Category: News
The Spirit of the Season
December 22, 2016
As we enter the holiday season and the coming new year, many take this time to reflect on the impact they have made or hope to make soon. Statistics not only helps make sense of the world around us, but makes a perceptible impact on our communities and the globe. Many statisticians see their career...
Sowing the Oats of Data: How Statistics is Solving World Hunger
December 22, 2016
Sowing the Oats of Data: How Statistics is Solving World Hunger Farming practices around the world are rapidly developing with new technologies and agriculture is beginning to enter the digital age of big data. How are farmers using statistics and what difference can it make? Erik Andrejko, a data scientist at The Climate Corporation, discusses...
High School and College Sophomores Provide the Most Accurate Predictions of Presidential Election Results in Nationwide Contest
November 15, 2016
Winners of Prediction 2016 Contest used sophisticated statistical methods to predict state-by-state and overall percentage outcomes with greater accuracy than more than 450 high school and college students from around the country. Using statistical data and sophisticated analytical methods, two students — one high school sophomore and one college sophomore — provided highly accurate predictions...
New National Survey By SHRM Shows Employers Struggling to Meet Growing Demand for Data Analysts
November 14, 2016
More and more public and private sector employers are adding statisticians and data analysts to their ranks but are having a difficult time finding qualified candidates, according to a new national survey released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and sponsored by the American Statistical Association (ASA). The Jobs of the Future:...
Introducing the International Prize in Statistics
October 28, 2016
The Fields Medal and Abel Prize are two of the most prestigious awards that recognize outstanding contributions to the field of mathematics, but the field of statistics lacked any equivalent awards—until now. Statisticians today have the opportunity to earn a recently established, but equally renowned award, the International Prize in Statistics. Five major statistical organizations,...
Top Statisticians Answer Your Most Burning Questions About Careers in Sports Analytics
October 17, 2016
The ASA held a webinar about careers in sports analytics, covering topics from how to get a job as a sports statistician to understanding the types of problems they solve. Below are some of the most popular questions answered by the moderator, Scott Evans from Harvard, and panelists, Dennis Lock of the Miami Dolphins and...
Demystifying the Election Prediction 2016 Contest
September 30, 2016
ASA is sponsoring the Prediction 2016 contest, giving students a chance to take part in this year’s election season by using statistics to predict the next president of the United States. Think you’re up for the challenge? We’ve compiled a few resources to help you get started. FiveThirtyEight Nate Silver, a well-known American statistician, offers...
Up at Bat: Tom Tippett, Senior Analyst for the Boston Red Sox
September 08, 2016
Careers in sports analytics are evolving faster than athletes can run bases or make tackles. We sat down with Tom Tippett to discuss his work as a senior analyst for the Boston Red Sox and how he helped the team make crucial decisions about players and games. For Tom, baseball analytics was a dream job....
Want Today’s Hottest Career? Start with a Statistics Course
July 08, 2016
Statistics is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. and a top job for Millennials. Students are catching on to its appeal – more are graduating with degrees in statistics, and taking AP statistics in high school. But what exactly is statistics and what do statisticians do? Statistics is the science of learning from data, and of...
How Gertrude Cox Blazed a Trail for Women in Statistics
June 08, 2016
The field of statistics attracts a larger share of women than most STEM fields, and it’s partly because of the legacy of women like Gertrude Cox, one of the most important statisticians in history. Born in 1900, Cox left a mark on the field through her tireless work, and her passion for bringing statistics education...