ASA Member News Archive
ASA Member News October 2013
October 2013 Edition
Statistical Outreach & News
INTEREST IN STATISTICS STILL RISING
The number of high-school students who took the Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics Exam this year increased to nearly 170,000, a jump of 11% over the 2012 number. The percentage increase is in line with the average annual increases of 12% realized since 2003 and parallels the growth of AP Calculus AB. The strong growth in AP Statistics is considered one factor in the doubling of undergrad statistics degrees over the last five years. For more information about AP Statistics, read this ASA Community blog entry.
WOMEN WELL REPRESENTED IN GROWING STATISTICAL SCIENCE INTEREST
According to the most recent National Center for Education Statistics degree data, women earned a large percentage of the undergraduate and graduate degrees in statistical science relative to other scientific fields. In 2012, 42% of bachelor’s degrees and PhDs in statistics and biostatistics were awarded to women; 50% for master’s degrees. For AP Statistics, 525 of the 2012 AP Statistics exam takers were female. In terms of under-represented minorities, statistical science faces many of the same challenges as other sciences. For more information about statistics degrees, see this October Amstat News article.
MURPHY AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS MACARTHUR FELLOWSHIP
ASA member and University of Michigan statistics professor Susan Murphy was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow September 24. She was honored for her work developing new methodologies to evaluate courses of treatment for individuals coping with chronic or relapsing disorders such as depression or substance abuse. Murphy's Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) is a means for learning how best to dynamically adapt treatment to an individual's response over time. Read more and watch an interview with Murphy here. Learn about the McArthur Fellows Program.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN’S EFFECT ON STATISTICAL AND SCIENCE AGENCIES RECEIVED PROMINENT MEDIA ATTENTION
Federal statistical and science agencies received their share of the intense media coverage of the government shutdown. The effect of the shutdown on clinical trials, NASA missions, and Antarctic science were among the science shutdown stories in the national media. For more about the impact of the shutdown on science, see Science magazine’s shutdown news page. Thanks in part to the absence of the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s September jobs report on October 4, the impact of the data vacuum on the economy—from agriculture to energy—was broadly reported. To see some of this coverage, view this ASA Community blog entry.
To receive updates about ASA science policy activities or news, follow us on Twitter: @ASA_SciPol. See recent Tweets at http://www.amstat.org/policy/.
Meetings, Education, & Events
UNDERSTANDING IMMIGRATION: MEASURING FLOWS, STOCKS, AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS – OCTOBER 25 – WASHINGTON, DC
Presenters will discuss challenges with currently available data sources and estimation methods, as well as opportunities for future improvements for one of the most contentious policy issues of the day. Register for the seminar.
BIG DATA AND ANALYTICS EDCON 2013 - Las Vegas, NV – November 2–3
IBM, the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool), and the University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management are joining forces to create a workshop focusing on the future of Big Data and analytics and revolutionizing the availability of Big Data and analytics skills for businesses to leverage. One conference goal is to outline projects and plans for developing K–12, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate curricula. Registration and more conference information are available.
2013 FCSM RESEARCH CONFERENCE – Washington, DC – November 4–6
Registration is now open, and the advance program is available for the 2013 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Research Conference. This three-day conference will bring together researchers in the statistical community from the government, private sector, and academia to discuss and exchange current research and methodological topics relevant to statistical programs. Visit the FCSM website or COPAFS website for more information about registration or to view the advance program. Questions may be sent to mailto:fcsm.conf@gmail.com.
FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCIES HOSTING INFORMATIONAL SYMPOSIUM – Washington, DC – November 13–14
The 14 agencies comprising the U.S. statistical system will hold an informational symposium next month in Washington that will explore the work of these federal agencies, statistical and data resources available to the media and the public, and statistics careers in the public sector. The Symposium of the U.S. Statistical Agencies, which is being organized under the auspices of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy as part of its celebration of the International Year of Statistics, will be held at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More information.
69TH ANNUAL DEMING CONFERENCE ON APPLIED STATISTICS – Atlantic City, NJ – DECEMBER 8–13
The website, www.demingconference.com, which contains the full description of the 12 tutorials and following two-day short courses, is open for conference and hotel registration.
2014 ASA CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL PRACTICE – Tampa, FL – February 20–22, 2014
Registration for ASA’s 3rd annual Conference on Statistical Practice has opened and the online program is now available. This year’s program boasts short courses, tutorials, and concurrent sessions covering Big Data, data modeling, software and graphics, and communication. To help you with your career development goals, the conference also is offering mentoring and career placement. Register before January 2 to take advantage of the discounted prices.
SIAM CONFERENCE ON UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION (UQ14) – Savannah, GA – March 31–April 3, 2014
UQ14 will bring together mathematicians, statisticians, scientists, and engineers with an interest in the development and implementation of uncertainty quantification methods. The goal is to provide a forum for sharing ideas and enhance communication among this diverse group of technical experts, thereby contributing to future advances in the field. The conference is being held in cooperation with the American Statistical Association, GAMM Activity Group on Uncertainty Quantification, and American Geophysical Union. Instructions for participating and more are available on the website.
2014 ASA BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SECTION FDA-INDUSTRY WORKSHOP – Washington, DC – September 22–24, 2014
The FDA-Industry Statistics Workshop invites proposals for plenary/concurrent sessions, short courses, and town hall discussions. The online submission site will open November 1 for all session types. The deadline for submission of plenary/concurrent sessions and short courses is December 16. Proposals for roundtable luncheon/town hall discussion will be accepted through March 3, 2014.
EVENTS CALENDAR
Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.
Off the Press
AMSTAT NEWS
JSM 2013 - A POSTSCRIPT
In this month’s Presidents Corner, ASA President Marie Davidian reflects on the success of JSM and touches on highlights such as securing Nate Silver as the President’s Invited speaker. Read more here.
SIGNIFICANCE MAGAZINE ONLINE WEB EXCLUSIVES
GOOGLE WANTS TO EXTEND YOUR LIFE
Can statistics save your life? Well, Google certainly thinks it can. Moreover, the company has invested a huge amount of money to prove it. In a surprising move that just appeared on the cover of TIME, Google announced its investment in Calico, a company headed by Genentech and Apple board member Arthur Levinson. Read more.
Read more web exclusives from Significance.
FREE ARTICLE DOWNLOADS
* Multinomial Inverse Regression for Text Analysis (with discussion), by Matt Taddy
* Validation of Visual Statistical Inference, Applied to Linear Models, by Mahbubul Majumder, Heike Hofmann, and Dianne Cook
* Latent Supervised Learning, by Susan Wei and Michael Kosorok
* Wavelet-Variance-Based Estimation for Composite Stochastic Processes, by Stéphane Guerrier, Jan Skaloud, Yannick Stebler, and Maria-Pia Victoria-Feser
Thank God That Regressing Y on X Is Not the Same as Regressing X on Y: Direct and Indirect Residual Augmentations, by Xiaojin Xu, Xiao-Li Meng, and Yaming Yu
STATISTICS TEACHER NETWORK (STN) ISSUE 81 ONLINE!
The Statistics Teacher Network (STN) is a free newsletter published by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability for Grades K–12. Issue 81 of STN is online.
Member Opportunities
ASA ACCREDITATION PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW: Accredited Members
Special recognition to the following newly accredited members from September: Faten Sabry of the National Economic Research Associates, Justin B. Dickerson of the Intermountain Medical Center, Jocelyn H. Bolin of Ball State University, Larry Z. Shen of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Frank C. Castronova of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Jason W. Osborne of University of Louisville.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION DURING UCONFERENCE
CURRICULUM GUIDELINES FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN STATISTICAL SCIENCE WEBINARS
ASA AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINES
2014 STUDENT INTERNSHIP LISTING SUBMISSION
FREE LESSON PLANS AVAILABLE ON STATISTICS EDUCATION WEB FOR K–12 TEACHERS
FREE STATISTICS EDUCATION WEBINARS
GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGNIFICANCE TO YOUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL
Feedback, comments, or suggestions are welcome please email asamail@amstat.org with your ideas.