UW Statistics Professor Named Deputy Director of National Institute

April 30, 2012
Woman smiling
Snehalata Huzurbazar

Snehalata Huzurbazar, University of Wyoming statistics associate professor, has accepted the position of deputy director of the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) for the next two years.

Huzurbazar will take a leave of absence from UW while she performs her duties at SAMSI, starting July 9. She also will be a member of the research faculty at North Carolina State University's Statistics Department.

"We are very impressed with Snehalata's background, and think she will bring a fresh perspective to the development of SAMSI's programs and will be instrumental in our education and outreach efforts," says Richard Smith, SAMSI director.

In her new position, Huzurbazar will help administer SAMSI programs and will help develop future programs. She also will be involved with the education and outreach efforts, and will work on staff and personnel issues. Huzurbazar will be a part of the directorate, which comprises the director, three part-time associate directors and the deputy director.

Huzurbazar received her bachelor of arts degree from Grinnell College (1984,) her master of arts degree in economics from Vanderbilt University (1988), and her doctorate in statistics from Colorado State University (1992). She was an assistant professor at the University of Georgia from 1992-1995, and has been at UW since 1995. At UW, she has been an affiliate of the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center since 2003. She also was an adjunct professor of women's studies from 2003-2008.

One of the reasons she was attracted to the deputy director's position was because SAMSI is the only National Science Foundation (NSF) institute that explicitly includes a focus on statistics. Huzurbazar says she wants to encourage young people to pursue careers in statistics and mathematical sciences.

"Making an impact on outreach is really important to me. We often have trouble getting people into the mathematical sciences. I think we need to do a better job attracting students into mathematical sciences and inform them about various career options," Huzurbazar says.

SAMSI is a partnership of the National Science Foundation with the consortium of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.

For more information about SAMSI, go to www.samsi.info.

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