Vol. 19, No. 16

Jan. 13, 2000

Probability and statistics group
among best in world

When folks ask Vincent LaRiccia what he does for a living, he rarely owns up to being a statistician. "I usually say that I'm a mathematics professor," the UD faculty member says. "You get a better response than if you say you're into statistics." But, LaRiccia and four other probability and statistics researchers at UD have a new reason to brag about their occupation: The UD Department of Mathematical Sciences recently ranked tops in the world, in terms of research productivity (or pages per investigator), in the field of probability. In the area of statistics, the group tied for seventh in the United States, and fifteenth in the world, among 1,454 institutions with five or more author-scholars. One faculty member was named the second most prolific probability researcher in the United States, and fourth in the world, when compared with 3,453 other authors. Though the ranking didn't identify the researcher, UD sources say it was David Mason, who joined the UD faculty in 1980, and subsequently was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Mason also was awarded both Junior and Senior Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowships, as well as a Fulbright Grant. UD's probability group includes Wenbo Li, a well-known expert in Gaussian process theory, and Mason. The statistics faculty consists of, among others, Paul Eggermont and LaRiccia, who are renowned for their work in parametrics, as well as Lydia Rejto and Bob Stark. Recognized for her work on random censoring and survival analysis, Rejto spent the 1998-99 academic year visiting the Mathematics Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Other current and former faculty may have contributed to the rankings, which appeared in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Statistics (second issue, 1999 volume), as part of an article by researcher Christian Genest. In comparing top probability and statistics research groups, LaRiccia explained, Genest also ranked individual authors, based on the total number of pages they had published, and the relative value of the journal where the work appeared. "So, 20 pages in the Annals of Probability was worth more than 20 pages in another, less prestigious journal," LaRiccia noted. Math-phobics sometimes describe statistics as "sadistics," LaRiccia acknowledged. But, statistics, and the probability theories behind them, play a role in virtually every profession, and all aspects of modern life-from assessing your odds of winning the lottery, to interpreting product advertisements touting research results. UD graduate Andre Acusta, now a statistician for a major pharmaceutical company, said the skills he gained at Delaware are essential for new drug development. "Before the company can market new medicines," he noted, "statisticians must first test the data." To help statisticians make decisions when little is known, Mason devised a technique known as "weighted bootstrapping," which has turned out to be a very useful addition to the statistical toolbox. According to UD graduate Robert Gorman, now head of biostatistics for Dade Behring's chemistry division, "Prof. Mason is amazing. He's the kind of person who looks at a problem and immediately thinks of a better way to approach it." Eggermont and LaRiccia, meanwhile, have developed a new technique for explaining the distribution curves created by intractable problems. Called "nonparametric function estimation," the strategy helps researchers make sense of data that don't fit traditional distribution models, Gorman explained. "When classical tests for analyzing data are worthless," he added, "the approach created by Eggermont and LaRiccia is invaluable." UD President David P. Roselle, also a faculty member in mathematical sciences, described the recent rankings as impressive. "I am proud of the statistics group and delighted by this nice recognition that they have individually and collectively received," Roselle said. "The recognition of their scholarship is well deserved, and it will serve to still further enhance the reputation of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and of the larger University. Bravo!" Pam Cook-Ionnidis, chairperson of the Department of Mathematics, agreed. "We have a productive faculty, and I'm always pleased when they are recognized for it," she said. -Ginger Pinholster