In Memory of Prem S. Puri

Professor Prem S. Puri (1936-1989) received his M.A. in 1963 and Ph.D. in 1964 from the University of California at Berkeley where he also taught as Visiting Assistant Professor of Statistics from 1965 to 1966. He joined the Purdue faculty as Assistant Professor of Statistics in 1966, being quickly promoted to Associate Professor in 1968 and Professor in 1974. Prem Puri also held visiting positions at the Indian Statistical Institute, the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences during 1973, and served as a consultant to the U. S. Forest Service from 1971 to 1973.

Professor Puri was a prolific researcher, publishing more than 70 papers, mostly in the areas of applied probability, theory of statistical inference, and stochastic models. Professor Puri was honored for his research by being named Fellow in both major statistical organizations in the United States: the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the American Statistical Association. He was also an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.

Puri's Ph.D. students include Jerome Senturia, Larry Roi, Thomas Kuczek, Eric Tollar, Wen-Jang Huang and Keith N. Crank.

The Prem S. Puri Memorial Lecture honors him.