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Under the auspices of an NZIMA Programme, a series of workshops and seminars will be conducted throughout New Zealand in the second half of 2005, bringing together statistical practitioners who use Hidden Markov Models and related methods to analyse data from a wide variety of applications. The aim of the Programme is to augment the research programmes of New Zealand scientists working with HMM methods.

David Vere-Jones (Emeritus Professor at VUW and Director of Statistical Research Associates) is the Programme Director.
The Programme will host invited speakers who have made substantial contributions to the theory and practice of HMM methods and will also provide funds for post-doctoral and post-graduate research. Applications are now closed for the post-doctoral fellowships, but are still open for post-graduate scholarships (see
http://www.statsresearch.co.nz/hmm/research.htm).

Shayle Searle to receive honorary doctorate at VUW

Professor Shayle Searle, an eminent Cornell University statistician, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Victoria University during May's graduation ceremonies. Professor Searle has a long-standing association with Victoria University and established a Visiting Fellowship in Statistics in 2003, to enable leading international statisticians to visit Victoria to undertake research and seminars. He is also an active member of the US Friends of Victoria, and endowed a prize for the best student in first-year applied statistics, which has been awarded since 1999.

Professor Searle was elected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1968 and was awarded a US Senior Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany in 1985. In 1999 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a rare honour for New Zealand scientists who are resident overseas.

Professor Searle joins Professor Albert Wendt (CNZM) and Judith Hanratty in receiving Victoria's highest honour at the first of the graduation celebrations for 2005.

Professor Jeff Hunter received the highest of science degrees when he became a Doctor of Science at the Massey University’s graduation ceremonies in Auckland on April 13.

Professor Hunter is the Professor of Statistics within the Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences (IIMS). His specialisation is in applied probability, a branch of mathematics that involves the use of probability concepts and methods to model random phenomena. The Doctor of Science degree has been conferred for his work in this area.

Although honorary higher doctorates have been conferred from Albany campus, this is the first Doctor of Science degree awarded by the University to an academic at the Albany campus. It is also the first DSc awarded in his field of research in New Zealand. He is Massey's 20th DSc according to records.

Professor Hunter was awarded his Master of Science degree with first class honours in Mathematics from the University of Auckland in 1963. At that time he became interested in applied probability, a field that has only a handful of New Zealand based researchers to this day. He pursued this field of research for his Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968.

Professor Hunter was at the University of Auckland until he joined Massey in 1990. He was the foundation Head of the Department of Statistics and later became the Dean of the Faculty of Information and Mathematical Sciences. He relocated to the Albany campus in 1998 when he was appointed the foundation Head of IIMS.

His Doctor of Science submission covered a selection of published research papers, manuscripts and book chapters that he has made in the field of applied probability. He has published more than 40 sole-authored scientific papers in international journals. He is author of the two-volume book Mathematical Techniques of Applied Probability published by Academic Press in 1983. In 2003 he was awarded a New Zealand Science and Technology Bronze Medal for his contributions to the mathematical and information sciences.

Professor Hunter retires in June. He will continue working at the University on a part time basis.

NZSA Online Newsletter Awards Page
Newsletter 61 Index Australian & New Zealand Journal of Statistics Newsletter Archive Join the NZSA Feedback to Editor	New Zealand Statistical Association Newsletter 61
	March 2005
	NZIMA Programme in Hidden Markov Models Shayle Searle to receive honorary doctorate at VUW D.Sc. for Jeff Hunter - from Massey News NZSA Campbell Award Criteria
	NZIMA Programme in Hidden Markov Models - David Vere-Jones Under the auspices of an NZIMA Programme, a series of workshops and seminars will be conducted throughout New Zealand in the second half of 2005, bringing together statistical practitioners who use Hidden Markov Models and related methods to analyse data from a wide variety of applications. The aim of the Programme is to augment the research programmes of New Zealand scientists working with HMM methods. David Vere-Jones (Emeritus Professor at VUW and Director of Statistical Research Associates) is the Programme Director. The Programme will host invited speakers who have made substantial contributions to the theory and practice of HMM methods and will also provide funds for post-doctoral and post-graduate research. Applications are now closed for the post-doctoral fellowships, but are still open for post-graduate scholarships (see http://www.statsresearch.co.nz/hmm/research.htm). Details are available from the Programme webpage http://www.statsresearch.co.nz/hmm/index.html. For further information contact David Vere-Jones (dvj@mcs.vuw.ac.nz). Shayle Searle to receive honorary doctorate at VUW Professor Shayle Searle, an eminent Cornell University statistician, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Victoria University during May's graduation ceremonies. Professor Searle has a long-standing association with Victoria University and established a Visiting Fellowship in Statistics in 2003, to enable leading international statisticians to visit Victoria to undertake research and seminars. He is also an active member of the US Friends of Victoria, and endowed a prize for the best student in first-year applied statistics, which has been awarded since 1999. Professor Searle was elected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1968 and was awarded a US Senior Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany in 1985. In 1999 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a rare honour for New Zealand scientists who are resident overseas. Professor Searle joins Professor Albert Wendt (CNZM) and Judith Hanratty in receiving Victoria's highest honour at the first of the graduation celebrations for 2005. From Royal Society Alert 364 See also the VUW report. D.Sc. for Jeff Hunter Professor Jeff Hunter received the highest of science degrees when he became a Doctor of Science at the Massey University’s graduation ceremonies in Auckland on April 13. Professor Hunter is the Professor of Statistics within the Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences (IIMS). His specialisation is in applied probability, a branch of mathematics that involves the use of probability concepts and methods to model random phenomena. The Doctor of Science degree has been conferred for his work in this area. Although honorary higher doctorates have been conferred from Albany campus, this is the first Doctor of Science degree awarded by the University to an academic at the Albany campus. It is also the first DSc awarded in his field of research in New Zealand. He is Massey's 20th DSc according to records. Professor Hunter was awarded his Master of Science degree with first class honours in Mathematics from the University of Auckland in 1963. At that time he became interested in applied probability, a field that has only a handful of New Zealand based researchers to this day. He pursued this field of research for his Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968. Professor Hunter was at the University of Auckland until he joined Massey in 1990. He was the foundation Head of the Department of Statistics and later became the Dean of the Faculty of Information and Mathematical Sciences. He relocated to the Albany campus in 1998 when he was appointed the foundation Head of IIMS. His Doctor of Science submission covered a selection of published research papers, manuscripts and book chapters that he has made in the field of applied probability. He has published more than 40 sole-authored scientific papers in international journals. He is author of the two-volume book Mathematical Techniques of Applied Probability published by Academic Press in 1983. In 2003 he was awarded a New Zealand Science and Technology Bronze Medal for his contributions to the mathematical and information sciences. Professor Hunter retires in June. He will continue working at the University on a part time basis. This article is reproduced with permission from Massey News. See also this report. NZSA Campbell Award Criteria This award was initiated in 1999 to promote statistics within NZ and to recognise an individual’s contribution to the promotion and development of statistics. The first recipient was Stan Roberts. Stan will be remembered most recently for his efforts in the NZ statistics history project. The award was given to him at the conference in Wellington in 1999. The second recipient was Murray Jorgensen and the award was given to him at the conference in Christchurch in 2001. The criteria for the award are: publishing the best, recent, original statistical research undertaken within NZ, or, making an outstanding contribution to statistical education, or, playing a key role in consulting on a major, innovative research project that has direct relevance to NZ, or, making a significant contribution to promoting statistics within NZ. One point worth noting is that the award may only be given to fully paid up members of the NZSA. All membership categories are eligible. This could be a way of encouraging new members - promise new members that they may one day be given an award! Please send your nominations to Jennifer Brown (J.Brown@math.canterbury.ac.nz) or Harold Henderson (Harold.Henderson@agresearch.co.nz) Jennifer Brown
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