SCIENCE AT THE SHINE DOME canberra 7 - 9 may 2008

New Fellows Seminar

Wednesday, 7 May 2008

Professor Matthew Wand
School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong

Matthew Wand was born in Wollongong, and has a degree in pure mathematics and statistics from the University of Wollongong and a PhD in statistics from the Australian National University. He has held previous academic appointments at Texas A&M University, Rice University and Harvard University in the USA, and at the University of New South Wales. Since 2007 he has been Research Professor in Statistics at the University of Wollongong. His main research interest is non-linear models, methodology and software for high-dimensional and complex data. He is a strong advocate for the use of statistical methodology in science, business and other sectors and for its continual development in the face of rapid technological change.

Statistics in an age of rapid technological change

We are all aware of the astonishing rate at which technology is changing: digital cameras, taxis with geographical positioning systems, memory sticks, Google and YouTube being some recent manifestations. What does this entail for statistics? Firstly, there are a lot more numbers being recorded and stored. Think of supermarket scanners and internet transactions in everyday life. The same is happening in science. Biological experiments now involve the recording of millions of numbers corresponding, for example, to individual blood cells. Secondly, especially because of the internet, it is much easier to share these numbers. The field of statistics is continually being challenged by the growing size and complexity of problems brought about by technological change. In this talk I will illustrate these challenges, and describe new statistical development, in the context of cancer diagnosis and treatment.