers. Once you have your committed speakers, you can submit your proposal online from July 16 to September 5, 2024.

Decide on a theme.
Shop your theme around the people you know are active in that area.
Write a proposal briefly saying why the theme is interesting and important, listing the proposed participants, and, if necessary, supporting the participants’ qualifications to speak about the topic.
Submit your proposal via the online system to an ASA section for sponsorship

In addition to ASA sections, you may submit your ideas to members of the program committee from the following:

Casualty Actuarial Society
International Biometric Society, ENAR
International Biometric Society, WNAR
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Statistical Society of Canada
International Chinese Statistical Association
International Indian Statistical Association
Korean International Statistical Society
International Society for Bayesian Analysis
Royal Statistical Society
International Statistical Institute
Caucus for Women in Statistics
Statistical Society of Australia
ASA committees

If you have ideas that don’t fit any of the sections or partner societies, you may send them to 2025 JSM Program Chair Alexandra Schmidt, though she has little latitude and will need to turn down most, if not all, such submissions. Also, ideas for invited poster presentations should go directly to the 2025 JSM poster chair, Shirin Golchi.

Propose a Memorial Session

If you would like to organize a memorial session for a particular deceased person, please follow the submission instructions and select “Memorial” as the sponsor. If you wish to submit a proposal for a memorial session after the September 5, 2024, deadline, please contact 2025 JSM Program Chair Alexandra Schmidt. Memorial submissions will be accepted on a space-available basis.

Note: Not all proposed sessions will be accepted. Organizers will be notified of the status of their proposed session in mid-October 2024.

Topic-Contributed Sessions

A topic-contributed session is planned by one or more organizers and includes speakers presenting about a shared topic.

Topic-contributed paper sessions consist of five speakers, made up of at least three presenters and, at most, two discussants; each speaker has 20 minutes to present.
Topic-contributed panels consist of three to six members who provide commentary or a point of view on the panel topic. Note: there are no individual abstracts/presentations in a panel session.
Topic-contributed poster sessions have 10–15 participants with posters addressing a common topic.

A topic-contributed session proposal includes a session title, general description of the session, list of participants, and tentative talk titles.

To propose a topic-contributed session:

Develop your idea and a list of speakers who agree to present on a common topic.
Submit your idea online from November 14 to December 9, 2024.
Await approval from a member of the JSM Program Committee.
Ensure all speakers submit individual abstracts by February 3, 2025, per the instructions received in your acceptance email (notifications will be sent in early January). Note: All speakers will be required to register for JSM.
Talk to potential authors early, as no participant can serve as a presenting author in more than one session.

Note: Not all proposed sessions will be accepted. Organizers will be notified of the status of their proposed session in early January 2025.

Contributed Sessions

Contributed sessions include papers, posters, and speed presentations. You simply submit a presentation abstract online from December 2, 2024, to February 3, 2025, for the JSM Program Committee to review for appropriate placement on the program.

Contributed sessions can be one of the following:

Paper: Seven participants (each presenting for 15 minutes) are grouped by the JSM Program Committee.
Speed: A hybrid of a poster and oral presentation, a speed session consists of 20 oral presentations of four minutes each, with five minutes of break after the first set of 10 talks. The short oral presentations are then followed by an e-poster (offered on a 42” LCD display in the landscape position) session later the same day.
Poster: Presentations are grouped by a JSM partner society or ASA section.

Chairing a Session

If you are interested in serving as a session chair, please indicate this during the abstract submission process or contact the member of the program committee representing the section/society of interest to you.