News from Alums
We enjoy hearing news from our alumni! If you have news you'd like to share with your classmates and the Science community, please visit our Update your Information page.
April 2008
- Ping Ma, (M.S. 2001, Ph.D. 2003), Assistant Professor of Statistics, Faculty Member, Institute for Genomic Biology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was appointed 2008-2009 Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study.
January 2008
- Dipak Dey, (M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1980), Professor and Head of the Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, received the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees Disitnguished Professor Award. The award recognizes exceptional distinction in scholarship, teaching, and service while at the University of Connecticut. Read more here.
October 2007
- Alan Berens (M.S. 1957, Ph.D. 1963) will receive the John W. Lincoln Award during the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) Conference in Palm Springs, California, December 2007. He earned his graduate degrees in mathematical statistics from Purdue University under the direction of Professor Harlley McKean. For more information about Dr. Alan Berens and the award, read the article here.
August 2007
- Gary McDonald (M.S. 1966, Ph.D. 1969) received the American Statistical Association's (ASA) 2007 Founders Award. This award is the highest level given by the ASA, the nation's preeminent professional statistical society. Read the full article here.
- Jim Tomkins (M.S. 1967, Ph.D. 1970) was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Regina, Regina, SK, effective March 26, 2007 for a term extending until June 30, 2008, while a comprehensive search takes place for a new full-term President and Vice-Chancellor. Read the full article here.
- Surya Tokdar (Ph.D. 2006) was awarded the Leonard J. Savage award for best dissertation in Theory and Methods. The Theory and Methods award is granted for a dissertation that makes important original contributions to the foundations, theoretical developments, and/or general methodology of Bayesian analysis. This award is co-sponsored by the International Society of Bayesian Analysis, American Statistical Association Section on Bayesian Statistical Science (SBSS), and the NBER/NSF Seminars on Bayesian Inference in Econometrics and Statistics. Professor Jayanta K. Ghosh was Surya Tokdar's Ph.D. advisor. Read the full article here.
July 2007
- Yunqing Li (M.S. 2002) got her Ph.D. degree in Sociology from Purdue University in August 2004. She has been working as a research scientist in the Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services since October 2004. Yunqing and her husband, Bin Yao, celebrated the birth of their second child, Karen Annabelle Yao, on August 11, 2006. Karen has a big brother, Leo Yao, born in August 2003.
March 2007
- Kim L. Ong (M.S. 1981), an industrial engineer and statistician with Northrop Grumman Corporation, Information Technology sector, received the Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEOY) award on March 31, 2007. This award, presented jointly by the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA and the National Engineers Week Foundation, is part of the celebration of National Engineers Week. It recognizes outstanding contribution to engineering and community service. For more information, read the press release.
January 2007
- Betsy Hughes (M.S. 2004) was recently promoted to Principal Statistician and Stragetist for Boston Scientific Corporation in St. Paul, MN. She and her family recently moved to a home in Edina, MN. They recently celebrated the birth of their third child, Quinn Jacie Hughes, a daughter, on Dec. 12, 2006.
October 2006
- Lianbo Yu (Ph.D. 2006, M.S. 2002) and his wife, Grace, would like to announce the birth of their daughter, Scarlett, on October 5, 2006. She weighed 5lbs 7oz and was 19" long. Lianbo is a Senior Consulting Research Statistician for the Center for Bioinformatics at The Ohio State University.
- Pang Du (Ph.D. 2006, M.S. 2003) and his wife, Zhen, would like to announce the birth of their son, Anthony Paul, on October 2, 2006. Pang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech.
July 2006
- Jessica Lasky-Su (M.S. 1999) received her doctorate in Genetic Epidemiology in November 2005. She and her husband Mark would like to announce the birth of their first son, Christian James, on June 4, 2005...just two weeks after she defended her thesis.
April 2006
- David N. Akers (B.S. 1990 Actuarial Science) and his wife Araceli celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary this year in April. David was recently promoted to Director of Operations for the Mexico Division of Werner Enterprises, Inc. an international transportation and logistics provider.
March 2006
- Mik Black (M.S. 2000, Ph.D. 2002) and his wife, Melony, announced the birth of their second son, Kieran John Mexted Black, on March 22, 2006. Mik is a member of the faculty at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in the Department of Statistics.
February 2006
- Jing Shyr (Ph.D. 1984, Statistics) has been named a distinguished alumna of Tsing-Hua University in Taiwan. Jing is a Science Distinguished Alumna and a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council.
January 2006
- Ken Smiley (M.S, 1995, Statistics) and Christine Hixon Smiley (M.S. 1995, Statistics) announce the arrival of their first child, Nolan Kenneth Smiley, born on January 26, 2006. Ken and Christine live in Lewisville, TX and both work at JCPenney corporate headquarters in Plano, TX. Ken is a Senior Project Manager in the Catalog/Internet department and Christine works as a Statistical Analyst in the Strategic Planning department. Both use SAS software daily on the job.
December 2005
- Dipak Dey (M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1980, Statistics), Professor and Head of the Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, received the 2005 Faculty Excellence in Research (Sciences) award from the University of Connecticut Alumni Association in October 2005. A prolific researcher with 150 peer-reviewed publications, Dipak Dey specializes in statistical decision theory and Bayesian statistics. Read more about Professor Dey's research here.
September 2005
- Steven McQueen, Jr. (B.S. 1993, Actuarial Science) is Director of Customer Satisfaction at Cooper Crouse Hinds in Syracuse, New York. His wife, Meg, graduated in 1995 from the College of Liberal Arts.
July 2005
- Brian Lichy (M.S. 1997, Statistics) Last July, Brian started working for Financial Services as Residual Risk Manager. He and his wife, Sandrine, have 2 young boys, Jordan (19 months) and Brandon (7 months), and live in the suburbs of Chicago.
June 2005
- Patricia A. Nahas (M.S. 1967, Statistics) has been appointed to the 2005 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The award is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a United States organization can receive. As an examiner, she is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the award. Pat is a consultant in Austin, Texas.
