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09/03/2026

Join us for the Statistics Colloquium featuring Dr. Michele Guindani, Ph.D., Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Fielding School of Public Health at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) presenting "Beyond the Average: Structured Priors for Bayesian Clustering in Neuroscience."

Dr. Guindani will present two Bayesian clustering methods designed to recover meaningful heterogeneity in neuroscience data that averaging can obscure. The talk will cover a repulsive mixture model applied to EEG event-related potentials to identify interpretable neurocognitive subgroups, and a framework for calcium imaging that identifies functionally coherent neural ensembles. Both illustrate a common principle: what a clustering model can recover depends on how scientific knowledge is encoded in the prior.

📅 Monday, September 14, 2026
⏰ 4:00 PM
📍 Maxfield Hall Room 251, Rice University

https://events.rice.edu/statistics/event/438785-statistics-colloquium-michele-guindani-ucla

08/31/2026

Congratulations to Rose Graves and Jose Palacio, the 2026 recipients of the James R. Thompson Student Award, which honors outstanding scholarship among doctoral students in statistics.

Advised by Dr. Marina Vannucci and Dr. Scott Powers, Rose Graves develops Bayesian methods for sports and environmental applications, from baseball pitcher biomechanics to the movement of toxic algae. Service, teaching and applied research have been essential pillars of her experience in the department, and she is honored to receive an award named for someone who valued each of them so deeply.

Advised by Dr. Katherine Ensor, Jose Palacio builds spatial Bayesian models for public health, including work on RSV wastewater data across Houston that shows how wastewater-based epidemiology can support public health monitoring and response. He sees the award as a source of pride that reflects the support of his advisor, his collaborators, the department, and his family and friends, as well as motivation to keep contributing to the academic community.

Rose and Jose will be formally presented with the award at the annual Thompson Lecture this fall. We can't wait to see where their research takes them next!

08/19/2026

Join the Rice Department of Statistics for a colloquium with Dr. Beniamino Hadj-Amar of the University of South Carolina, presenting "Learning Rhythmic Structure in Complex Time Series: From Frequency Selection to Dynamic and Behavioral Models."

Oscillatory patterns show up naturally in modern time series, especially data from wearable devices and passive sensing. Dr. Hadj-Amar will present a sequence of Bayesian methods that identify which frequencies matter in a signal, track how their amplitudes and phases evolve over time and use periodic structure to characterize human behavioral dynamics. His talk spans sparse spectral modeling, nonstationary oscillations and a harmonic Markov model that produces individualized daily behavioral profiles, with applications to wearable and passive sensing data.

📅 Monday, August 31, 2026
⏰ 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT
📍 Maxfield Hall 251, Rice University
https://events.rice.edu/statistics/event/436943-statistics-colloquium-beniamino-hadj-amar

08/04/2026

Statistics is driving the future of AI, public health and scientific discovery and Rice is at the forefront.

STAI-X '26 at in Boston brought together leading voices on Statistics and Trustworthy AI for Cross-Domain Acceleration, including Prof. Katherine Ensor, who presented key findings from the NASEM report "Frontiers of Statistics in Science and Engineering: 2035 and Beyond."

The report calls for a transformation in how the U.S. trains the next generation of statisticians, with modern curricula, stronger ties to AI education and large-scale computational training at the center.

We are proud to have Prof. Ensor leading this national conversation from right here at Rice Engineering and Computing.

08/03/2026

The Rice University Statistics Reception at the Joint Statistical Meetings 2026 was a huge success!

Alumni, faculty and colleagues gathered in Boston for an afternoon of catching up, sharing updates on careers and research, and connecting with statisticians from around the world.

A special thank you to everyone who joined us and made the event so memorable. We look forward to seeing you again at JSM 2027!

07/24/2026

Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have secured an $800K Department of Defense grant to combat lung cancer.

The project is co-led by professor Marek Kimmel and Baylor's Olga Gorlova. Their approach pairs advanced genetic sequencing with computational modeling to map the exact mutations within individual cells of early-stage tumors, giving clinicians a cell-by-cell view of each patient's disease. That level of detail helps them spot the most aggressive and treatment-resistant cells and tailor treatment to each patient, moving past one-size-fits-all care toward something built around the individual.

The hope is that the data generated in this study will support future clinical trials and, ultimately, better survival outcomes for lung cancer patients.

Read more: https://engineering.rice.edu/news/rice-and-baylor-college-medicine-secure-dod-grant-combat-lung-cancer

07/16/2026

📆 Mark your calendars!

Rice University Statistics faculty and students will be presenting throughout the week at JSM 2026 in Boston, August 1–6.

From Bayesian methods to sports analytics and public health, we're proud to see our team sharing their research at one of the world's largest statistics gatherings.

Browse the full program and add their sessions to your agenda: https://ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2026/onlineprogram/index.cfm

07/01/2026

Two Rice University Statistics alumnae have been named 2026 Fellows of The American Statistical Association, the highest honor in the field.

🔹 Yanxun Xu (Ph.D. '13), professor at Johns Hopkins University , was recognized for her work applying Bayesian statistics and AI to medicine and public health.

🔹Rebecca Nugent (B.S. '99), head of Statistics and Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University, was recognized for her contributions to research, education and workforce development in data science.

Congratulations to both on this well-deserved recognition!
https://engineering.rice.edu/news/two-rice-alumnae-named-fellows-american-statistical-association

06/29/2026

Are you attending the Joint Statistical Meetings 2026 in Boston? Join the Rice Department of Statistics for our annual alumni reception! We look forward to catching up with Rice alumni and faculty, meeting statisticians from around the world, and enjoying good food and conversation.

📅 Monday, August 3, 2026 | 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
📍 Westin Boston Seaport District | Room W-Carlton
425 Summer Street, Boston, MA

Learn more: https://events.rice.edu/statistics/event/433346-rice-statistics-reception-at-the-jsm-2026
The American Statistical Association

05/14/2026

🦉🎓 Congratulations to our Rice Statistics Class of 2026!

Last week, we celebrated our graduates surrounded by the faculty and staff who cheered them on every step of the way. From the Order of the Engineer ceremony to our department reception, this was a week to remember.

We are so proud of this group and we can't wait to see what you accomplish next.
Welcome to the Rice Engineering Alumni family!

Address

6100 Main Street
Houston, TX
77005

Telephone

+17133486032

Website

http://statistics.rice.edu/

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