Call for Proposals for SAMSI Summer Programs and Workshops

Richard Smith, Director of SAMSI, writes:

The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) announces a new call for proposals to organize a summer program or workshop focused on a topic within the broad spectrum of new or recent research themes covered by SAMSI, to take place during the summer of 2013. A summer program is a short research program, of 1–2 weeks duration, that is consistent with the SAMSI core theme of bringing together statisticians, applied mathematicians, other mathematical scientists, and researchers in other disciplines, though it is not necessary for every proposal to include all of these elements. A workshop is typically shorter (2–3 days) and focused on a specific topic.

A summer program or workshop can form the seed from which a future year-long program develops. Therefore a summer program or workshop offers an opportunity to develop a new SAMSI research theme without the workload required for a year-long program.

To apply, please prepare a document of roughly 3-5 pages in length that should include at least the following:

(1) Title and nature of proposed activity (e.g. whether it is a 2-week summer program, a 1-week summer program, or a workshop of 2–3 days),

(2) the names and affiliations of the organizing committee,

(3) rationale and objectives of the program or workshop,

(4) leading researchers whom the program is expected to involve (commitments from specific individuals are encouraged, but not required as part of the application process),

(5) a brief outline of how the program or workshop will be structured.

The program or workshop will take place at SAMSI and the final number of participants should be under 50. The proposal should be sent to summercompetition@samsi.info by July 27, 2012. Proposals will be evaluated by the SAMSI Directorate who may contact the proposers for further information. Our objective is to make a decision by the end of September which proposal or proposals will be accepted for 2013. Once a proposal is accepted, the SAMSI Directorate will work closely with the organizing committee on the further development of the program or workshop including budgeting, local arrangements and the coordination of invitations. All the organizational arrangements will be made by SAMSI.

For further information about SAMSI, please see our website, www.samsi.info. Reports from past programs (including summer programs) can be downloaded from http://www.samsi.info/pgmrpts.

Call for Nominations for NISS 2012 Jerome Sacks Award

Nominations for the 2012 Jerome Sacks Award for Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Research are now open, with a deadline of June 15. The award will be announced (and hopefully presented to the recipient in person) at the NISS/SAMSI JSM 2012 reception, which is from 5:00 to 7:00pm on Monday, July 30, in San Diego. The recipient receives $1000, and his or her name is added to a plaque at NISS that lists all recipients. The list of recipients is at
http://www.niss.org/news/awards/jerome-sacks-award-outstandingcross-disciplinary-research

The award recognizes sustained, high-quality cross-disciplinary research involving the statistical sciences, as exemplified by the work of Jerry Sacks, the founding director of NISS. This definition is intentionally broad: it includes not just publications, but also patents and software creation. We are especially interested in recognizing work that, in the spirit of NISS, creates new research relationships bridging between the statistical sciences and other disciplines, or new bridges among academia, industry and government.

The nomination process is very straightforward. All that is needed is a nomination letter of no more that two pages, names of at least two other individuals who have consented to write letters of support and a CV. Nominations should be submitted electronically, to sacksaward2012@niss.org.