Congratulations 2008-2009 Award Winners!
04-15-2009
The Department of Statistics extends congratulations to the faculty and student award winners for the 2008-2009 academic year. The awards program was held on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 in the MATH Library lounge. The Department of Statistics was pleased to have special guests in attendance including Interim Dean Jon Harbor, who presented the awards, and Emeritus Professor Louis J. Cote. Below are the awards for which faculty and students were recognized during the awards program.
- V.L. Anderson Scholarship Award
- Baxter Award
- College of Science Outstanding Science Students from Statistics
- I.W. Burr Award
- L.J. Cote M.S. Excellence in Statistics Award
- Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Statistics Teaching Assistant
- StatCom Community Service Award
- Purdue University Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Teaching
- William J. Studden Publication Award
- Department of Statistics Outstanding Assistant Professor Undergraduate Teaching Award
- College of Science Unsung Hero
- Induction into Purdue's Teaching Academy
Undergraduate Student Awards
V.L. Anderson Scholarship Award
Virgil L. Anderson
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: Adriana Vars
Pictured left to right: Dean Harbor and Adriana Vars
Adriana Vars was born in Bacau, Romania. She entered Purdue in the summer of 2007 after transferring from IUPUI. She is pursuing a dual degree in Mathematics and Statistics with a minor in Economics and plans to graduate in May of 2010. She enjoys snowboarding, hiking, photography, and spending time with her husband and two dogs.
Baxter Award
Glen E. Baxter
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: Philip R. Hebda
Currently Phil, a Junior in the College of Science, is concentrating upon the study of Physics, a field in which Glen had great interest, as well. Presently he is involved with a research group from Fermilab, and this summer he will be joining researchers studying supersymmetry at CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland.
His many honors include selection as outstanding Freshman student of Mathematics and election to Phi Beta Kappa. He has been a good citizen of his community, giving service as a volunteer in St. Anthony's Medical Center and in the Lake County animal shelter, both in his hometown, Crown Point, IN. In addition, Phil is an athlete of considerable ability, having competed at the top level in several marathon races.
Winner: Joshua D. Rendall
Because of his fundamental interest in the educational process and his desire to be a positive influence on the lives of young students, Josh, a Junior in the College of Science, is following the Mathematics Education curriculum leading to a career in secondary school teaching. In a sense, Josh has already begun to walk this career path, having been selected as one of a small group of exceptional students of Mathematics who teach sections of our basic algebra course, a work that he has been doing very well. He has been the recipient of Valedictorian and National Merit Scholarships, and, like Phil has been on the Dean's list during his entire Purdue tenure. Josh also has a service orientation. During the summer he serves as a camp counselor for children of elementary-school age, and his interest in the sport of baseball has led him to service as umpire for various youth leagues.
Pictured left to right: Philip R. Hebda and Joshua D. Rendall
College of Science Outstanding Science Students
When making the selections for this award, the College of Science considered outstanding academic achievement, a strong academic program, and evidence of co-curricular involvement, such as undergraduate research, community service, and leadership.
Winners:
- Arman Sabbaghi, Senior in Statistics
- Kean Ming Tan, Junior in Statistics
- Thomas Nielsen, Sophomore in Statistics
- William McCartney, Freshman in Statistics
Pictured left to right: Professor Rebecca W. Doerge, Thomas Nielsen and Kean Ming Tan
Graduate Student Awards
I.W. Burr Award
Irving W. Burr
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: Dr. David Anderson
David Anderson
David Anderson was born in Carson City, Nevada. He earned a BS in Mathematics from Yale University and a MS in Statistics from the University of Wisconsin. He entered Purdue in 2003 and earned a PhD in Statistics in August 2008. David enjoys playing chess and is a member of the American Statistical Association.
Winner: Dr. Lingling An
Lingling An
Lingling An was born in Weifant, Shandong, China. She earned her BS and MS in Applied Mathematics from Shandong University in 1992 and 1996 respectively. She entered Purdue in January 2002 and earned her PhD in Statistics in August 2008. She enjoys planting, swimming, playing with her dogs and children, and doing puzzles.
L.J. Cote M.S. Excellence in Statistics Award
Louis J. Cote
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. He was an outstanding compassionate mentor to generations of graduate students.
Winner: Brian Denton
Pictured left to right: Brian Denton, Dean Harbor, Emeritus Professor Louis J. Cote
Brian Denton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his BA and MA degrees in Economics from IUPUI before entering Purdue in the fall of 2007. He plans to receive his MS degree in Statistics in May 2009. Brian has an interest in cycling and is a member of the American Statistical Association.
Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Statistics 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: Ryan Martin
Pictured left to right: Professor Rebecca W. Doerge and Ryan Martin
Ryan Martin was born in Elkhart, Indiana. He received his BS in Mathematics from Franklin College in 2003 and his MS in Statistics from IUPUI in 2005. He entered Purdue in 2005 and plans to receive his PhD in Statistics in August 2009. His interests include reading, cooking, video games and television.
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. Seven other universities (Cornell University, University of Washington, University of Michigan, Iowa State University, The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Hasselt -- Campus Diepenbeek) have also started StatCom programs, and several more programs are currently in development across the country.
This award is given to directors of StatCom during the past year.
Co-Winners: Douglas Baumann and Allison Cummins
Douglas Baumann
Douglas Baumann was born in Willmar, Minnesota. He received his BS in Mathematics from St. Olaf�s College, MN in 2006. He entered Purdue in the fall of 2006 and plans to receive a PhD in Statistics in May of 2011. During his free time, Doug enjoys playing many different video games. He is a member of Eta Sigma Phi (Classic Honors Society).
Pictured left to right: Dean Harbor and Allison Cummins
Allison Cummins was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She earned her BS degree in Mathematics from Roberts Wesleyan College, NY in May 2007. She entered Purdue in August 2007 and plans to receive her MS in Applied Statistics in December 2009. Her interests include music, biking and art.
Purdue University Graduate Student Award for Outstanding 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: Allison Cummins
Allison Cummins
Allison Cummins was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She earned her BS degree in Mathematics from Roberts Wesleyan College, NY in May 2007. She entered Purdue in August 2007 and plans to receive her MS in Applied Statistics in December 2009. Her interests include music, biking and art.
William J. Studden Publication Award
The William J. Studden Publication award recognizes work done by a current Purdue Statistics Ph.D. candidate on an outstanding mathematical statistics paper accepted for publication. The award honors the retirement of Dr. William J. Studden from Purdue University's Department of Statistics in 2005 after 41 years with the Department.
Winner: Ryan Martin
Pictured left to right: Dean Harbor and Ryan Martin
Ryan Martin was born in Elkhart, Indiana. He received his BS in Mathematics from Franklin College in 2003 and his MS in Statistics from IUPUI in 2005. He entered Purdue in 2005 and plans to receive his PhD in Statistics in August 2009. His interests include reading, cooking, video games and television.
Faculty Awards
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: Mark Daniel Ward
Pictured left to right: Professors Rebecca W. Doerge and Mark Daniel Ward
Mark Daniel Ward received his BS from Denison University in Mathematics and Computer Science in 1999. He received his MS in Applied Mathematical Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 and his PhD in Mathematics with Specialization in Computational Science from Purdue University in 2005. He joined the Department of Statistics in 2007. Mark is currently serving as the Associate Director of the Actuarial Science program and the Undergraduate Chair.
College of Science Unsung Hero
This award recognizes a faculty or staff member who went above and beyond the scope of their normal duties, and demonstrated behind-the-scene actions that had a positive impact on undergraduate education in the College of Science. Ce-Ce will receive her award at the College of Science Honors Convocation on Sunday, April 19, 2009.
Winner: Ce-Ce Furtner
Ce-Ce Furtner received her B.A. in Mathematics from St. Louis University in 1983 and her M.S. in Statistics from the University of Central Florida in 1989. She joined the Department in 2007 as a Limited-Term Lecturer and is also an advisor in the College of Science working with undergraduates in Mathematics and Statistics.
Induction into Purdue's Teaching Academy
Ellen Gundlach was inducted into Purdue's Teaching Academy as an Associate Fellow in October 2008. For more information, read the article here.
Ellen received her B.S. in Chemistry from Florida State University in 1994 and her M.S. in Physical Chemistry from The Ohio State University in 1998. She joined the Department of Statistics in 2002. Ellen is the coordinator, online course developer, and instructor for STAT 301, and the course coordinator for STAT 225.
Pictured left to right: Professor Rebecca W. Doerge, Ellen Gundlach and Ce-Ce Furtner