KAUST alumna Yuan Yan received an honorable mention from the American Statistical Association (ASA) for her paper on "Vector Autoregressive Models with Spatially Structured Coefficients for Time Series on a Spatial Grid." Yan, who graduated from KAUST in 2018, was part of Professor Marc Genton's Spatio-Temporal Statistics & Data Science group. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, researching fisheries science using spatial statistical models. Why it matters: This recognition highlights the quality of research and education at KAUST, especially in the field of spatio-temporal statistics, and its impact on addressing real-world sustainability challenges.
KAUST Ph.D. student Sabrina Vettori won the 2017 Student Paper Competition sponsored by the Section on Statistics and the Environment of the American Statistical Association. Her winning paper was titled "Bayesian clustering and dimension reduction in multivariate air pollution extremes", co-authored by Huser and Genton. The competition focused on environmental statistics, with winners presenting at the Joint Statistical Meetings. Why it matters: This award recognizes KAUST's contribution to environmental statistics and highlights the university's ability to attract and nurture talent in this critical area.
KAUST Ph.D. student Jian Cao received a best paper award from the American Statistical Association (ASA) for his paper on computing high-dimensional normal and Student-t probabilities. The paper uses Tile-Low-Rank Quasi-Monte Carlo and Block Reordering. Cao, a member of Professor Marc Genton's group, will be recognized at the ASA's Joint Statistical Meetings. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's strength in high-performance computing and statistical research, contributing to advancements in handling complex, high-dimensional datasets.
KAUST Ph.D. student Yuxiao Li received a Student Paper Award from the American Statistical Association (ASA) for his paper on efficient estimation of non-stationary spatial covariance functions. The award-winning paper is Li's first research paper at KAUST, completed as a member of the Environmental Statistics Group led by Professor Ying Sun. His research focuses on short-term space-time precipitation modeling, addressing the challenges of modeling rainfall zeros and amounts along with complex spatio-temporal dependencies. Why it matters: This award recognizes KAUST's contributions to advanced statistical methods for environmental modeling, highlighting the university's strength in addressing complex environmental challenges.
KAUST Ph.D. alumna Sabrina Vettori and Ph.D. student Yuxiao Li received a Distinguished Student Paper Award at the 2018 Eastern North American Region (ENAR) Spring Meeting of the International Biometric Society. Li's paper focused on efficient estimation for non-stationary spatial covariance functions, while Vettori's paper addressed Bayesian hierarchical modelling of air pollution extremes. Both students were recognized for their contributions to statistical environmental studies and air pollution modeling. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's commitment to fostering high-quality research and recognizes the achievements of its students in addressing critical environmental challenges.