We are very pleased to announce that the inaugural lecture in the David Sprott Distinguished Lecture Series will be given by Professor Art Owen from Stanford University on May 14, 2014 at 4 pm.
Professor David Sprott (1930-2013) was the first chair (1967-1975) of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo and first dean of the Faculty of Mathematics (1967-1972). The David Sprott Distinguished Lecture Series was created in recognition of his tremendous leadership at a formative time of our department, as well as his highly influential research in statistical science.
We are especially pleased to have the inaugural David Sprott Distinguished Lecture given by Professor Art Owen, who graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BMath in statistics and computer science in 1981 and then obtained a PhD in statistics in Stanford in 1987. In his own words, Professor Owen says of his influential work on empirical likelihood: "David Sprott was instrumental in making Waterloo a likelihood theory powerhouse. In my statistics classes at Waterloo, likelihood was present at every turn. Leaving Waterloo for Stanford ended up convincing me of the benefits of nonparametric methods. Fortunately, we can have both."