Washington Statistical Society and RTI An active member of the American
Obituary
International for the purposes of recog- Statistical Association and the American
nizing statisticians in early to mid-career Association for Public Opinion Research,
Randy Sitter
(roughly no more than 12 years after termi- he was well published in the social sciences
nal degree) who have already made signifi- arena. Camburn is remembered not only
On September 19, 2007, Randy Sitter,
cant contributions to statistical practice. for his business acumen and love of new
professor in the Department of Statistics
The award is in memory of Gertrude M. technology, art glass, and classic Jaguar cars,
and Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser
Cox (1900–1978), who in the 1950s—when but especially for his kindness, laughter,
University, was tragically lost at sea. He is
head of the Department of Experimental and storytelling.
survived by his wife, Deanna, his parents,
Statistics at North Carolina State College— Camburn will be greatly missed by
and his brother.
played a key role in establishing mathemati- his family, many friends, and colleagues. Randy’s brilliant life came to an unex-
cal and biostatistics departments at The Donations in his memory may be made pected end during a kayaking trip to
University of North Carolina at Chapel to NC Schnauzer Rescue. He is preced- Bellingham Bay in Washington. Randy was
Hill and a statistical division at the newly ed in death by his parents, Harmon and a cautious kayaker, and he had intended
founded, not-for-profit Research Triangle Gertrude Camburn, and is survived by to get some exercise on that warm sunny
Institute (RTI). She served as president of Marvin and Joyce Camburn of Scottsdale, morning. He brought his laptop along so
the ASA in 1957. Arizona; William and Kathryn Camburn he could catch up on some university work
This award is made possible by funding of Holland, Michigan; Robert and Janet and listen to music. This was a very good
from RTI. The recipient is chosen by a six- Camburn of Powder Springs, Georgia; time in Randy’s life; he had just completed
person committee—three each from RTI Patricia Camburn Behnke of Tallahassee, his term as editor of the prestigious jour-
and WSS. The award consists of a $1,000 Florida; three nephews; four nieces; and nal Technometrics, he was looking forward
honorarium, travel expenses to attend the several great nephews and nieces. to a sabbatical, and he had expanded his
WSS dinner, and a commemorative plaque research efforts to include a number of new
containing the WSS logo. Past recipients and exciting initiatives. Although the facts
have been Sharon Lohr, Alan Zaslavsky,
Obituary
of the day are unknown, Randy was pre-
Tom Belin, Vance Berger, and Francesca sumed lost in an accidental drowning.
Domenici.
Erwin M. Hearne
Randy was raised in Prince George, a
small town in northern British Columbia.
Erwin M. Hearne III passed away March 2, He went on to earn a BSc in mathemat-
Obituary
2008, after a sudden illness. ics in 1984 and an MSc in statistics in1986
He was a director of biostatistics at i3 at the University of British Columbia. He
Donald Camburn
Statprobe. Previously, he was vice president then completed a PhD in statistics in 1990
at Red River Statistics Inc. and director at at the University of Waterloo. Immediately
Donald Camburn, 58, Boots Pharmaceuticals. He also held sta- upon graduation, Randy was appointed
passed away March 4, tistical positions at Clements Associates, to a tenure-track position in statistics at
2008, at his Raleigh, Marion Laboratories, Kansas State Tumor Carleton University. He returned to his
North Carolina, Registry, and Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals. home province in 1995 with a position at
home. A gradu- From 1980–1985, he was assistant pro- Simon Fraser University.
ate of Stockbridge fessor at The University of Texas Health In the world of statistics, Randy was a
High School in 1967, Science Center at San Antonio. “star” in every sense of the word. As an aca-
Camburn was an alum- Hearne earned his PhD in statistics from demic, he was one of the best statisticians
Camburn
nus of the University Southern Methodist University in 1975 in Canada and an international leader in
of Michigan and a for- and his BA in mathematics from Baylor sampling theory and industrial statistics.
mer research vice presi- University in 1970. He held many grants, through which he
dent for RTI, where he led the Statistical, He was an outstanding statistician in the supported and supervised a large cohort
Survey, and Computing Services Unit, pharmaceutical industry for many years. He
of graduate students. As a mentor, Randy
comprised of more than 1,100 research also loved to participate in many sports and
helped to get the best from his students and
staff members. He leaves a legacy of having was exceptionally good on the golf course.
colleagues—and he did so in a caring and
been the architect of many business systems A scholarship fund has been set up
generous manner. He taught the depart-
and a champion of strategic business at Southern Methodist University in his
ment to “think big.” Randy helped grow
plan development. name. Donations may be sent to Erwin
and transform SFU statistics into one of the
Previously, Camburn was a senior asso- Hearne III Scholarship Fund, Attn: Sheila
best statistics units in Canada. He super-
ciate at Abt Assoc. in Chicago, Illinois, and Crain, Department of Statistical Science,
vised more than 20 graduate students, with
senior research associate at the University 3225 Daniel Ave., Southern Methodist
six PhD students going on to academic
of Michigan. University, Dallas, TX 75205.
positions at prestigious institutions.
44 AMSTAT NEWS MAY 2008
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