Lawrence H. Cox, Ph.D. has been appointed Assistant Director for Official Statistics at the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). The announcement was made by Alan Karr, Director of NISS, who noted that “Larry Cox is a distinguished statistician who will help NISS in many ways, especially on research conducted in partnership with the federal statistical agencies. Larry’s joining us is an important step in the evolution of NISS. With the transition of associate director Nell Sedransk to a Washington base and the plan to appoint an RTP-based deputy director, NISS will have a five-person leadership team, enabling us to continue expanding our service to the statistics community.”
In his new position, Cox will serve as convener of the survey cluster for the NISS affiliates program, expanding the NISS presence in data confidentiality research and furthering plans to develop a microsimulation model for surveys. He will also help deepen the scientific connections between NISS and its sister institute SAMSI, the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute.
Prior to joining NISS, Cox was Associate Director for Research and Methodology at the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His other former positions include Senior Mathematical Statistician for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during which time he was located in Research Triangle Park, NC, and interacted with several NISS projects. He also served as Senior Mathematical Statistician for the U.S. Census Bureau, and Director, Board on Mathematical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences. He has taught for several universities, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, and other organizations. Cox holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Brown University.
Cox has over 150 publications in the scientific literature including more than 70 peer reviewed publications. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI). He has served on the ASA Board of Directors, the ISI Council and the Board of Directors of the National Computer Graphics Association. He has been associate editor of several journals including the Journal of the American Statistical Association, has taught, consulted and presented over 300 scientific lectures in the U.S. and abroad, and has organized many scientific meetings. He is the recipient of several awards, including a Department of Commerce Medal for Superior Federal Service. His primary research contributions are on mathematical and computational theory, methods and optimization algorithms applied to problems in statistical science and surveys. He is the developer of many statistical data protection methods in current use. His current research is on quantitative methods for balancing the data protection effects of statistical disclosure limitation methods with their effects on data quality and usability.
Initially, Cox will work in Washington, DC, but will eventually relocate to the Research Triangle region.
About NISS
The National Institute of Statistical Sciences was established in 1990 by the national statistics societies and the Research Triangle universities and organizations, with the mission to identify, catalyze and foster high-impact, cross-disciplinary and cross-sector research involving the statistical sciences. NISS is dedicated to strengthening and serving the national statistics community, most notably by catalyzing community members’ participation in applied research driven by challenges facing government and industry. NISS also provides career development opportunities for statisticians and scientists, especially those in the formative stages of their careers. In particular, NISS has appointed more that 70 postdoctoral fellows with graduate training in statistics, computer science, mathematics, environmental sciences, psychometrics and transportation. NISS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
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