News archive - May 2022

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Wayne Oldford elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA)

Wayne Oldford

Congratulations to Professor Wayne Oldford of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at University of Waterloo on being elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA). The citation reads: "For major contributions to the development of statistical programming environments and visualization, for developing problem-based learning (PPDAC) approaches to teaching, for exceptional service, and for co-founding AISTATS, a conference in its 38th year of operation."

The designation of ASA Fellow has been a significant honor for nearly 100 years. Under ASA bylaws, the Committee on Fellows can elect up to one-third of one percent of the total association membership as fellows each year.

The 2022 class of ASA Fellows can be viewed on the amstat.org website.

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Professor Matthias Schonlau wins prestigious Humboldt Prize

Matthias Schonlau

A professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science has been named a winner of the Humboldt Research Award, better known as the Humboldt Prize, a lifetime achievement award for internationally renowned scientists.

Dr. Matthias Schonlau is only the second Canadian statistician to have won the prestigious award, after Christian Genest of McGill University.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Pengfei Li Named Fellow of IMS

Pengfei Li

Pengfei Li, Professor of Statistics in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at University of Waterloo, has been named Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS).

Dr. Li received the award for ground-breaking and pioneering research contributions to the EM-test for the order of finite mixture models; for original and creative methodological developments in the areas of the empirical likelihood, density ratio models, statistical genetics, non-probability sampling; for exceptional research productivity; and excellence in statistical education.

Founded in 1935, the IMS is one of the world’s premier societies in statistics and probability. Each Fellow nominee is assessed by a committee of their peers and the election is based on “demonstrated distinction in research in statistics or probability, by publication of independent work of merit”. This qualification may be partly or wholly waived in the case of either a candidate of well-established leadership whose contribution to the field of statistics or probability other than original research shall be judged of equal value; or a candidate of well-established leadership in the application of statistics or probability, whose work has contributed greatly to the utility of and the appreciation of these areas.

The list of the 2022 class of IMS Fellows can be found at the IMS website.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Ruodu Wang Named Fellow of IMS

Ruodu Wang

Ruodu Wang, University Research Chair and Sunlife Research Fellow in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at University of Waterloo, has been named Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS).

Dr. Wang received the award for significant contributions to statistics and applied probability in operations research, risk management, and actuarial science; and highly influential interdisciplinary research bridging statistics and probability.

Founded in 1935, the IMS is one of the world’s premier societies in statistics and probability. Each Fellow nominee is assessed by a committee of their peers and the election is based on “demonstrated distinction in research in statistics or probability, by publication of independent work of merit”. This qualification may be partly or wholly waived in the case of either a candidate of well-established leadership whose contribution to the field of statistics or probability other than original research shall be judged of equal value; or a candidate of well-established leadership in the application of statistics or probability, whose work has contributed greatly to the utility of and the appreciation of these areas.

The list of the 2022 class of IMS Fellows can be found at the IMS website.