Dr. Jeff Picka is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of New Brunswick. He served as a NISS postdoc from 1996-1999, where he developed spatial models that helped to investigate the relationships between the composition of concrete, the internal structure of concrete specimens, and their resistance to infiltration by salt. These models were developed at the Center for Advanced Cement Based Materials at Northwestern University.
Prior to serving at NISS, Picka earned his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Chicago. His thesis focused on modifications that can reduce variance in estimators of dependence in random sets, and his subsequent work centres on the development of evaluation methods for models of multiscale phenomena such as climate change, powder flow, epidemics, and the patterns formed by pattern-forming systems.
As a Professor, Picka works to advance the idea that statistical science is as much applied philosophy as it is an application of mathematics and computing. He is developing ways of bringing recent developments from the history, philosophy, and sociology of science, technology, medicine, and the social sciences into statistical education at all levels. In his free time, Picka is an avid cyclist and photographer who enjoys exploring the Northeast and Midwest for remnants of heavy industry and books on dead technologies.