UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 30, Page 3
May 7, 1992
Math prof working with Army Research Office

     Statistics has been defined by some as a body of methods we may
use to assist us in the face of uncertainty. Statistics, unlike the
deductive logic of mathematics, does not start out with a premise but
establishes valid ways of drawing inducted conclusions from collected
data."
     The speaker is Henry B. Tingey, professor of mathematical
sciences, who has recently been appointed to the select Statistical
Coordinating Group of the Army Research Office.
     Tingey, who has his doctorate in biostatistics from the
University of Minnesota, served in the Army as a research development
coordinator in the Ballistics Research Laboratories at Maryland's
Aberdeen Proving Ground in the early 1960s. When he was released from
active duty, he came to the University of Delaware, to what was then
the Department of Statistics and Computer Science, and was
instrumental in creating undergraduate and graduate programs in
statistics.
     Tingey has maintained close, professional ties with colleagues at
the proving ground, many of whom have taken courses or have received
advanced degrees in statistics or engineering from the University.
     Delaware also is the only school in the country to have ever
hosted the annual Army Design of Experiments Conference, which is
usually held at a military installation. At this conference, the
agenda includes a discussion of statistical problems encountered by
the Army, a review of articles and statistical science, and new
directions in methodology and software.
     Tingey, who serves on the Army's Subcommittee on Probability and
Statistics, also chairs the Army Wilks Award Selection Committee, a
prestigious appointment in the field.
     The award is one of the highest given to a statistician and only
when there is an outstanding candidate, Tingey said.
     Statistics can be applied to practically every field of endeavor,
Tingey said.
     He has written numerous articles and reports and made several
presentations on many topics in statistics, ranging from the
relationship between work stress with heart rate to modeling gunfire.
     Early in his career, Tingey was involved in a statistical study
of a new polio vaccine.
     A small sampling showed the vaccine to be completely safe and
effective, but, when the vaccine was given to a larger group of
babies, complications arose.
     Statistical studies showed that some children were developing
polio at the site of the injection and, in other instances, that the
mothers of the babies developed polio.
     "Statistics analysis showed that something was markedly different
in the polio vaccine that was used with a larger population, and it
turned out that the difference was in the vaccine itself," Tingey
said.
     Another statistical study was applied to a variety of drugs for
those with diabetes. This study showed that one drug was less
effective than others and had a higher death rate. The result was that
the drug was removed from the market by the Federal Drug
Administration.
     Tingey's work in ballistics deals with the determining the
probable flight of missles. "Through computers, we can simulate
different conditions and how these affect flight patterns," he said.
     Currently, Tingey  is involved in a project that is determining
which is more effective-a published Army manual or an on-line
computerized Army manual.
     Looking ahead to the far future, Tingey is considering carrying
out a statistical study to evaluate the quality of a public health
delivery system.
     -Sue Swyers Moncure