Congratulations December 2009 Graduates!

12-18-2009

The Department of Statistics extends congratulations to all of our December 2009 graduates. On December 20, 2009, Purdue University and the Department of Statistics awarded degrees to the following people:

Pictured left to right (top row): Ms. Joanne Daggy, Professor Bruce A. Craig, Ms. Sudeshna Paul, Ms. Molly Amstutz, Professor Rebecca W. Doerge, Mr. Alexander Lipka (bottom row): Ms. Meghan Honerlaw, Professor Frederi Viens, Ms. Alexandra Chronopoulou

Ph.D. Graduates (Advisor) Dissertation Title

Ms. Alexandra Chronopoulou (Frederi Viens) "Variations and Hurst Index Estimation for Self-Similar Processes"
Ms. Joanne Daggy (Bruce A. Craig) "Joint Modeling of Highly Skewed Data with Excess Zeros Using Copulas"
Mr. Alexander Lipka (Rebecca W. Doerge, George P. McCabe) "Associating Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) with Binary Traits"
Ms. Sudeshna Paul (Bruce A. Craig) "Estimation of Interatomic Distance Distribution of Protein Molecules from Small Angle Scattering (SAS) Images"

M.S. Graduates

Ms. Ting Bai
Ms. Allison Cummins
Ms. Meghan Honerlaw

Graduate Certificates

No Certificate students graduated this semester

Undergraduates in Statistics

Ms. Divvya Aggarwal
Ms. Molly M. Amstutz
Mr. Chi-Yun Cheng
Ms. Jung Won Choi
Mr. Ozgur Delemen
Mr. Wee Poh Ee
Mr. Kevin Libby
Mr. Thomas Mack
Ms. Yeni Nieves
Mr. Kean Ming Tan
Mr. Kurt Wiggins
Mr. Kuan Yang

Actuarial Science Majors (* Indicates Actuarial Science Honors)

Ms. Divvya Aggarwal *
Ms. Molly M. Amstutz
Mr. Wee Poh Ee *
Mr. Kevin Libby *
Mr. Kean Ming Tan *
Mr. Kurt Wiggins
Mr. Kuan Yang

For the calendar year 2009, the Department of Statistics graduated 14 Ph.D. students, 22 M.S. students, 5 Graduate Certificate students, 43 undergraduate Statistics students and 31 Actuarial Science students.

We would like to feature an outstanding Actuarial Science and Applied Statistics graduate, Kevin Libby. Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Actuarial Science (Honors) and Applied Statistics and a minor in Management. He began studying at another university before transferring to Purdue declaring engineering as his major. "After two futile semesters in engineering, I went home and took a couple of semesters off. I learned about actuarial science from my parents as they both work in the insurance industry although neither are actuaries. They knew about my strong skills in math and statistics and encouraged me to consider actuarial science," Libby said regarding his decision to major in actuarial science. In the fall of 2007 he returned to Purdue as an actuarial science major. "I found that my strong analytical skills as well as a growing interest in finance, investments, and risk seemed to fit perfectly with actuarial science. I've found actuarial science to be more mathematically engaging and challenging than an accounting, finance, or computer science major, and more practical and applicable than a pure statistics or mathematics major," Libby commented.

With his practical degree in hand, Libby will begin his actuarial career in insurance at New York Life Insurance Company in New York, NY. "I spent the past summer there as an intern and fell in love with both New York Life and New York City. Working at New York Life will allow me to further develop my actuarial skills as well as other important business skills such as communication, presentation, and leadership skills. New York City will also allow me to be closer to my home and family in Connecticut," said Libby.

In the past 14 months as an actuarial student, Kevin Libby has successfully passed the P, FM, MLC, and MFE exam. "I believe that the talented and approachable faculty in the Actuarial Science program have helped spark the motivation and passion that has fueled my success. The exceptional academic abilities of my peers have also served as a guideline of how to be a successful student. Purdue's environment has allowed me to grow from a directionless undergraduate student to a focused and motivated graduate eager to join the workforce!" Jeff Beckley, Co-Director of the Actuarial Science Program and Professional Actuary in Residence said, "Kevin will be an outstanding actuary. He has the analytical and mathematical skills necessary to pass the actuarial exams and the personality and people skills to succeed as a business person."

Congratulations to all of our graduates! We wish you the best and look forward to hearing from you!