Contacts

David Awosoga is a current PhD candidate in Statistics under supervisor Samuel Wong. David completed a Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics from the University of Lethbridge in 2022, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Data Science from the University of Waterloo in 2024. David's research interests are in sports analytics, spatiotemporal data analysis, and Bayesian modelling.

Michael Antony (Mike) Bennett (February 21, 1934 - November 17, 2016) was one of the longest serving actuarial science faculty members at Waterloo, having served from September 1968 until his retirement in July 1996.

Mike, who was born in West Yorkshire, graduated from the University of Nottingham in the UK in 1957. By his own admission, he arrived in Canada by ship later that year and began work as an Actuarial Student at Sun Life in Montreal.  While at Sun Life, he met Peter Ryall, and followed Peter to the University of Waterloo as its second full-time actuarial faculty member in 1968. He obtained his FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) and FCIA (Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries) designations in 1970.

Liked and respected by all who knew him (faculty and students alike), Mike was a selfless contributor to actuarial science at Waterloo during his long tenure. Although there was no official position as Associate Chair for Actuarial Science in the early years, Mike served tirelessly in that role, and continued to provide valuable service thereafter. He was noteworthy for his considerable teaching load as well as for his countless hours performing administrative service, including in particular his role as undergraduate advisor for the actuarial students. One of the most impressive aspects of Mike's personality was the fact that he did not seek accolades for his substantial contributions to Waterloo Actuarial Science in particular, and Mathematics in general (he was Chair of the Mathematics Faculty Council from the mid 1980's until his retirement). To be more precise, he was instrumental in assisting in the considerable growth of actuarial science at Waterloo through a variety of avenues including course development.

Mike treated all with respect, including in particular younger faculty and the many students whom he advised and mentored. In addition to being an outstanding teacher, he took a special interest in all of his students. This was epitomized by the fact that he typically knew the names of all of the people enrolled in his classes by the end of his first or second lecture. More generally, he had a unique manner of making all feel that they were important. He enjoyed the interaction with his students in his role as undergraduate advisor.

Mike professional interests were primarily in the area of Pensions, and he was a Pension Consulting Actuary on the side. He also served the community in a variety of roles, and he enjoyed golf and soccer as well.

A devout family man, Mike had one sister (Enid Poprosky) and was married at the time of his death to June Whalen Piitz. He was predeceased by his first wife Gwenneth Bennett (Mercer). He had four children, namely Michael, Geoffrey, David, and Julie, as well as numerous stepsons, grandchildren, and step-great-grandchildren.

Mike was truly one of the founders of actuarial science at Waterloo, and the tremendous success of our program is due in no small part to the efforts and contributions of Mike. As an institution, we owe him a great deal.

Affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact

Benjamin Côté is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisors Ruodu Wang and Alex Schied. Benjamin completed a Bachelor of Sciences in Actuarial Science from Université Laval in 2022, and then obtained a Master of Sciences in Actuarial Science from Université Laval in 2024. Benjamin's research interests are dependence modelling, stochastic ordering, probabilistic graphical models, and risk theory.

Michael John "Jack" Davis is a statistician with a wide background and a focus on education in statistics and sports analytics.

They have worked for Sportlogiq as a machine learning post-doctoral fellow, mainly focused on NHL ice hockey.

They have worked for Big River Analytics as a survey designer and statistical consultant.

They have analyzed networks of disease transmission and networks of citations between Supreme Court of Canada decisions.

At the University of Waterloo they helped found the University of Waterloo Analysis Group for Games and Sports (UWAGGS). With UWAGGS they develop and present tutorials on finding, analyzing, and visualizing data for hockey, soccer, lacrosse, horse racing, and eSports.

Jointly affiliated with the School of Public Health Sciences.

Vidyadhar Prabakhar Godambe, who died June 9, 2016, is recognized as a pioneer in the foundations of inference in survey sampling.

He is known for formulating and developing a theory of estimating equations. His research contributions, and the fervour with which he pursued the answers to fundamental questions, attracted many other researchers and students to work in the foundations of inference.

Vidyadhar Godambe was born June 1, 1926 in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra in India. He was the second born and the only son in a family of four children. His paternal grandfather was a doctor. He was educated at the Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya, a leading school in Pune, and at Fergusson College for his BSc in mathematics. He was awarded an MSc degree from Bombay University in 1950, and the PhD in 1958 from the University of London. Following a year as Senior Research Fellow at the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta, he became Professor and Head of the Statistics Department at Science College in Nagpur, and later held the same post at the Institute of Science, Bombay. In 1964, he left India for North America, his first position being at the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, now Statistics Canada. After visiting appointments at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan, he joined the University of Waterloo in 1967.

While employed as a government statistician before undertaking his PhD, Godambe published the path-breaking paper, “A unified theory of sampling from finite populations”, published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society in 1955. This paper provided a theoretical framework for the problem of estimating a survey population total from a probability sample of a subset of the population. This framework led to a result that today we might call “disruptive”, namely that in terms of the optimality criteria in use at the time, there was no best estimator in the class of linear estimators now referred to as the “Godambe class”. Thus the need for new ways of evaluating sampling strategies was established. The framework is still in use; the 1955 paper led to substantial work by Godambe and others on new optimality criteria, and on prescriptions for choosing sampling designs and estimators under various kinds of knowledge of the population.

The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of re-examination of the foundations of inference in terms of “principles”, by leading statisticians such as G. A. Barnard, A. Birnbaum, D. R. Cox, D. A. S. Fraser and D. A. Sprott. It became clear to Godambe that his formulation of the survey estimation problem brought into sharp relief an apparent contradiction: the likelihood and conditionality principles appeared to be in conflict with “design based estimation”, namely the practice of estimation based on the randomization in the sampling design. Beginning with his 1966 JRSS paper, “A new approach to sampling from finite populations”, he wrote several papers on the riddle of the role of randomized sampling in survey inference, particularly in the presence of a statistical model for the survey responses. His 1982 paper, “Estimation in survey sampling: robustness and optimality”, in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, proposed a resolution of the problem, relating the robustness of design-based inference to the treatment of nuisance parameters in a more traditional statistical model framework. However, in the same year and the same journal, he published the example known as “Godambe’s paradox”. The wide variety of responses to the paradox show that the tension between the principles of inference and the role of randomization persists beyond survey inference, to the very foundations of statistics.

Godambe’s work in the mid-nineteen sixties on the foundations of survey sampling inference attracted attention to the subject, and he provided further impetus by proposing an international conference to bring together survey statisticians and researchers in the foundations of statistics, many of whom would be new to survey sampling. This conference, “New Developments in Survey Sampling”, took place in 1968 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Having arrived at the University of Waterloo, together with David A. Sprott he organized another international symposium on the Foundations of Statistical Inference, which took place in the spring of 1970. He remained in Waterloo thereafter, although he also spent the winter months in India in later years, and kept in touch with colleagues at the University of Pune.

In parallel with his work on survey sampling, he was also making contributions to estimation theory. In 1960 he published the note, “An optimum property of regular maximum likelihood estimation”, in which he defined the notion of an unbiased estimating equation. He introduced an optimality criterion for choosing among estimating functions, and showed that in the one-dimensional parametric case, the maximum likelihood estimating function (and equation) were optimal. There existed already an optimality theory for estimators, based primarily on their properties for very large samples. Godambe’s focus on the estimating function rather than the estimator allowed him from his perspective to formulate and prove optimality results without reference to asymptotics. Subsequent work by Godambe and others developed estimating function methodology into an established framework for estimation.

Godambe’s follow-up work on estimating functions included his 1976 Biometrika paper where what is now known as “Godambe information” was introduced. His application of optimality and information to estimation in stochastic processes had a substantial impact on work in that field.

In his sixth decade of statistical research, Godambe with his collaborators explored the improvement of confidence intervals based on estimating functions, in survey sampling and in time series analysis. Ever drawn to the foundations of inference, he once again took up his long-term interests in causality, and the concept of information in statistics.

Godambe was a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an Honorary Member of both the Statistical Society of Canada and the International Indian Statistical Association. He was a Platinum Jubilee Lecturer of the 1988 Indian Science Congress, and in 1987 was awarded the Gold Medal of the Statistical Society of Canada. In 2002 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Godambe’s lifelong dedication to research and teaching did not prevent him from being devoted to his

extended family in India and North America, and a good friend to colleagues around the world and members of his community. His enthusiasm for ideas and his infectious laughter will be greatly missed.

-Mary Thompson

Acknowledgements: An article on which this one is based was first requested by the Royal Statistical Society some years ago. Some portions are adapted from an Appendix (by M. Thompson) to the 2006 biography, Philosopher-Statistician: Vidyadhar Godambe, by Chintamani Deshmukh.

Yiping Guo is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisor Johnny Li. Yiping obtained a Bachelor of Finance from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2016, and then completed a Master of Science (Mathematics and Statistics) from University of Melbourne in 2020.  Yiping’s research interests are: statistical machine learning, mortality modelling, climate change risks.

Hongda Hu is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisor Alexander Schied. Hongda obtained a Bachelor of Mathematics in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo in 2018, and then completed a Master of Mathematics in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo in 2019.  Hongda’s research interests are: Reinforcement Learning, Multiarmed Bandit, Portfolio selection.

Jim Kalbfleisch passed away Sunday, April 23, 2017 at his home in Waterloo. Jim served as Chair of the Department of Statistics (now Statistics and Actuarial Science) from 1975-1979. He was Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics from 1986 - 1989, leaving that position to serve as Associate Provost, Academic Affairs from 1990-1993 and then Vice-President Academic and Provost from 1993 – 2000.

The position of provost was created in 1987 (prior to that, the job was known as Vice-President, Academic) and was described as the University's "chief operating officer," covering responsibilities that at many other institutions would be handled by an array of vice-presidents; academic, administration, and finance (indeed, after Kalbfleisch announced his retirement, some of the provost's duties were transferred to a new position of vice-president, administration and finance held by Dennis Huber). Kalbfleisch served as provost under James Downey and David Johnston, drafting budgets, presenting them to finance committees and the board of governors, and conducted meetings with staff and faculty leaders about policies and working relationships. He also prepared enrolment and construction plans and negotiated them with the provincial government, chaired the weekly dean's council meetings, and made final decisions on a multitude of business and personnel issues, all the while managing the University through salary rollbacks, massive early retirements, enrolment expansion and changes in the terms of employment for faculty members.

During his time as the Vice-President Academic and Provost, the university was experiencing a time of enrolment expansion and funding cuts that led to the special early retirement program (SERP) in 1996. His leadership, solid judgment and unwavering commitment to the University kept Waterloo on an even keel through a historically challenging period for the province's post-secondary sector.  In addition, Jim helped lay the groundwork for how the university accommodated its share of the "double cohort" of Ontario high school graduates in 2003 as the province phased out its fifth year of high school.

Jim did undergraduate studies at University of Toronto. He received his Master’s degree in 1964 and PhD in Mathematics in 1966 from the University of Waterloo. His PhD thesis entitled “Chromatic Graphs and Ramsey's Theorem" was supervised by Ralph Stanton. Jim began teaching in the Department of Mathematics in 1964, and when the Faculty of Mathematics was formed in 1967 with Dave Sprott in dual roles as Dean of the Faculty and Chair of the Department of Statistics, Jim was appointed Associate Chair of the Department. He took on many responsibilities in the new Department, and guided it through its early years as new faculty members were hired and courses were mounted. At the end of Dave Sprott’s term in 1975, Jim became Department Chair and served until 1979. During those formative years, the department developed internationally recognized programs of research and teaching in both statistics and actuarial science.

Jim was an outstanding teacher, known for his clear exposition. He was also the author of the Springer-Verlag books Probability and Statistical Inference: Volume 1: Probability and Volume 2: Statistical Inference, first published in 1979, and republished in 1985. These books developed from course notes for Math 233 (which became Stat 230 and Stat 231 when the course was divided into two terms), and were the required texts for the department’s introductory courses for many years. In the preface to these books, he points out that “the content of Volume 2 is unusual for an introductory text. The importance of the probability model is emphasized, and general techniques are presented for deriving suitable estimates, intervals, and tests from the likelihood function.” He was an early advocate for using computers in the teaching of Statistics, involving APL in much of his teaching. The basic ideas in Jim’s books and his upper year course notes still provide much of the foundation for undergraduate statistics as taught today at Waterloo.

Jim retired in early 2001, having spent 26 of his 34 years as a faculty member in major administrative posts. Among the many tributes from his colleagues at his retirement was this one from then-President David Johnston: "No one has shown more dedicated to the university than Jim Kalbfleisch." 

Former President James Downey told the audience at Jim's retirement party that his choice of Kalbfleisch as provost in the summer of 1993 was "the crowning decision of my career as a president" at three Canadian universities.

Then-Associate Provost Catharine Scott called him "the finest man this institution has ever seen."

Jim was elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1975, and served as President of the Statistical Society of Canada in 1984. On his retirement from Waterloo, he was named Provost Emeritus. He also served as President and Treasurer of the UW Retirees Association. He was an avid bridge player, an active member of the KW Weavers and Spinners Guild, and enjoyed knitting and working in stained glass.

"He was critically important in developing the University of Waterloo and in working to maintain a sense of civility during some difficult times," remembers Kenneth McLaughlin. "His was a truly extraordinary career and he was a formative influence."

There are two scholarships for incoming students that bear his name: the James G. Kalbfleisch National Scholarship in the Faculty of Mathematics, and the James Kalbfleisch Entrance Scholarship at the University level.

By Brandon Sweet, Steve Brown, Jerry Lawless and Mary Thompson.

Victor Malinowski is a current PhD candidate in Biostatistics under supervisors Leilei Zeng and Glen McGee.  Victor completed a Bachelor of Mathematics in Biostatistics from the University of Waterloo in 2023, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Biostatistics from the University of Waterloo in 2024. Victor's research interests are causal inference, survival analysis, longitudinal data, and life history analysis.

Ken Mawer is a current PhD candidate in Biostatistics under supervisors Michael Wallace and Paul Marriott. Ken completed a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Mathematics, Minor in Statistics from University of British Columbia in 2023, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Statistics from University of Waterloo in 2024. Ken's research interests are precision medicine, measurement error, and causal inference.

Hao Quan is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisor Ben (Mingbin) Feng. Hao completed a Bachelor of Science in Statistics and Actuarial Science & Risk Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2022, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo in 2024. Hao's research interests are Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), Financial Pricing Models, Risk Hedging Strategies, Registered Index-Linked Annuities, Variable Annuities, Deep Learning in Finance, and Unsupervised Learning Techniques.

Affiliation: David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science

Yuliang Shi is a current PhD candidate in Biostatistics under supervisor Yeying Zhu. Yuliang obtained a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Beijing University of Technology in 2019, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Biostatistics from the University of Waterloo in 2021.  Yuliang’s research interests are: causal inference, survival analysis.

Grace Tompkins is a current PhD candidate in Biostatistics under supervisor Michael Wallace. Grace obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from St. Francis Xavier University in 2019, and then completed a Master of Mathematics in Biostatistics from the University of Waterloo in 2020.  Grace’s research interests are: irregular longitudinal data, weighting methods, causal inference, personalized decision-making.

Xiaoya Wang is a current PhD candidate in Biostatistics under supervisor Richard J. Cook and Yeying Zhu. Xiaoya completed a Bachelor of Mathematics in Statistics from University of Waterloo in 2021, and then obtained a Master of Mathematics in Biostatistics from University of Waterloo in 2022. Xiaoya's research interests are causal inference and measurement error.

Joint appointment with School of Accounting & Finance

Cross appointment with David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science

Henan Xu is a current PhD candidate in Statistics under supervisor Yeying Zhu. Henan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Mathematics and Statistics from The London School of Economics and Political Science in 2019, and then completed a Master of Arts in Statistics from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020.  Henan’s research interests are: Causal Inference, Mediation Analysis, Functional Data Analysis, Weighting Methods.

Tianxing Yan is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisors Lisa Gao and Christiane Lemieux. Tianxing completed a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from Simon Fraser University in 2022, and then obtained a Master of Science in Actuarial Science from Simon Fraser University in 2024. Tianxing's research interests are loss models.

Yunfeng Yang is a current PhD candidate in Statistics under supervisor Samuel Wong. Yunfeng obtained a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Central China Normal University in 2019, and then completed a Master of Mathematics in Statistics from the University of Waterloo in 2020.  Yunfeng’s research interests are: Bayesian analysis, MCMC methods.

Jingcheng Yu is a current PhD candidate in Actuarial Science under supervisors Ruodu Wang and Hong Li. Jingcheng completed a Bachelor of Actuarial Science from University of Manitoba in 2020, and then obtained a Master of Financial Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles in 2022. Jingcheng's research interests are Actuarial Science.

Jiayue Zhang is a current PhD candidate in Statistics under supervisor Tony S. Wirjanto. Jiayue obtained a Bachelor of Science in Financial Statistics and Risk Management,  from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in 2018, and then completed a Master of Mathematics in Computational Math from the University of Waterloo in 2020.  Jiayue’s research interests are: Deep learning in Portfolio Selection, Group Insurance.

Liyuan Zheng is a current PhD candidate in Statistics under supervisor Yingli Qin. Liyuan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in 2019, and then completed a Master of Mathematics in Statistics from the University of Waterloo in 2020.  Liyuan’s research interests are: High-dimensional statistics.