IMS Past-President Peter Bühlmann and the former Chair of the Committee on Equality and Diversity Nicole Lazar write: IMS has many awards and honors for early, mid-career and senior researchers. While these awards recognize excellence of individuals, they should represent and showcase the breadth of outstanding achievements of our members from many facets. Thus, it is of the utmost importance that the nomination pools for each IMS award be broad and diverse. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in the last few years, as you may recall reading in Peter’s “President’s Corner” article in the June/July Bulletin, on the 2023 class of IMS Fellows, https://imstat.org/2023/05/16/presidents-corner/.
This is an urgent call for participation in the nomination process for IMS awards and honors. We sincerely hope that you will contribute to make IMS more broad, diverse and multi-faceted* particularly with respect to awards and honors. Here are some thoughts on why you should make a nomination for an IMS award or honor.
1. Perhaps you feel, as we do, that you have received from IMS and the community in statistics and probability in the past, and you want to give back to others in the community. If so, it is time to nominate.
2. You may think, as we do, that IMS should have more women or other minorities (in the broad sense) among the awardees. If so, you can make a difference by making a relevant corresponding nomination.
3. You may feel a need, as we do, that IMS awards go to all types of excellent research, including application oriented and interdisciplinary work, as well as machine learning and data science. You should then make a corresponding nomination.
4. There may be excellent researchers in your field of expertise who do not have easy access to renowned nominators because they work in more isolated and less visible places in the world. If you know of such persons, you should nominate them.
5. If you are making one or several nominations because you think it is important for many good reasons, spread your view about nominations among your colleagues and encourage them to do a nomination as well!
6. There are shy people with excellent achievements. In scientific cultures where it is common to talk openly about awards, honors, and nomination processes, such persons could “raise their voices.”
You can find out more about IMS awards and honors, with corresponding nomination deadlines, at imstat.org/ims-awards/, imstat.org/honored-ims-fellows/nominations-for-ims-fellow/ and imstat.org/ims-special-lectures/ (and below).
Together, we can work to make IMS more diverse with respect to gender, origin, geographical location of working place, scientific fields and cultures. One concrete and important step is to have such diversity in the nomination pools of IMS Awards and Honors.
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* See also Peter’s IMS Presidential Address 2023 article in the September IMS Bulletin,
https://imstat.org/2023/08/31/presidential-address-2023-peter-buhlmann/
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The IMS Awards and Honors
The Institute of Mathematical Statistics recognizes and celebrates excellence in our members at all stages of their careers. We encourage you to consider diversity and breadth when you nominate for these awards.
The Peter Gavin Hall IMS Early-Career Prize was created to honor the significant role Peter Hall played in mentoring young colleagues at work and through professional society activities. The Prize recognizes early-career research accomplishments and research promise in statistics, broadly construed. Next deadline December 1, 2023: https://www.imstat.org/ims-awards/peter-gavin-hall-ims-early-career-prize/
The Tweedie New Researcher Award funds travel to present the Tweedie New Researcher Invited Lecture at the IMS New Researchers Conference. It was created in memory of Richard Tweedie, who mentored many young colleagues. New researchers (PhD awarded in 2019–23) who are members of IMS are eligible. The next deadline is December 1, 2023: https://www.imstat.org/ims-awards/tweedie-new-researcher-award/
A candidate for IMS Fellowship shall have demonstrated distinction in research in statistics or probability, by publication of independent work of merit; or a candidate of well-established leadership whose contributions to the field of statistics or probability other than original research shall be judged of equal value; or a candidate of well-established leadership in the application of statistics or probability, whose work has contributed greatly to the utility and appreciation of these areas. Deadline January 31, 2024: https://imstat.org/honored-ims-fellows/nominations-for-ims-fellow/
The Carver Medal, created by the IMS in honor of Harry C. Carver, is for exceptional service to the IMS. Nominations deadline February 1, 2024: https://www.imstat.org/ims-awards/harry-c-carver-medal/
There are several IMS Named and Medallion Lectures: Wald Memorial Award & Lecture; IMS Grace Wahba Award & Lecture; the Neyman, Rietz, Blackwell and Le Cam Awards and Lectures; and the eight Medallion Awards & Lectures. Next nomination deadline is October 1, 2024. See https://imstat.org/ims-special-lectures/