ASA Member News Archive

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

STATbit

Did you know that almost 20% of the ASA's members are students?  Help a student build their future in statistics by letting them know they can join the ASA as a student member for only $10 for their first year or $20 for their first two years.  Or better yet, sponsor a student's membership.

In Amstat News

MENTORS ACCIDENTAL AND OTHER TYPES by Renee Miller, 2005 Social Statistics Program Chair

Following what Albert Madansky wrote in ASA Needs More Askers, (Amstat News, March 2005), Renee Miler explains that one reason she wrote this piece is because ASA President Fritz Scheuren asked her to.  Fritz, himself, is an example of an "accidental" mentor, someone who transfers knowledge without necessarily realizing he is doing anything out of the ordinary.  Read the article online.  

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

The ASA would like to encourage members to vote in the ASA annual elections. Currently, all ballots are sent by regular mail only. To increase participation, would you like to receive your ballot by Regular Mail Only; Email Only; Both Regular Mail and Email; or Does Not Apply, I don't feel involved enough in the ASA to vote.  Read the President's Column.

Upcoming Deadlines

ENHANCING THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES WORKFORCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY - Proposal Deadline: October 12, 2005

The long-range goal of the EMSW21 program is to increase the number of well-prepared U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents who pursue careers in the mathematical sciences and in other NSF-supported disciplines.  EMSW21 tries to do this with three components: The Vertical Integration of Research and Education (VIGRE) program supports activities that involve the entire department and span the entire spectrum of educational levels from undergraduates through postdoctoral associates; Research Training Groups (RTG) support the training activities of a group of faculty who have a common research interest; Mentoring through Critical Transition Points (MCTP) involves a larger group of faculty but focuses on specified stages in the professional development of the trainees.  The proposal deadline is October 12, 2005.  More information. 

NEW NSF SPECIAL MEETINGS COMPETITION - Deadline: October 18, 2005

In the spring, the NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) held its first Special Meetings competition. Due to the relatively small number of proposals submitted, an additional competition has been scheduled for this fall.  Details for the Special Meetings competition and general information.

NOMINATIONS FOR NOETHER SENIOR SCHOLAR & YOUNG RESEARCHER AWARD - Deadline: November 30, 2005

The Noether Award Committee invites nominations for the Noether Senior Scholar Award. The Noether award is given each year to a distinguished senior statistician in order to recognize outstanding research and teaching achievements in nonparametric statistics. The award includes prestigious recognition and a monetary award. The recipient will also deliver an invited lecture at the Noether Invited Session during the JSM. The Noether Award Committee also invites nominations for the Noether Young Researcher Award. The purpose of this award is to foster and advance research in nonparametric statistics. The award includes prestigious recognition and a monetary award. Young researchers, 35 years or younger as of 8/31/06, who have done outstanding research in nonparametric statistics can be nominated.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE DEMING AWARD - Deadline: December 1, 2005

The Deming lectureship was established in 1995 to honor the accomplishments of Dr. W. Edwards Deming.  The Deming Award recognizes the accomplishments of the awardee and enhances the awareness among the statistical community of Deming's philosophy and methods. The awardee will give the Deming Lecture at the Joint Statistical Meetings and receive a $1,000 honorarium, an award plaque, and paid travel expenses.

SAMUEL S. WILKS MEMORIAL AWARD - NEW Deadline: April, 1, 2006

The 2006 Samuel S. Wilks Memorial Medal Committee invites members to submit nominations for this award to be presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings.  The award consists of a medal, a citation, and an honorarium. The Wilks Award was established in 1964 to honor the memory and distinguished career of Sam Wilks by recognizing outstanding contributions to statistics that carry on in the spirit of his work.  Additional information and nomination guidelines.

Events Outlook

2005 FDA/INDUSTRY STATISTICS WORKSHOP - Washington, DC - September 14-16, 2005
 
The FDA/Industry Statistics Workshop to be held in Washington, DC is sponsored by the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section in cooperation with the FDA Statistical Association. The conference will feature sessions cochaired by statisticians from industry, academia and the FDA. Short courses will be offered on September 14.  Register Now.

STATISTICS CAREER DAY - Allendale, MI - October 14, 2005
 
This event to be held in Allendale, Michigan, is sponsored by the Department of Statistics at Grand Valley State University and the SW Michigan Chapter of the ASA. The career fair will provide high school and college students with an opportunity to learn about careers in statistics. Participants will meet with employers and professionals who use data to solve problems in a variety of fields, such as actuarial science, government, health care, and marketing. The lunch time keynote speaker is Fritz Scheuren, ASA President. More information.

49TH ANNUAL FALL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE - St. Louis, MO - October 20-21
 
The Fall Technical Conference provides a forum for discussing topics at the interface of statistics and quality. This year's theme is Statistics: Gateway to Quality. Pre- and post-conference short courses will be offered. The ASA Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences and the ASA Section on Quality and Productivity are cosponsors of this event, along with the American Society for Quality Statistics Division and Chemical and Process Industry Division. The conference will be held at the Hilton, St. Louis. For information on registration, the program, and housing, see the conference website.  

2005 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH - Boston, MA - OCTOBER 28-30 
The 2005 conference, Analytic Methods That Help Health Policymakers Make Informed Decisions, will examine a range of topics related to causal inference, the congruence of results obtained from different studies with different designs, and the combination of data from different sources with a series of invited speakers and workshops. The conference typically is attended by a few hundred participants and characterized by an intimate culture. The conference will be held at The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston, Massachusetts, and is sponsored by the Health Policy Statistics Section of the ASA. Short workshops on statistical methods and introductions to important national research databases also will be offered in conjunction with the conference. Download the program brochure or register. 

APHA STATS SECTION PARTNERS WITH ASA CE INSTITUTE 2005 - New Orleans, LA - NOVEMBER 5

Ralph Turner, Marcia Testa, and Linda Marc will give a six-hour CEI course titled Psychometric, Measurement, and Analysis Issues for Health Outcomes Survey Research on Saturday, November 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The target audience includes public health statisticians, epidemiologists, evaluation researchers, social workers, and mental health workers. CEI information.

APHA ANNUAL MEETING - New Orleans, LA - NOVEMBER 6

Andrew Lawson and Richard Hoskins will present Introduction to Spatial Epidemiology and GIS at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in November. This course addresses basic concepts in spatial epidemiology and provides an introduction to the use of GIS for geo-referenced health data. The course covers basic epidemiological and statistical concepts for small area data, including relative risk, confounding, ecological inference, putative hazard and clustering analysis. The course also covers the use of a geographical information system to examine a variety of health-related data scenarios. 

Events Calendar

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

@amstat.org

2005 ASA AWARDS RECIPIENTS RECEIVE SPECIAL RECOGNITION

On Tuesday, August 9, 2005, at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the American Statistical Association recognized several outstanding statisticians during the ASA Presidential Awards and Address session. Detailed list of recipients.

SHOP ASA IS NOW OPEN

SHOP ASA, the ASA's new online marketplace-offering shirts, hats, mugs, and many other items-is now available online. Save 10% on your first purchase by entering ASASTORE at checkout.

NEW CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN STATISTICS FLYERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

Visit the web to view and print updated brochures focused on careers in statistics.  Business & Industry, Government, and Health & Medicine are available now online.

JASA, JABES, JBES, JCGS, TAS, TECH NOW AVAILABLE ON JSTOR

JASA (1888-1999), TAS (1947-1999), Technometrics (1959-1999), JABES (1996-1999), JBES (1983-1999), and JCGS (1992-1999) are now all available in the online JSTOR database. 
All issues from the journal's inception through five years ago are online. Available to ASA members only. Purchase access for only $25 per title.

Special Opportunities

MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
 
The American Statistical Association is pleased to announce the introduction of a new membership dues structure. To better meet the needs of our members, we have established two new individual membership types: Limited and Regular. The Limited Membership includes all of the benefits of ASA membership you have come to know, including Amstat News-the ASA's monthly membership magazine; ASA Member News-the ASA's monthly electronic newsletter; members-only discounts on meetings, products, continuing education courses, and other services; and free online access to the Current Index to Statistics. Members also will continue to receive significant discounts on all ASA journals and magazines. Annual dues for the Limited Membership will be $90. The Regular Membership will include all of the benefits outlined above as well as online access to the Journal of the American Statistical Association, The American Statistician, and The Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. Annual dues for the Regular Membership will be $110.

All members are invited to lock in their current $85 annual membership dues for an additional year by renewing now. When you renew by September 30, 2005, you also will receive online access to the ASA's wholly-owned journals-JASA, TAS and JBES-for one year at no additional cost. Renew online now, simply login to members only and select the RENEW NOW icon to the left. If you have forgotten your password, enter your Member ID and click "email me my password." Your password will be sent to the email address associated with your membership record. If you prefer not to renew online, you may contact a member services representative at (888) 231-3473 to renew over the phone. Be sure to mention this offer to ensure you receive your free online access.

ABE AND SEE BECOME RECIPROCAL SOCIETIES OF THE ASA

The ASA is happy to announce an additional membership discount for members of reciprocal statistical societies. If you are reside in a developing country and are a member of the Associaçao Brasileira de Estatística (ABE), the International Chinese Statistical Association (ICSA), or the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Estadistica (SEE) you are eligible to receive an additional $5 off your developing country membership dues. Encourage an eligible colleague to join online.

CALL FOR CHANCE ARTICLES
 
Chance is interested in publishing articles that showcase the use of statistical methods and ideas. Examples include statistical applications in areas from anthropology to zoology, current events that involve statistics and statistical analysis and primers on modern statistical topics like genomics or data mining.  If you have an idea or article please contact Dr. Michael Lavine, Chance editor.

FREE ONLINE CIS ACCESS AVAILABLE FOR ASA MEMBERS

ASA members 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.