James Rosenberger and Jessica Utts are this year's recipients of the Distinguished Service Awards from the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). The awards were presented at a NISS-sponsored reception at the Joint Statistical Meetings that were held recently in Miami, Florida.
The NISS Distinguished Service Awards were established by the Board of Trustees in 2005 to recognize individuals who have given extraordinary service that significantly advances NISS and its mission. Alan Karr, director of NISS, said when announcing them, "These are people who didn’t have to do what they did, but who did it because they care so deeply about NISS."
James Rosenberger, Pennsylvania State University, received the award for his long-term service to NISS as a member of the Executive Committee and for the last two years as chair of the Finance Committee, as well as his department’s support of NISS and SAMSI through the affiliates program and by hiring of former NISS postdocs.
Jessica Utts, University of California Irvine, was given the award in recognition of her multiple terms on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee, her chairing the Awards Committee, and her three years (2008-11) as vice-chair of the Board. Jessica, who has been on the Board since 1997, is now one of its longest-serving members.
Both Utts’ and Rosenberger's names will be added to a plaque that is displayed in the lobby of the NISS building in Research Triangle Park, which lists the names of all recipients. In Miami, each received from Karr a black, long-sleeved NISS t-shirt, which he termed “perfect beach attire.”
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.
For more information about NISS, go to the website www.niss.org. You can also learn more about NISS by following our Twitter account, @NISSSAMSI, join the NISS group on LinkedIn and on Facebook.