Updated June 6, 1997
WELCOME!
Welcome to the 1997 Spring Issue of the Newsletter of the Colorado-Wyoming
Chapter of the American Statistical Association. We want to update you on
some of the happenings and goings-on, statistically-speaking, around our
region and within our Chapter. These newsletters are most successful when
each of you contributes information, so please keep those notes, letters,
and
e-mails coming. We hope you find this one informative and enjoyable!
NEVER MESS WITH MOTHER NATURE!
After all that planning, cajoling, and anticipation, our much-ballyhooed
and long-awaited Annual Spring Meeting in Laramie was knocked out of
contention by Mother Nature herself. Ironic though it seems, after
worrying about the prospects for the weather in Laramie, it turned out to
be one of those unpredictable Spring snow storms in Denver that did us in.
There was plenty of disappointment to go around, not to mention having Alan
Agresti get all dressed up for a speech and have the audience turn up AWOL
(we understand that he did get to have a nice weekend in Ft. Collins, and
was able to present an impromptu version of his talk at CSU!).
To those of you who share our disappointment in not getting to have the
Spring meeting, we appreciate your forbearance and hope that you'll keep
all that energy generated for the Fall. To those of you who were
inconvenienced by the last-minute decision to cancel, and/or our inability
to get everyone notified on time, we offer our apologies. In the end, our
overriding concern was the safety of all of Chapter members.
We have an exciting line-up of meetings already planned for next fall, and
we hope that you will pitch in and participate in each of those activities.
AND SPEAKING OF THE MEETING SCHEDULE . . .
Get the following dates on your calendars NOW!
Fall Meeting, Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, ASA
September 17, 1997
University of Colorado, Denver
1250 14th Street
(1/2 Block from Larimer Square)
Denver, CO
6:15 - 6:30, Social Time
6:30 - 7:30, Presentations
7:30 - 9:00, Informal Dinner
Our speaker for this event will be Dr. Wayne Nelson, who is internationally
known for his work in the area of reliability. Wayne spent 23 years at
General Electric, and now works as a private consultant and teaches
engineering applications of statistics for many companies, professional
societies, and universities. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers, American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), and
American Statistical Association. He is also the author of two well-known
books related to accelerated testing and applied life data analysis, and he
has written well over 100 papers. Wayne has received the Brumbaugh,
Wilcoxon, and Youden prizes from ASQC, and eight outstanding presentation
awards from ASA. The abstracts for Dr. Nelson's presentations are given
below.
"HOW TO MAKE OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS"
In this brief talk, which was developed at the invitation of the American
Statistical Association's Continuing Education Program, Dr. Nelson will
share his insights on how to improve your presentations, which will further
your career. His advice will be illustrated with his most recent award
winning presentation:
"WEIBULL PREDICTION OF A FUTURE NUMBER OF FAILURES"
This talk presents simple new prediction limits for the number Y of
failures that will be observed in a future inspection of a sample of units.
The past data consist of the cumulative number X of failures at a previous
inspection of the same sample of n units initially. The life of such units
is modeled with a Weibull distribution with a given shape parameter value
B.
And if that's not enough:
Winter Meeting, Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, ASA
January 14, 1998
University of Colorado, Denver
1250 14th Street, Room 626
Denver, CO
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Once again it is time for our Chapter leadership to change hands. Jim
Rutledge (Air Force Academy) will be assuming the responsibilities of
President. We want to offer our sincere thanks to Ken Gerow (University of
Wyoming) for his leadership, humor, and tolerance this past year; and to
all of you for chipping in to help. We hope you will again willingly
volunteer to help Jim guide our Chapter for the 1997-98 season.
All of our other officers will remain in place except for Tim Coburn
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Tim is moving to Texas in August
to take an academic position as Associate Professor of Mathematics and
University Statistician at Abilene Christian University; so we're looking
for a new newsletter editor. We are also once again looking for someone to
serve as President-Elect. If you have an interest in either of these
positions, or know of someone who might be, please give Jim Rutledge a
call. Serving as a chapter office is a great way to get to know the
statistics community in the Colorado-Wyoming region, as well as around the
country.
A complete list of Chapter Officers and their addresses and telephone
numbers is provided below.
FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW!
We are extremely fortunate to have a fair number of Fellows of the American
Statistical Association living in our region. These individuals are
important resources not only to our Chapter and the Association as a whole,
but to our community as well. All too many times, individuals get
nominated and elected to be Fellows for their great contributions to our
profession and are publicly acknowledged at the Annual Meetings, only to go
without much recognition at the local level. We wanted to take this
opportunity to identify our local Fellows for you, and to encourage you to
seek them out for advice and counsel at every opportunity. We also want
you to be thinking about individuals in our Chapter that are deserving of
the designation of Fellow, and whom we might nominate in the near future.
Like any ever-changing list, the roster of local fellows is hard to keep
up. This one came from the National Office (and their computer system
suffered a crash last year!). So, if anyone was left off, or if the
current location/affiliation is incorrect, we apologize in advance.
Tom Boardman Ned Crow
Department of Statistics NIST, Boulder
CSU
Ken Burnham Frank Graybill
Cooperative Fisheries & Wildlife Research Department of Statistics
CSU CSU
Bill Guenther V. S. Huzurbazar
Department of Statistics Ft. Collins
University of Wyoming
Dick Jones Karen Kafadar
Department of Preventive Medicine Department of Mathematics
& Biometrics CU-Denver
CU Health Sciences Center
Paul Mielke Richard F. Link
Department of Statistics Denver
CSU
M. M. Siddiqui Jaya Srivastava
Department of Statistics Department of Statistics
CSU CSU
Jim Williams
Ft. Collins, CO 80521
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Jim Rutledge and Brad Warner, Air Force Academy, traveled to Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, to attend the Midwest Conference on Teaching Statistics. Dr.
Warner presented a paper entitled "Activity Based Learning in an
Introductory Statistics Course."
Tim Coburn, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, recently co-authored two
government survey reports pertaining to consumer perceptions of
alternatively-fueled automobiles. Tim also served as the technical editor
for the 6th Annual Report to Congress on federal alternative motor fuel
programs. On another front, Tim is serving as the organizer and chair of a
minisymposium on geostatistics at the 4th SIAM Conference on Mathematical
and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, which is being held June 16-19
in Albuquerque. The session is entitled "Computational Issues in
Geostatistical Simulation for Petroleum Reservoir Characterization."
Tom Boardman has been named the recipient of this year's Ellis R. Ott award
presented by the American Society for Quality Control. Dr. Ott was
chairman of the Statistics Department at Rutgers University when Tom was
there pursuing graduate work. The award honors each recipient as an
individual "who has successfully combined application of quality control
technology and management in such a way that each supports and enhances the
other." Tom will receive the award during a presentation ceremony at the
Metropolitan Section's All Day Conference in October. In addition, Tom
also recently co-authored a paper with K. J. Kim in the Journal of the
Korean Society for Quality Control entitled "Optimal Burn-In for a Process
with Weak Components."
Darl Bien and Rotimi Aderohunmu, University of Denver, presented a paper in
Hawaii (nice work if you can get it!) at the annual meeting of the Western
Decision Sciences Institute. The title of their paper was "Equivalence of
One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Significance Tests in Title VII Employment
Discrimination Litigation." Darl also teamed with Ron Farina at the same
meeting to present a workshop entitled "Innovations in Study Abroad
Programs," and Ron individually presented a second workshop entitled "Doing
Business in Brazil."
It seems that, in addition to sunning on the beaches of Hawaii, Darl has
been globetrotting elsewhere as well. He recently returned from his
seventh trip to Thailand, the last four of which have been devoted to AIDS
research. This last trip found him assisting the Director of the Thai AIDS
project of the Thai Red Cross Foundation in designing a database system
that can be used to more efficiently collect data on approximately 4,000
HIV+ patients. Darl couldn't resist doing a little teaching, as well.
John Williamson reports that the Department of Applied Mathematics has
taken the lead in forming a Statistics Coordinating Committee at
CU-Boulder. This committee, along with the Applied Mathematics Department,
will be sponsoring several statistics colloquia. Please check with John or
Lynn Randolph (303-492-1238) for information on upcoming events. They
usually provide free cookies and coffee!
Tom Gatliffe, Tenera Rocky Flats, recently submitted a book review for
Technometrics. The book is entitled Statistics for Environmental
Engineers, by Paul Mac Berthouex and Linfield C. Brown.
Donna Simmons is the Chairperson of the Denver Section of the American
Society for Quality Control. You can contact Donna at 303-423-3726. She
is looking for volunteers to serve on the Denver Section Staff.
Ken Burnham recently returned from Europe where he participated in a
statistical meeting at the University of East Anglia, at Norwich, UK, on
the analysis of bird ringing data. Ken presented a paper entitled "Random
effects models in ringing and capture-recapture studies," and he was a
co-author on three other papers. In addition to all this work-related
stuff, it sounds like he had a good time vacationing, as well (ask him
about his piece of The Rock!).
Chip Reichardt, Psychology Department, DU, recently wrote to inform us of
the passing of Harry Gollob, a long-time member of ASA, and professor of
psychology at DU for 27 years. Harry was a particularly thoughtful and
caring statistician, psychologist, colleague, and friend; and he will be
sorely missed. We extend our condolences to Harry's wife, Maureen, and
their three sons.
UPCOMING EVENTS
We get so many notices of conferences, meetings, etc. that it is sometimes
hard to keep up. Here's a few that may be of interest:
* Rocky Mountain Quality Conference, June 7-12, Sheraton Denver West Hotel
(Contact RMQC Service Center, 303-831-6338)
* Western Users of SAS Software (WUSS), 5th Annual Conference, Sheraton
Universal Hotel, Universal City, CA (contact Steve Wilson, RBI Clinical Soft-
ware, 5801 Christie Ave., Suite 355, Emeryville, CA, 94608-1928)
* Third IMS North American New Researchers' Meeting, University of Wyoming,
Laramie, July 23-26 (contact Snehalata Huzurbazar)
* IMS/WNAR joint meeting, Park City, UT, July 27-31
* Fifth Annual Conference on Sampling and Data Analysis, presented by
Executive Enterprises, June 2-3, Embassy Suites, Denver (call 1-800-
831-8333 to register)
* Two-day training course from ASTM entitled "Environmental Statistics,"
November 17-18, Denver (contact Kristina Falkenstein at 610-832-9686)
* IASS/IAOS Satellite Meeting on Longitudinal Studies, August 27-31, Jerusa-
lem (contact Gad Nathan, Conference Chair, Central Bureau of Statistics,
91130 Jerusalem, Israel). There's a special session on survey methodology
* Conference on Current Topics in Survey Sampling University of Nebraska,
November (contact Lynne Stokes, 512-471-5216)
WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!
Don't forget to mark on your calendars the dates for the 1997 Joint
Statistical Meetings (JSM). This year, the meetings are being held in
Anaheim, CA, at the Anaheim Hilton & Towers and the Anaheim Marriott--just
a hefty stone's throw from Disneyland! We'd like to once again have a
broad-based representation from the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter. So make your
plans now. The dates are August 10-14.
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
Once again, before applying for any of these positions, we caution you to
call about their status. Although we make every effort to provide current
information, these listings will never be totally up-to-date due to the
irregular frequency of this newsletter.
Research Scientist Position, Columbia University. Seeking a social
scientist with strong background in survey research to serve as Staff
Officer of Research for secondary analyses of large scale epidemiological
survey data pertaining to substance use. Responsibilities include data
analysis, computer programming,
and writing of research papers. Requires experience in analysis of survey
data, computer programming, management of large databases, quantitative
skills in multivariate methods, and good writing skills. Ph.D. preferred.
One-year appoint-ment, Department of Psychiatry or School of Public Health,
with possibility of renewal. Contact Denise Kandel, Department of
Psychiatry, Columbia University, Unit 20, 722 W. 168th St., New York City,
10032 (Fax: 212-305-1933; dbk2@columbia.edu). May also contact Kevin Chen
at 212-305-1977.
Senior Level Mathematical Statistician or Survey Statistician, US General
Accounting Office (GAO). Incumbent to provide assistance and support in
probability sampling, statistical analysis, and study design for
multidisciplinary teams. Duties include advising staff, producing study
designs, presenting results, and preparing and analyzing data. Salary up
to $82K, depending on qualifications. Call 202-512-6092 or 1-800-967-5426;
or contact Carl Ramirez at ramirezc.ggd@gao.gov.
Summer Internship at StorageTek (Louisville, CO). Approximately 12 weeks
of work, starting in May. Intern to work in the corporate quality
department setting up measurement systems for the company's business units.
Duties would entail defining measurements, collecting, analyzing and
interpreting data, and
possibly working on the company's intranet to set up on-line databases.
Requires a graduate-level person, or a mature undergraduate who has the
initiative to work with little supervision. Contact Ed Halteman at
edward_halteman@stortek.com.
Trilogy Consulting. Looking for SAS programmers at all levels. Contact
Diane Heilmann at 1-800-323-7528.
US West Communications (Littleton, CO location; Mineral Rd.). Looking for
SAS programmers and database specialists. Contact Bob Romero for details
(303-707-7846).
Two positions available at Eagle Direct, a direct mail/database
marketing/printing company in Denver. One opening is for Director of
Analytical Services, and the second is for a database marketing specialist.
Contact Laurie Patrick at 303-320-5411 (x210) for more information; or
send a resume to 5105 East 41st Ave., Denver, CO, 80216-4420.
Supervisor of Corporate Metrology. Contact Sandy Bushnell (303-798-8134).
Research Assistant, Institute for Survey Research, Temple University.
Permanent full-time position. Incumbent to provide ongoing research,
administrative, and logistical support for Study Directors as part of ISR's
Study Direction staff. MS in sociology, survey research methods, or
statistics, plus two years experience with large scale survey research.
Must be familiar with data analysis software packages such as SAS and SPSS.
Contact Frederick Licari at 215-204-4416 or check out the ISR Web Site at
www.temple.edu/ISR.
Research Statistician, Abacus Direct Corporation, Westminster, CO. Ph.D. or
equivalent work experience in statistics, computer science, or cognitive science
with concentration in artificial neural networks. Send resume to 8774
Yates Drive,
Westminster, CO, 80030 (Fax: 303-657-5102). Also see ad in May issue of
AmStat News.
One-year appointment at NCAR. Ph.D. in statistics, with geophysics background.
Call NCAR (Boulder) directly.
One open position at Atrix Labs. Contact Joy Batley at 970-482-5868.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
Request for Proposals
The National Network on Family Resiliency is requesting applications from
interested parties to conduct a joint USDA/USAF research project entitled
"Development of a Family Violence Severity Measure and a Model for
Estimating Family Violence Rates in USAF Communities." The project is
expected to begin on July 1, 1997 and to be completed one year later.
Contact Craig Allen at 515-294-6105.
New Book about C. R. Rao
A new bibliography of C. R. Rao has just been published. The author is
Nalini Krishnankutty, and the title is "Putting Chance to Work . . . a life
in statistics." The price of the book is $15, and it can be ordered from
DIALOGUE, P. O. Box 1063, State College, PA, 16804-1063. Send e-mail to
Ndialogue@aol.com.
Information About Computer Packages for the Analysis of Survey Data
A new Web Site has been established that contains information about a
number of packages for the analysis of survey data. ASA's Section on
Survey Research Methodology has supported this effort. Check it out at
www.fas.harvard.edu/~stats/survey-soft.html. You may also contact Alan
Zaslavsky at zaslavsk@hcp.med.harvard.edu.
Comparative Paper on Statistical Software Packages For Sample Survey Data
Donna Brogan at the Emory University School of Public Health has just
written an extensive comparative paper entitled "Pitfalls of Using Standard
Statistical Software Packages for Sample Survey Data." It is to appear in
the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics, which will be published by Wiley next
summer. This paper has received lots of commentary, so you might want to
check it out. Dr. Brogan principally compares the analyses performed by
SAS and SUDAAN. For a copy of the paper, you may e-mail her at
brogan@sph.emory.edu or call her at 404-727-7701.
OFFICERS LIST
Dr. Jim Rutledge, President Joan Baron Kopp, Secretary
HQ USAFA/DFMS 2 Silver Cloud Lane
2354 Fairchild Drive, Suite 6D2A Boulder, CO 80302
USAF Academy, CO 80840-6252 303-447-0068
719-333-4470 73144.3340@CompuServe.COM
RutledgeJH.DFMS.USAFA@usafa.af.mil
Dr. Snehalata Huzurbazar,Treasurer Dr. Karen Kafadar, Council of
Chapters Rep.
Dept. of Statistics, P.O. Box 3332 Dept. of Mathematics, Box 170
University of Wyoming University of Colorado, Denver
Laramie, WY 82071 Denver, CO 80217
307-766-4826 303-556-2547
307-766-3927 (Fax) 303-556-8550 (Fax)
LATA@uwyo.edu kk@tiger.cudenver.edu
Dr. Tim Coburn, Editor (until 8/1/97)
National Renewable Energy Lab
1617 Cole Blvd., Room 16/325 .
Golden, CO 80401
303-275-4425
303-275-4415 (Fax)
tcoburn@afdc.nrel.gov
We gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship of Air Academy Associates in
Colorado Springs for this issue of the Newsletter!
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