Faculty Receive Two Prestigious Awards at JSM

Tyler VanderWeele was awarded the 2017 Presidents’ Award by the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Baltimore last week. The COPSS consists of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the Statistical Society of Canada and the Eastern and Western North American Regions of the International Biometric Society. The Presidents’ Award parallels the Fields Medal in mathematics and is given to a young member of the statistical community in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession of statistics.

Citation for Tyler:

“For fundamental contributions to causal inference and the understanding of causal mechanisms; for profound advancement of epidemiologic theory and methods and the application of statistics throughout medical and social sciences; and for excellent service to the profession including exceptional contributions to teaching, mentoring, and bridging many academic disciplines with statistics.”

Xihong Lin also received a prestigious award at JSM, winning the F.N. David Award from the COPSS. This award is named after Florence Nightingale David, an accomplished statistician and the first recipient of the Elizabeth L. Scott Award. The award, sponsored jointly by COPSS and the Caucus for Women in Statistics, is granted to a female statistician who serves as a role model to other women by her contributions to the profession through excellence in research, leadership of multidisciplinary collaborative groups, statistics education, or service to the professional societies.

Citation for Xihong:

“For leadership and collaborative research in statistical genetics and bioinformatics; and for passion and dedication in mentoring students and young statisticians.”

Congratulations to Tyler and Xihong!