Randy was a prolific researcher. He had
more than 50 refereed publications, with
most of these papers appearing in the best
STATISTICIANS
statistics journals. His career took off from
the start. He was elected Fellow of the
IN THE NEWS
American Statistical Association in 2002
at the young age of 41. He was awarded
the CRM-SSC prize in statistics in 2004, a
major award in recognition of professional
Read about your colleagues and friends in the news.
accomplishments during one’s first 15 years Go to www.amstat.org and click on “Statisticians in
post-doctorate.
the News.”
In the analysis of complex survey data,
Randy was a pioneer, and he was expert in
the development of resampling methods for
variance estimation. Randy was also expert in
aspects in the design of experiments, where
he developed theory and algorithms for the
discovery and analysis of various designs.
Although Randy was devoted to aca-
demic pursuits, he had many outside inter-
ests, and there was a balance in his life. In
particular, his commitment to family was
great, as he regularly hosted nieces and
nephews in his home for extended periods.
He was a loving husband, and his home was
designed so the basement portion served as
living space for his parents.
Randy was an avid sportsman. He was Aberdeen Four Horsemen Made Movie ‘21’ Possible
a poor golfer, but an excellent basketball The Baltimore Sun’s Sports columnist Bill Ordine points to the Journal of
player. In fact, he took a one-year leave the American Statistical Association and the authors of the 1956 article
from his undergraduate program at UBC on the game of blackjack as an inspiration for the recent movie ‘21.’
to return to Prince George to play for the
College of New Caledonia. Randy was also
The Use—and Misuse—of Statistics: How and Why Numbers
a skilled tradesman, who was competent in
Are So Easily Manipulated
many aspects of home renovation.
Four Wharton statistics professors talk about their February 10 New
With Randy’s untimely death, the disci-
York Times article about the validity of a statistical analysis and how
pline of statistics has suffered a great loss. it is only as good as its individual components.
His colleagues have suffered an even greater
Taleb Outsells Greenspan as The Black Swan Gives Worst
loss. Randy was the heart and soul of our
department. He was a basketball player on
Turbulence
our departmental team for many years, he
Peter Westfall, editor of The American Statistician, responds to ques-
regularly hosted parties at his home, and
tions regarding author Nassim Taleb and the journal’s review of his
it was always easy to squeeze a free coffee
controversial book, The Black Swan.
from him. Randy was passionate about
HIV/AIDS Sabbatical Summary
many causes and extremely effective in
Visit Roger Hoerl’s blog about his travels to Africa and studies of HIV/AIDS
getting tasks done. He was honest, hard-
for his Coolidge sabbatical. Based on his trip and ongoing research, he
working, and fun-loving.
writes about five macro issues that will need to be addressed to produce
We miss him greatly.
The Department of Statistics and
a solution to the AIDS pandemic.
Actuarial Science created the Sitter Better Audits Sought for Voting
Achievement Award to be given to a gradu- In March, journalist Will Van Sant of The Saint Petersburg Times in Florida
ate student in the department who best typi- spoke with members of a working group who developed a better way
fies some of the qualities that were hallmarks to monitor election results. One of those interviewed was ASA Fellow
of Randy’s exceptional life. Donations to the
Linda Young, a professor of statistics at the University of Florida.
award are most humbly accepted. ■
Read these and other stories at www.amstat.org.
MAY 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 45
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