ASA Member News Archive

Welcome to the March edition of ASA Member News, the ASA's monthly e-newsletter.

STATbit

More than 600 ASA Members are retired! ASA Senior/Retired Memberships are available to any individual who is 65 or older or who is fully retired, regardless of age. The membership includes a one-year subscription to Amstat News; online access to the Current Index to Statistics (CIS), and discounts on all publications, programs, and meetings. More information.

In Amstat News

PRESIDENT'S CORNER
 
Tsunami and Statistics
 
As luck would have it, many ASA Members were in South Asia when the tsunami hit on Boxing Day, this past December 26. It turned out that there were two ongoing major international statistical conferences---one at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka and the second several hundred miles farther north at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India. I, myself, was in Hyderabad to honor Professor C.R. Rao. Read more. 

Upcoming Deadlines

TSMII CONTRIBUTED ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED: April 1, 2005

The 2nd International Conference on Telephone Survey Methodology (TSMII) Program Committee has extended the deadline for abstract submission to April 1, 2005. The Committee invites all interested researchers to submit abstracts for consideration for presentation at the conference through the conference website. The abstract should be no more than 500 words.

2005 OUTSTANDING STATISTICAL APPLICATION AWARD DEADLINE: April 1, 2005

The award for an outstanding statistical application was established in 1986 to recognize important statistical applications papers. The typical winning paper demonstrates strong interplay between statistical science and a substantive applied area. The selection committee is seeking strong nominations for the 2005 award, to be presented at the Minneapolis JSM August 2005. Authors of the winning paper will receive a certificate and split a $1,000 prize. Six copies of the nominating paper, along with six copies of the nomination letter, should be sent directly to the Committee Chair by April 1, 2005. More information.

NIH DIRECTOR'S PIONEER AWARD PROGRAM DEADLINE: April 1, 2005
 
First announced in fiscal year 2004, nine awards were made in September 2004. The NDPA is designed to support individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose pioneering approaches to major contemporary challenges in biomedical research. The NDPA is meant to support individuals who intend to pursue new research directions not already supported by other mechanisms. The program is not intended simply to expand the funding of persons already well supported for a particular project. Nominations must be submitted electronically, as described on the form. The web site will accept nominations from March 1, 2005, through 5 p.m. EST on April 1, 2005. Get a nomination form.
 
ELLIS R. OTT SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: April 1, 2005
 
The Statistics Division of the American Society for Quality is pleased to announce the availability of $5,000 in scholarships to support students enrolled in or accepted into a master's-level or higher program with a concentration in applied statistics and/or quality management. Forms for the 2005-06 academic year will be accepted between January 1, 2005, and April 1, 2005. Downoad application information. 
 
GERTRUDE M. COX SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: April 1, 2005
 
The Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship was established in 1989 to encourage more women to enter statistics-oriented professions. Application is limited to women who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada and who are admitted to full-time study in a graduate statistics program by July 1 of the award year. Women in or entering into the early stages of graduate training (M.S. or PhD) are especially encouraged to apply. The award consists of a certificate and a $1,000 prize. The deadline is April 1, 2005. 

WASHINGTON STATISTICAL SOCIETY SHORT COURSE REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 8, 2005
 
This WSS Short Course, containing topics from the two-day course presented by JNK Rao and S. Lohr at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Toronto, Canada, introduces and appraises some of the recent developments in sample survey methods. Topics include survey design and inferential issues, analysis of survey data with emphasis on graphing data and resampling methods, design and estimation in multiple frame surveys, and small area estimation. The course will be held on April 20, 2005. Registration is due by April 8, 2005. 
 
WRAY JACKSON SMITH SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: April 15, 2005
 
Nominations are being sought for the 2005 Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship. The 2005 recipient of the scholarship will be chosen by a committee of representatives of the Government Statistics Section and the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. Dr. Smith was associated with and strongly supportive of these organizations during his career. All necessary materials must be submitted by April 15, 2005. 

ASA COMMITTEE ON LAW AND JUSTICE STATISTICS DEADLINE: May 1, 2005

Proposals for this research grant program for the analysis of Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data are due May 1, 2005. This program is designed to encourage the creative and appropriate use of these data to inform substantive and methodological issues. Young investigators are encouraged to apply. Grants are available to support dissertation research. Awards are generally for a one- or two-year period. An illustrative list of BJS data sources for potential research topics includes the National Crime Victimization Survey, National Incident-Based Reporting System, Federal Justice Data, Law Enforcement Data, and National Prisoner Statistics. More information.

VOTE IN THE ASA ELECTION DEADLINE: May 16, 2005

The ASA encourages you to participate in the election of your ASA officers.  Vote online March 15, 2005 through May 16, 2005 at 12:00 midnight EST.  View candidate biographies. Cast your vote now.    

Events Outlook

2005 ENAR SPRING MEETING 
 
ENAR will hold their annual spring meeting from March 20-23, 2005, in Austin, Texas.  
 
2005 SPRING STATISTICAL SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION
 
The American Statistical Association and the University of Maryland Statistics Consortium will cohost its Spring Statistical Symposium in College Park, Maryland, from March 22-25, 2005. The symposium is a week-long series of short course offerings for professional statisticians and students of statistics.
 
ASA PHILADELPHIA SPRING MEETING
 
On March 24, 2005, the ASA's Philadelphia Chapter will host a meeting in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania. The afternoon will feature three diverse talks covering a range of topics. Liwen Xi, PhD of Merck & Company, Inc. will discuss "The Distribution of Half-Life of a Drug and Its Median"; Michael Mann, PhD of the University of Virginia will describe "Statistical Application in the Science of Climate Change"; and Justine Shults, PhD from the University of Pennsylvania will explain the "Analysis of Repeated Bouts of Measurements in the Framework of Generalized Estimating Equations." 

TOOLS FOR REGAINING THE COMPETITIVE EDGE
 
The Cleveland ASA Chapter will host a seminar on April 1, 2005, in Cleveland, Ohio.  Dr. Melvin Moeschberger, associate director of the Center for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, will be the presenter in the 19th annual, very successful Tools for Regaining the Competitive Edge seminar series. Survival data are found in a number of areas of application, including medicine and reliability engineering. Basic elements of survival analyses will be presented, including the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Weighted log rank tests, regression techniques for censored data, and testing and model building using covariates also will be presented. For more information, contact Jerry Moreno.  

SUGI 30 in Philadelphia, PA

Register to attend SUGI 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from April 10-13, 2005, and join more than 3,000 fellow SAS software users. You'll find information on every topic of interest, through more than 300 papers and presentations, hands-on demonstrations, stimulating keynote talks, powerful workshops, and one-on-one discussions will be included. Don't miss this unique opportunity to network with SAS staff members and other SAS users from around the world.

JSM 2005 INFORMATION

All JSM organizers, chairs, paper and poster presenters, and discussants will receive their JSM program schedules via email by March 31, 2005. Abstract editing will be available to speakers from April 1-29, 2005. The full JSM program will be available for viewing on April 1, 2005. JSM registration and housing reservations will open on May 2, 2005.

Events Calendar

Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.

@amstat.org

CAREERS IN STATISTICS BROCHURE    
 
The Careers in Statistics brochure has been updated and posted on Amstat Online.

COPIES OF ASA BULLETIN NEEDED

JSTOR is seeking copies of Vols. 1-7 (1938-1947) of the American Statistical Association Bulletin, a previous title to The American Statistician. JSTOR also needs the following three sold-out issues: Vol. 45.1 and Vol. 46.1 of Technometrics and Vol. 22.1 of the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics. JSTOR's objective is to archive and provide access back to Volume 1, Issue 1 for every JSTOR participating journal. If you know of any individuals or libraries that might have copies of these volumes that they are willing to loan or donate to JSTOR for this effort, please let us know. If the copies are loaned, JSTOR will rebind and return them as requested. Please contact Ronnie Precup or (703) 684-1221.

Special Opportunities

******FREE ONLINE CIS ACCESS AVAILABLE FOR ASA MEMBERS******
 
ASA announces a new member benefit for all individual members. Members now can enjoy free online access to the "Current Index to Statistics" (CIS). To activate your CIS access, log in to ASA Members Only and select the CIS Web Access tab at the top of the page for instructions. 
 
General ASA Information 
 
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SEARCH
 
The ASA is seeking an Assistant Director of Research and Graduate Education Programs with research and teaching experience in graduate statistics education. See the full position listing.

NEW ASA STAFF

Val Snider has joined the ASA as the Publications Coordinator, integrating her background in journalism with her advanced education in publication design. She will edit Amstat News and STATS and Chance magazines in addition to her work on the annual JSM publications. Visit ASA Publications.