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News

Professor Paul Gustafson researches the impact of inaccurate laboratory tests on estimation of epidemic curves

We have all become familiar with the importance of monitoring the number of COVID-19 cases for setting policies and managing limited health care resources. But how do inaccuracies in tests for the virus impact the curves that describe the epidemic?

Paul teamed up with Drexel University epidemiologists Igor Burstyn and Neal Goldstein to study this question, using publicly available COVID-10 testing data from Alberta and Philadelphia. They develop a Bayesian method, placing priors on...

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April 23, 2020

Sonja Isberg receives department's Graduate Teaching Assistant Award and UBC Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

The Statistics Department is happy to announce that PhD student Sonja Isberg has been honoured in two ways for her contributions to statistics education.

Sonja is the recipient of the department’s Graduate Teaching Assistant Award and has also received a prestigious UBC Killam Graduate Teaching...

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April 20, 2020

Joe Watson receives the 2019 Marshall Prize

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2019 Marshall Prize is PhD student Joe Watson.

The prize, which is awarded to a Statistics graduate student who has achieved great distinction, honours Professor Emeritus Albert Marshall for his scholarly contributions and his role in establishing the Department of Statistics at UBC....

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March 17, 2020

David Kepplinger wins the 2019–20 Data Science Award

We are pleased to announce that David Kepplinger has won the Department’s 2019–20 Data Science Award.

David is finishing his PhD degree in Statistics under the supervision of Prof. Gabriela Cohen Freue, with a focus on robust regularized regression of high dimensional data. His work on a Penalized Elastic Net S-Estimator (PENSE) is particularly noteworthy. Here, David integrates statistical methodology,...

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March 17, 2020

Professor Nancy Heckman appointed as Associate Scientific Director of CANSSI

Congratulations to our Professor Nancy Heckman on her role as the Associate Scientific Director of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI). Nancy was appointed to this role in September 2019.

Nancy has been a faculty member in our department since 1984. Throughout her time at UBC, Nancy has been active in shaping undergraduate...

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February 6, 2020

Call for Nominations: Department of Statistics Award in Data Science for Academic Year 2019–20

The Department of Statistics is soliciting nominations for the Department of Statistics Award in Data Science, an award to recognize the importance of developing and applying tools to answer important questions through the analysis of data.

This $1,000 award is offered to an undergraduate or graduate student who has demonstrated initiative and creativity in making outstanding contributions in the field of Data Science. The award is made on the recommendation of the...

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January 17, 2020

Professor James V. Zidek appointed as Officer of the Order of Canada

Professor James V. Zidek has been honoured by his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, an appointment granted to those Canadians who make extraordinary contributions to the Nation. The honour recognizes Dr. Zidek's leadership and influence in the advancement and application of the statistical sciences in Canada and internationally. Throughout his career, Dr. Zidek has shaped the very foundations of statistics, developing cutting edge techniques in a range of areas including...

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January 2, 2020

Thorne–Tanabe Graduate Entrance Scholarship Recipient (2019): Vittorio Romaniello

We’re pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of the Anona Thorne and Takao Tanabe Graduate Entrance Scholarship is PhD student Vittorio Romaniello.

Vittorio completed a master's degree in Statistical Science at Oxford, and a bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Operations Research at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. He also gained industry experience as a Data Science intern at Expedia Group. His research...

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December 16, 2019

Free Statistical Consultation: November 2019 Call

The Statistics Department offers several types of free statistical consultation, via STAT 450/550, SOS, and STAT 551, as follows.

  • STAT 450/550: Term 2 only, open to anyone, via students in STAT 450/STAT 550 mentored by faculty; accepting projects for Term 2 2019-20 from now until Jan 17
  • SOS (Statistical Opportunity for Students): year-round, UBC-V graduate students only, via a team of a senior Statistical consultant and a Statistics...
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November 5, 2019

Statement of the UBC Department of Statistics on the Global Climate Strike

September 24th, 2019

The Department of Statistics applauds the student-led movement that is bringing increased attention to the dangers of unmitigated global warming. All evidence points to an urgent need for far stronger responses to the threat. Looking outward, as statistical scientists we are particular proponents of building and respecting principled paths from data to evidence to public policy. Looking inward, we recognize our own obligations to reduce and mitigate...

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September 24, 2019

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