NISS Affiliates Kick-Off Meeting - March 2000

Amstat News Announcement of the Creation of the NISS Affiliates Program

Present were David Banks (Bureau of Transportation Statistics), James Berger (Duke University), Mary Ellen Bock (Purdue University), James Cavendish (General Motors), Cynthia Clark (US Census Bureau), Lawrence Cox (US Environmental Protection Agency), C. E. Davis (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), William Eddy (Carnegie Mellon University), John Eltinge (Bureau of Labor Statistics), Valeri Federov (SmithKline Beecham), Mark Kaiser (Iowa State University), Alan Karr (NISS), Douglas Kelly (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Jon Kettenring (Telcordia Technologies), Mark Low (University of Pennsylvania), Joseph McCloskey (National Security Agency), Marilyn McMillen (National Center for Education Statistics), Nagaraj Neerchal (University of Maryland Baltimore County), Michael O'Fallon (Mayo Clinic), Sastry Pantula (North Carolina State University), Daryl Pregibon (AT&T Shannon Laboratory), Brent Pulsipher (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Robert Rodriguez (SAS Institute), Jerome Sacks (NISS), Thomas Santner (Ohio State University), Avi Singh (Research Triangle Institute), Richard Tweedie (University of Minnesota), Mark Vangel (National Institute of Standards and Technology), George Williams (Merck & Company), Stanley Young (GlaxoWellcome) and Dale Zimmerman (University of Iowa).

The meeting consisted of introductions to NISS and the Affiliates Program, presentations of potential topics of activity for the Affiliates Program and discussion of next steps for the Program.

Discussion of Next Steps

Representing a committee composed of herself, Karr and Williams, Bock presented a summary to guide discussion of next steps for the Affiliates Program. After iteration among participants, that summary became the Application Area x Statistical Theme matrix shown below:

Specific proposals included:

1. From Kettenring, a willingness of Telcordia Technologies to collaborate in the staging of a workshop on data quality.
2. From Williams, a suggested focus on data mining in clinical trials, with emphasis on safety.
3. From McMillen, a workshop on best practices for data confidentiality.

O'Fallon proposed, and it was agreed by consensus, that Sacks and Karr will construct and present to the Affiliates (for discussion and review), proposed plans for activities (foci and paths) to be undertaken by the Affiliates Program.

Other items raised in general discussion:

1. A Web-based discussion group for Affiliates (widely supported, will be implemented)
2. Summer short courses and tutorial workshops (no clear consensus)
3. Graduate student participation in Workshops (very desirable)
4. Focus on development of topics leading to extended programs (generally supported).

Presentations:

• Jerome Sacks: Introduction to NISS
• Daryl Pregibon: Network Data
• Stan Young: 3-way Analysis
• Brent Pulsipher: Information Synthesis
• Jon Kettenring: Data Quality
• Alan Forsythe: Statistics 2000
• Marilyn McMillen: NCES Data Confidentiality