Strategic Initiative Showcases Statistics at
Minority Conference
Javier Rojo, Rice University
I
n October 2007 there was excitement
in Kansas City. The Society for the
Advancement of Chicanos and Native
Americans in Science held its 34th
National Conference. The SACNAS
National Conference grew from 225
attendees in its first year to close to 2,500
in 2006. Membership is open to anyone
interested in science and engineering, and
its activities are geared, in great part,
toward encouraging young scientists to
pursue graduate careers in science and
engineering. These goals are achieved
through a series of activities that include
poster sessions, graduate student oral pre-
sentations, preconference workshops, sci-
entific sessions, and keynote addresses by
distinguished scientists and engineers.
Mentoring activities include “speaking
Mark Gamalo, Fred Gonzalez, and Celedon Gonzalez at StatFest
with a scientist” sessions, where students
are able to discuss their scientific interests
with researchers. In addition, various social
StatFest, which was devoted to encouraging hall. Many students and teachers came by
events allow for students (undergraduate
students to become statisticians. Speakers and picked up material about careers in
and graduate), postdoctoral researchers,
from academia, government, and industry statistics. This was the second year for the
and faculty to network in a social environ-
discussed their career paths and work as booth, and the number of students who vis-
ment. The social activities include a pow
statisticians. They also discussed their expe- ited was up from the previous year.
wow and pachanga. Many graduate schools
riences in searching for work, reasons for While this activity was viewed as a suc-
recruit for their graduate programs during
choosing a statistics career, and ideas about cess, it is imperative that ASA members
the SACNAS conference, while national
interdisciplinary coursework in statistics. continue to promote statistics at these and
research laboratories, institutes, universities,
Celedon Gonzales of Eli Lilly, Joe Fred other meetings. The mathematics com-
and companies (e.g., pharmaceutical, com-
Gonzalez of the National Center for Health munity has been reaching out aggressively
munication) recruit for employees.
Statistics, Edith Seier of Eastern Tennessee for several years now. These efforts by the
Historically, the mathematical sci-
State University, Robert Rodriguez of SAS, ASA can only continue with the support
ences have played an important role in
and Mark Gamalo of the University of of ASA members. If you are interested in
SACNAS. Indeed, several of the founding
Missouri-Kansas City excited the crowd getting involved, contact Rojo at jrojo@
fathers are mathematical scientists, and the
with enthusiasm for their careers and inter-
stat.rice.edu. n
number of mathematics students attend-
est in statistics. The session finished with
ing the national conference has increased
refreshments and an opportunity for stu-
over the years. It was estimated that close
dents to meet and talk with the speakers
to 250 mathematics students attended the
and other statisticians who attended. Door Papers Invited
2007 SACNAS National Conference. For
prizes also were given out.
this reason, the American Mathematical
Two technical sessions were orga-
The most recent issue of Case Studies
Society, National Security Agency,
nized and chaired by Javier Rojo of Rice
in Business, Industry and Government
Mathematical Association of America, and
University. The first session focused on risk
Statistics is now available at www.
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
analysis, with talks about risk assessment in
bentley.edu/csbigs. Potential authors are
at Berkeley, among others, sponsor several
three fields. The second featured biostatistics
invited to submit papers for follow-
mathematics-related activities.
contributions to the medical field. Both ses-
ing issues, with the next issue due to
This year, statistics as a discipline made
sions were well-attended, in spite of having
appear in April 2008.
a strong showing and solidified the efforts
to compete with several concurrent sessions
Author instructions can be found at
to encourage students to consider statistics
in pure and applied mathematics.
www.bentley.edu/csbigs/instructions.cfm.
as a graduate career. ASA-sponsored activi-
In addition to the sessions and speakers,
For details, email
csbigs@bentley.edu.
ties opened with a pre-conference session,
the ASA sponsored a booth in the exhibit
JANUARY 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 13
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