Department of Statistics Graduate Program Ranks in Top Ten

In the U.S. News & World Reports America's Best Graduate Schools 2009 issue, the Department of Statistics graduate program ranks in the top 10 of graduate programs in Statistics.

Dr. Michael Levine received his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 and joined the Department of Statistics in the same year.

The main focus of Levine's research is on statistical methodology. His research is mostly concentrated in nonparametric function estimation problems (such as density estimation and nonparametric regression-related problems) and nonlinear time series. The models considered in those areas are very important in practice since traditional parametric assumptions are often either irrelevant or hard to justify in many practically important areas, for example, financial data (stock returns/currency exchange rates), flood data from hydrology, climate data from the earth and atmospheric science and many others. The results obtained by Levine help to provide accurate forecasts of future events that are often not achievable using more traditional methods. He is also interested in nonparametric statistical decision theory which becomes important when the use of the above mentioned nonparametric estimation procedures need to be justified. His work in statistical theory and applications is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Levine helps to coordinate the Computational Finance Program at Purdue University. The program was created to offer graduate students an opportunity to earn Master's and Ph.D. degrees with an emphasis on quantitative finance. The program consists of Purdue faculty members with academic and research interests in cutting-edge investment science.

Dr. Tonglin Zhang received his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Michigan in 2002, and joined the Department of Statistics at Purdue University in the same year.

Zhang's research covers both theoretical statistics and applied statistics. Two focused areas of his research are restricted parameter problems and spatial statistics. His work on restricted parameter problems stems from his graduate work at the University of Michigan and has expanded to include work that addresses important questions in astronomy and geophysics. His research in spatial statistics represents a relatively new and highly productive research area and has expanded to include work that addresses important problems in public health, criminology, ecology, earth and environmental sciences, and the defense of biochemical and nuclear terrorism. Zhang currently has two NSF supported projects in spatial statistics.

In 2007, Zhang received the Outstanding Assistant Professor Undergraduate Teaching Award.