Natalie McGuckin presented her research on Building Visualization Tools for Mathematical Structure at the 2021 spring Office of Undergraduate Research conference. Her research was also highlighted in a Channels Scholar Seminar in the Center for Science of Information. Natalie also presented her research at the (virtual) Rose Hulman Mathematics Conference in April 2021.
Yiyao (Iris) Zhang participated in RIPS-UCLA in summer 2021. She was in the Google team, collaborating on "Detecting small multi-set differences efficiently."
Mark Daniel Ward was appointed as a Fellow of the ASA at the JSM 2021
Hillenbrand 4E is featured in the spring newsletter for all Purdue University Faculty Fellows and Learning Community Instructors. The RA & Faculty Fellow Feature says:
"Although the pandemic has put a damper on fun, one RA and her faculty fellow have come up with a creative solution for curating innovative and exciting programs for their residents. Hillenbrand Resident Assistant, Ilakkiya Venkatachalam, and her faculty fellow, Dr. Mark Daniel Ward, host weekly virtual game nights. According to Ilakkiya, the popular "Among Us" game is a fan favorite. Dr. Ward and Ilakkiya agree that virtual game night is a great way to facilitate community in the absence of faculty fellow participation in in-person events. Dr. Ward's family actively participates in the game nights and residents enjoy interacting with his children! Ilakkiya notes that Dr. Ward's children bring energy and fun to their community events."
Hayley Jordan won 1st prize in the Actuarial Research Conference in August 2019, for her poster on "Two-stage predictive models for assessing misrepresentation risk on self-reported tobacco status in health insurance ratemaking."
Student Impact Awards honor learning community instructors who demonstrate exceptional success in connecting students to peers, faculty and professional staff, campus resources and the community at large.
The Data Mine (Dr. Mark Ward, Ellen Gundlach, & Margaret Betz) - "...his office door is almost always open to students who have questions, and he is always quick to answer students' questions on piazza. He has made The Data Mine a very welcoming environment and has helped make learning R an exciting, and easier thing to do". "Ellen has been a beacon of positivity and light in the Data Mine community. She has proved to be very thoughtful and considerate of all Data Mine members, taking care to learn each of our names, despite there being hundreds of us...". "Maggie is new to the Data Mine this semester and she has been INCREDIBLE in just the short she has been here. She has helped reorganize the Data Mine Corporate Partners Cohort and has taken on an increasingly large role in the LC".
Hovde Faculty Fellow of the Year Award recognizes a faculty fellow who has been nominated for going above and beyond as a faculty fellow through making connections with his hall and throughout the whole building community.
Doug Crabill, Faculty Fellow, Hillenbrand Hall "Doug has been a consistent presence on his floor all year. He started the year by organizing a trip with his RA partner to the Shades State Park in Indiana. This trip left a positive impact on 24 students, coming from two different floors, who build close bonds and memories that have lasted the whole school year."
Delivering innovation story Mark Daniel Ward, undergraduate chair and associate professor in Statistics, mentors students in The Data Mine. The Data Mine is an innovative, immersive living-learning community located in Hillenbrand Residence Hall. (Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe)
The Boilermaker Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary, in conjunction with the Residence Hall Association, recognized Hillenbrand Hall as the most outstanding University Residence of the Year for 2019-20. This award was created to recognize high level of initiative in the residence hall system, particularly through new initiatives, building activities, hosting events, and campus involvement. We especially want to thank REC Nick Bonanno, RAC Zachary Johnson, the RAs, the Phoenix Club, and the Data Mine Advisory Board for their enthusiasm and great ideas.
Mikaela Meyer received the NSF GRFP and was selected as one of the recipients of the ASA's and Caucus of Women in Statistics' Gertrude Cox Scholarship. The award is given to two American women annually who are graduate students in statistics, and it recognizes their academic success and service to the community, particularly in terms of supporting diversity.
Ilakkiya Venkatachalam is highlighted for our inaugural "Student Spotlight" during the week of August 19-23, 2019, in Hillenbrand. She is a sophomore pursuing a major in Genetics and a minor in Wildlife Science. Ilakkiya is also the RA on 4 East.
Luke Francisco was selected for Phi Beta Kappa induction in spring 2019.
Avni Bhalgat received the Merck Academic Excellence and Leadership award from the College of Pharmacy in spring 2019.
Maggie Christy and Tyler Netherly were members of a team of Purdue students who participated in the ASA's Leadership Challenge. They made a presentation to the ASA Board of Directors at their April 2019 meeting, and the team was recognized in a three-way-tie for first place!
Mark Daniel Ward receives a 2019 Focus Award for commitment to disability accessibility and diversity
Maggie Christy's work with the ASA Central Indiana Chapter at the 2018 Celebrate Science Indiana (in October 2018) is featured in the Amstat News December 2018
Three STAT-LLC students: Maggie Christy, Michael Dalrymple, and Mikaela Meyer, as well as one of Dr Ward's research students, Corinne Leopold, were featured as Outstanding Members of the College of Science class of 2018
Manjie Fu won Best Poster Abstract Award in the Physical Sciences at the Purdue Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium in Spring 2017. His poster was entitled "Crawling-Induced Resuspension as a Major Source of Particulate Matter in the Infant Breathing Zone".
Alan Min was selected in spring 2018 as an NSF GRFP recipient for his graduate school studies, to begin in fall 2018.
Brittany Griggs was awarded the Noodles and Company Foundation Scholarship in 2018. It was created to give back to the community and help Noodles Team members reduce the financial burden of attending college. It is based off of academic achievement and leadership, and ten scholarships are disbursed annually since 2006.
Hillenbrand Hall was chosen as the University Residence of the Year for 2016-17. Matthew Frank, the RA for the STAT-LLC and the whole 4E floor, was chosen as the Resident Assistant (RA) of the year. Some information about Hillenbrand can be downloaded here.
Ashley Peterson, Peter Boyd, Felix Francisco-Sanchez, and Christina DeSantiago (all from the 2014-15 cohort) were selected as outstanding members of the College of Science class of 2017: article. The College of Science made videos about each of them as well:
Maggie Christy is the President of the Purdue student chapter of the American Statistical Association for 2017-18, and James Marshall Reber is the Treasurer. Both students are from the 2016-17 cohort of the STAT-LLC.
At the 34th annual Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Jack Good and Michael Smith won 1st prize for their joint talk "Periodicity of Subtraction Games", and Amber Young won second prize for her talk "Reanalysis of Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Data to Elucidate Genetic information of Immunotherapy Response".
Alan Min has been selected for a Goldwater scholarship. On the Goldwater website he states that "I plan to apply math and computer science techniques to modeling how behavior of enzymes in epigenetic modifications can be manipulated to fight disease."
Mikaela Meyer has been selected for a Truman Scholarship. Here is the writeup from the Truman website:
"Mikaela is studying mathematical statistics with a minor in political science at Purdue University. She plans to obtain a PhD in Statistics to prepare for a career in the federal government where statistics and policy intersect. Working toward this goal, she is an undergraduate fellow with the Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) and pursued interdisciplinary projects ranging from analyzing domestic drone policies to proposing a policy indicator for net-zero energy cities. She has engaged in multiple other research projects, including a study that uses Bayesian methodologies to determine what factor is causing Lake Chad's volume to fluctuate greatly. Mikaela is the President of Purdue College Democrats, for which she has led scores of phone banks and canvassing excursions for students and organized debates for local political races. Additionally, she is a member of Purdue's debate team and an Honors College Mentor."
See also the Purdue College of Science article
Sam Eschker is elected in April 2017 as the Student Body President for Purdue University, for the 2017-18 academic year.
Peter Boyd is the recipient of the 2017 G.A. Ross Award. This award goes to a graduating senior man with high standards of academic achievement, outstanding leadership, strength of character and contribution to Purdue. His name will be inscribed on the award marker at Purdue Mall.
Statistics news article and video and College of Science article
and another Purdue news article
Article by Adrienne Miller about Mark Daniel Ward's use of the Scholar computational cluster for a data science course, available from
ITaP or from Research Computing
Peter Boyd received an Alaska Geographic 2015 Research Fellowship from the National Park Service. Quote from the NPS Site: Examining the effect of nighttime traffic on wildlife visibility
Alaska Geographic 2015 Research Fellowship
Peter Boyd, Purdue University
In 2012, Denali National Park completed a Vehicle Management Plan (VMP). The plan was produced to control the amount of traffic on the Denali Park Road during nighttime hours (10pm-6am). Denali established the plan in order to avoid negatively impacting wildlife in the park and deterring animals away from the road. Peter came to Denali to study the connection between nighttime traffic and wildlife visibility. The Vehicle Management Plan states that there should be an average of fewer than three vehicles per hour recorded at each of the six traffic counters along the road. Also, there should be no more than six vehicles in any given nighttime hour. Peter will use data analysis to see if the conditions of the plan are effective and if animals respond adversely to nighttime traffic.
Based on the results of the study, Peter's findings may be incorporated into the decision making that determines how the VMP is implemented. Peter's effort continues the commitment of Denali NP&P and the VMP to protect wildlife and maintain high visitor satisfaction.
Mark Daniel Ward is chosen as the Most Outstanding Faculty in the Favorite Faculty program for 2015-16. An article is available as well.
Here is a picture of Ward receiving his award from Jing Su.