Congratulations 2006-2007 Award Winners!
04-23-2007
The Department of Statistics extends congratulations to the faculty and student award winners for the 2006-2007 academic year. The awards program was held on Friday, April 20, 2007 in the MATH Library lounge. The Department of Statistics was pleased to have special guests in attendance including Dean Sahley, who presented awards, and Emeritus Professors Louis J. Cote and David S. Moore. Below are the awards for which faculty and students were recognized at the awards program.The Department of Statistics extends congratulations to the faculty and student award winners for the 2006-2007 academic year. The awards program was held on Friday, April 20, 2007 in the MATH Library lounge. The Department of Statistics was pleased to have special guests in attendance including Dean Sahley, who presented awards, and Emeritus Professors Louis J. Cote and David S. Moore. Below are the awards for which faculty and students were recognized at the awards program.
- I.W. Burr Award
- L.J. Cote M.S. Excellence in Statistics Award
- Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Teaching Assistant
- STATCOM Community Service Award
- Department of Statistics Honoree at the Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching
- Department of Statistics Outstanding Assistant Professor Undergraduate Teaching Award
- David S. Moore Service Teaching Award
- College of Science 2007 Top Undergraduate Teacher
The Glen E. Baxter Memorial Fund was established in 1983 by family and friends of Professor Baxter shortly after the premature death of this gifted teacher-scholar.
Annual proceeds from the fund are used to honor undergraduate students who have demonstrated excellence in mathematics. The recipients of the awards are selected by a committee of professors from the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Statistics.
Winner: William Robert Harris
William has been following the Honors curricula in both Mathematics and Computer Science, and he will begin to do graduate work, in the latter field, in the fall of this year. He was a National Merit Scholar, and, in the university he has continued to accumulate honors, including scholarships from the Computer Science Department, Dean's List and/or Semester Honors in each semester, membership in Upsilon Pi Epsilon, a Computer Honorary Society, and election to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He has been a participant in undergraduate research programs, and his work therein has led to some useful results. Throughout his tenure here William has been a stalwart member of the brass section of the Purdue Symphony Orchestra and, at times, the Symphonic Band, as well. Currently, he serves as Principal Trombonist in the orchestra.
Winner: Jamie Emmanuel Weigandt
Jamie, a junior in the College of Science, has been following the Honors curriculum in preparation for graduate study in Mathematics with the eventual goal of an academic career in that noble field. He has received many honors, including Outstanding Freshman Student in the College of Science, Dean's List in each semester, and election to Phi Beta Kappa, in his junior year of study. Such early election is a signal honor indeed. He, too, has been selected for and has successfully participated in Summer Research programs for Undergraduate Students; he has been active in the Improv Club and in the Mathematics Club; and he is serving, currently as President of the Purdue Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, The National Mathematics Honorary Society.
V.L. Anderson Scholarship Award
This scholarship is awarded to an undergraduate student who shows promise of contributing to statistics and its applications. The scholarship is in honor of Dr. Virgil Anderson who retired from the Department of Statistics in December 1986 after nearly 36 years. Professor Anderson was a leader in applied statistics on the Purdue campus and was the Director of the Statistics Laboratory, which was the forerunner of the Statistical Consulting Service. In great demand as a statistical consultant in industry, he authored widely used textbooks in experimental design. Other major themes in Dr. Anderson's work included statistical genetics and research on highways.
Winner: Kyle Bauer
Kyle was born in Columbia City, Indiana and came to Purdue in 2004. He plans to graduate in December 2007 with a B.S. in Actuarial Science and Statistics as well as a minor in Management. Kyle's hobbies include spending time with his wife and family, studying for actuarial exams, and participating in various sports activities. His two favorite professors are Jeff Beckley and Frederi Viens.
College of Science Outstanding Science Students
When making the selections for this award, the College of Science considered outstanding academic achievement, a b academic program, and evidence of co-curricular involvement, such as undergraduate research, community service, and leadership.
Winners:
- John "Brad" Raatz, Senior in Actuarial Science (Honors) and Statistics, with Minors in Management and Economics
- Adam Rutan, Senior in Mathematics and Statistics, with a Minor in Economics
- Kyle Bauer, Junior in Actuarial Science
- Emily Ann Haas, Junior in Statistics
- Rachel C. Smith, Sophomore in Actuarial Science
- Arman Sabbaghi, Sophomore in Statistics
- Ian Jones, Freshman in Actuarial Science
- Catherine Marie Withey, Freshman in Statistics
The late Irving W. Burr served on the Purdue faculty from 1941 until his retirement in 1974. He was a leading expert in quality control and industrial statistics. He was well-known for his text Engineering Statistics and Quality Control (McGraw-Hill, 1953) and he was active as a consultant to business and industry. Professor Burr's scholarly work centered on statistical process control and distribution theory. The Burr distributions are named for him. He was elected a fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Professor Burr was one of the faculty whose work and reputation helped transform Purdue from a regional college to a national research university.
This award was established in 1974 upon the retirement of Professor Burr, an eminent statistician who taught at Purdue for nearly 35 years. The criteria for this award are: (a) promise of contribution to the profession as evidenced by academic excellence in courses and exams, and by the quality of the thesis research, (b) and excellence in teaching or consulting as a graduate student at Purdue.
Winner: Martina Muehlbach Bremer
Martina was born in Hanover, Germany and received her bachelor's degree in 1996 from the University of Hanover. She entered Purdue's Math Department in 1997 and received the M.S. in applied mathematics in 1999. She left Purdue and returned to the University of Hanover in 2001 and received her Teaching Certificate in Mathematics and Physics in 2002. She began her studies toward the doctoral degree in the summer of 2002. Martina's research area is in bioinformatics and under the direction of Rebecca Doerge, she earned her Ph.D. in December 2006. Martina is a member of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the American Statistical Association. She enjoys cooking and gardening.
L.J. Cote M.S. Excellence in Statistics Award
The recipient of the L.J. Cote M.S. Excellence in Statistics Award will be completing an M.S. in Applied Statistics and possesses the following skills that are required of an applied statistician.
- Technical skill, as evidenced by course performance, faculty evaluation, and performance on the final M.S. examination.
- Skill in consulting and communication, as evidenced by excellence in supervised consulting or secondarily in teaching.
The award is in honor of Professor Louis J. Cote who retired from the Department of Statistics in June of 1991. During his 31 years with the Department, Professor Cote taught a variety of courses in the Department of Statistics including Introduction to Probability, Basic Probability and Applications, Applied Regression Analysis, and Time Series and Applications. He was a compassionate mentor to graduate students.
Winner: Amy Watkins
Amy was born in Bloomington, Indiana and received her bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in May 2005. She came to Purdue in the fall of 2005 and will receive a M.S. in Applied Statistics in May. Rebecca Doerge is her advisor. Amy is a member of the American Statistical Association. She enjoys cooking, watching sports, and playing the piano.
Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistants contribute substantially to the teaching mission of the Department of Statistics. Their classroom performance is important to the quality of service to students. Therefore, the Department of Statistics faculty annually recognizes a Statistics Teaching Assistant for teaching excellence in the classroom.
Winner: Cherie Ochsenfeld
Cherie was born in Canton, Ohio and received her B.S. in Mathematics/Applied Science-Economics in June 1992 and a M.A. in Teacher Education in 1993, both from UCLA. In 2003, she received a M.S. in Applied Statistics from Cal State Hayward. She joined Purdue in August 2004 and received a M.S. in Mathematical Statistics in June 2006. Cherie's research is in Genetics, QTL analysis and nonparametric statistics and her major professor is none other than Rebecca Doerge. She expects to receive her doctorate by June 2009. Cherie is a member of the American Statistical Association and spends free time training and competing in dog agility.
Department of Statistics Honoree at the Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching
The Purdue University Committee on the Education of Teaching Assistants (CETA), the Purdue Graduate School, and the Purdue Office of the Provost honor outstanding graduate teaching assistants at the annual Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching banquet.
Honoree: Jesse Cunningham
Jesse was born in Troy, New York and raised in Indianapolis. He got his B.S. from Purdue in 1995 and his M.S. from the University of South Carolina in 1997. After spending five years in industry, he returned to Purdue in the fall of 2002 and received his Computational Finance M.S. in May 2005. He is active in the STATCOM P-12 outreach program, and enjoys traveling, watching foreign movies, and playing poker. His advisor is Dr. Frederi Viens.
STATCOM Community Service Award
Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) at Purdue University is a community outreach program provided to the greater Lafayette area by graduate students in Purdue's Department of Statistics. The program offers the expertise of statistics graduate students in the areas of data collection, organization, and interpretation, free of charge to local governmental and non-profit community organizations. STATCOM was born out of a desire to enhance the existing partnership between Purdue University and the community at large, thereby impacting the quality of life in the area in a positive way. Potential clients include organizations such as:
- Schools
- Local government agencies
- Libraries
- Arts groups
The group was founded in 2001 by graduate student, Nels Grevstad. STATCOM has received four grants from the Student Grant Program for Community Service, administered through Purdue's Office of Engagement. Most recently, STATCOM received a Strategic Initiatives Grant from the American Statistical Association to promote the development of student-led pro bono statistical consulting programs at other institutions. Currently there are over 50 graduate student members involved in the program at Purdue. Four other universities (Cornell University, University of Washington, University of Michigan, and The Ohio State University) have also started STATCOM programs.
Co-Winners: Gayla Olbricht (May 2006 - December 2006) and Cherie Ochsenfeld (January 2007 - June 2007).
Gayla served as STATCOM's director from May 2006 until December 2006. She was born in West Plains, Missouri and received an A.A. and B.S. degrees from Southwest Missouri State University. She came to Purdue in 2002 and received an M.S. in applied statistics in May 2004. She plans to receive her Ph.D. in 2008 working with her co-advisors, Rebecca Doerge and Bruce Craig. Her areas of research include statistical genetics, epigenetics and bioinformatics. Gayla is a member of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and is involved with Women in Science Programs. She enjoys traveling, scrap-booking and hiking.
Cherie Ochsenfeld is currently serving as the STATCOM director. She will serve as director until June 2007. Cherie was born in Canton, Ohio and received her B.S. in Mathematics/Applied Science-Economics in June 1992 and a M.A. in Teacher Education in 1993, both from UCLA. In 2003, she received a M.S. in Applied Statistics from Cal State Hayward. She joined Purdue in August 2004 and received a M.S. in Mathematical Statistics in June 2006. Cherie's research is in Genetics, QTL analysis and nonparametric statistics and her major professor is none other than Rebecca Doerge. She expects to receive her doctorate by June 2009. Cherie is a member of the American Statistical Association and spends free time training and competing in dog agility.
Department of Statistics Outstanding Assistant Professor Undergraduate Teaching Award
The Department of Statistics presents this award each year to a tenure-track assistant professor in honor of teaching accomplishments, including significant contributions to undergraduate education.
Winner: Tonglin Zhang
Tonglin Zhang joined the Department of Statistics in fall 2003 where he is currently an Assistant Professor of Statistics. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2002. His research interests include Asymptotics, Bayesian, Physical Science and Engineering and Statistics, and Spatial Analysis. Professor Zhang taught STAT 417, Statistical Theory, in fall 2006.
David S. Moore Service Teaching Award
The David S. Moore Service Teaching Award recognizes and rewards outstanding contributions to the quality of the Department of Statistics service courses. (Service courses for this are defined as those courses whose majority audience is not statistics or actuarial science students.)
Winner: Ellen Gundlach
Ellen Gundlach is the course coordinator for two of the largest service based courses offered by the Department of Statistics, STAT 225, Introduction to Probability Models, and STAT 301, Elementary Statistical Methods. She received her B.S. from Florida State University in Chemistry and an M.S. from The Ohio State University in Physical Chemistry. Ellen's interests include the creation of introductory level textbooks and supplementary materials, statistics education, and mathematical physics. She is the faculty advisor for the STATCOM P-12 Outreach group. In February 2007, the College of Science presented Ellen with the Graduate Student Mentoring award.
College of Science 2007 Top Undergraduate Teacher
Each year, science undergraduate students, polled by the Science Student Council, select the faculty member who has had the greatest impact on science majors through their teaching abilities.
Winner: Jeffrey Beckley
This is the second consecutive year Jeffrey Beckley has won this award. Jeffrey Beckley joined the Department of Statistics as "Professional Actuary in Residence," with a Continuing Lecturer title in the fall of 2005. He has a joint appointment with the Department of Mathematics. Jeffrey has spent over 25 years working as a practicing actuary and continues to work as a consulting actuary in the life and health insurance field. He is the instructor for STAT 170, Introduction to Actuarial Science, and MA 490A, Mathematical Theory of Interest. Jeff's students were impressed by his dedication to their success citing his patience and willingness to help outside of the classroom. Further evidence of his commitment to his students is shown when he calls on all of his students by name. Given the small size of the Actuarial Science program within the College of Science, the support that Jeff received from students makes a b statement about his teaching abilities.