In May of 2016, the Institute of Statistical Mathematics (ISM) and the Japan Statistical Society (JSS) jointly created the Akaike Memorial Lecture Award to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the late Dr. Hirotugu Akaike. Dr. Akaike greatly influenced a wide range of research by proposing the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and establishing a novel paradigm for statistical modeling, which was distinguished by its predictive point of view, and was totally distinct from traditional statistical theory. The Akaike Memorial Lecture Award aims to encourage the education of talented young researchers by recognizing researchers who have achieved outstanding accomplishments that contribute to the field of statistical sciences.

The recipient of the Second Akaike Memorial Lecture Award is Professor Mike West of Duke University, USA. Professor West’s contributions to Bayesian statistics include seminal work in dynamic modeling, and the implementation of nonparametric models that paved the way to practical data analyses via the first realization of large-scale simulation-based methods. Professor West himself has also actively worked at the frontiers of various research fields to which Bayesian statistics can be applied and contributed to the creation of data-driven sciences. For example, he established a new approach for biomarker discovery using gene expression data, thus creating a novel trend in -omics biology based on data analysis.

The award ceremony and memorial lecture will be held during the plenary session of the Japanese Joint Statistical Meeting 2018, which will take place at the Korakuen Campus of Chuo University on September 10, 2018.

More information: http://www.ism.ac.jp/ura/press/ISM2018-05_e.html