October 22, 2001

One of the world's leading statistical researchers will give a talk on the development of the science of statistics.

Bradley Efron, the Max H. Stein Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, is this year's Pfizer Colloquium speaker. The colloquium will be held on Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

Efron's talk will address key developments in statistics, including the impact of computers on statistics, and the development of statistics as a field distinct from mathematics.

The field of statistics contributes to all disciplines where data is gathered. Its methods allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty inherent in any measurement.

Alan Gelfand, professor of statistics, says Efron's work spans theory, methodology and applied statistics. One of his many contributions to the field is a method known as "bootstrapping", which allows a researcher taking a poll to estimate the uncertainty in the results without knowing the answer to the question the poll seeks to resolve.

The Pfizer Colloquium, now in its 17th year, brings leading statistical researchers to UConn to discuss advances in the field.

Brent C. Evans