NV-ASA: Current Newsletter

Current Newsletter - January 2006

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Dear Nevada ASA Member, Happy New Year! In this issue of the newsletter, we recap the events of late 2005 and look forward to activities in early 2006. Keep an eye on the website (http://www.nevada.edu/~nvasa/) for emerging details on all upcoming events.
	Contents:		Co-editors: Alicia Chancellor Hansen and Hokwon Cho
		New Officers: Welcome! NV-ASA LOGO CONTEST - ENTER AND WIN! Upcoming Events Past President’s Report Incoming President’s Message NV-ASA Mentorship Program Annual Meeting Report Statistics and Networking – Two for the Price of One Get Ready ---- for a Dinner Meeting JOB ANNOUNCEMENT ---- Assistant/Associate Professor of Epidemiology
New Officers: Welcome! As of January 1st, there are three new faces on the chapter’s executive committee. We are pleased to welcome Charles Davis as Chapter President, Toni Sipic as Northern Nevada Vice President and Alejandra Livingston as Chapter Secretary. We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the outgoing officers for their hard work and dedication. The enthusiasm and commitment of Debra Stiver, Alicia Hansen and Dorothy Wilson has increased chapter membership and brought many events and programs to life. We look forward to their continued participation in our chapter. The incoming officers have grasped the baton passed to them by the outgoing officers and are ready to sprint forward into the new year. They bring new ideas and perspectives that will invigorate our chapter. As the new officers join those already serving, we invite you to join us in the activities of the coming months. Welcome! Return to top
CALLING ALL MEMBERS: NV-ASA LOGO CONTEST - ENTER AND WIN! NV-ASA will be launching its new mentoring program soon and we need your help in developing a "catchy, yet informative, logo and name" for the program. The program's mission statement states the following: The NV-ASA Mentoring Program draws on public and private sector statistical expertise to enhance knowledge, competency and career development in the statistical sciences by fostering relationships among students, teachers, professional statisticians and other users of statistics. The winning entry will receive a year's chapter membership and a choice of the first edition mug or t-shirt displaying his or her winning logo. SEND IN YOUR ENTRY TO nvasa_mentorlogo@earthlink.net by JANUARY 31, 2006. Return to top
Upcoming Events!!! Tuesday, January 31, 2006 Submission Deadline for Mentorship Program Logo Entries See details below! Monday, February 13, 2006 7pm Spring Welcome Dinner – Las Vegas Read on for more information! Friday, February 17, 2006 Deadline for receiving K-12 Poster Competition Entries Download an application Late Spring Career Day – Northern Nevada Particulars will be announced soon! Return to top

Past President’s Report
    By Debra Stiver, Past President

As I sit here on my lawn chair with a fruit drink decorated by one of those little colorful umbrellas, I was contemplating what to report as the NV-ASA chapter’s past president. Foremost, I want to thank everyone who diligently worked to plan and facilitate the many activities our small but incredibly active Nevada chapter conducts each year. Almost everyone involved not only gave their time and effort toward the activities, but also did so while performing official chapter officer duties as well. I want to extend my congratulations to the new 2006 chapter officers including President Charles Davis, northern VP Toni Sipic, and Secretary Alejandra Livingston. A special thank you to outgoing officers Alicia Hansen, northern VP and Dorothy Wilson, Secretary. They have been instrumental in spreading news about NV-ASA through their work as newsletter editor and secretary respectively. An additional special thank you to Sandra Catlin, out-going past President, Paul Nakayu, current Treasurer, and Hokwon Cho, Chapter Rep, who all gave me plenty of much-needed advice about the relationship between state chapters, national ASA, JSM, and other chapters.   Other members deserve kudos as well, notably Carol Thompson, southern VP, who has been instrumental in developing speaker events; Chad Cross, for his efforts on our budding mentor program; and David Thiel, for his work on K-12 education and the statewide poster competition.

I look forward to serving as the chapter’s Past President and being a worker bee for awhile. The 2006 Officer Board consists of several stalwart members as well as some fresh faces. I think the mix will result in a board that combines new energy, ideas, and activities with experience and a sense of history. There is always room for everyone to contribute and I would ask all NV-ASA members to get involved! A quick read through the newsletter will provide many ideas for participation. I have great expectations and wish everyone the best!

Incoming President’s Message
By Charles Davis, President

Around 1980, as a young mathematics faculty member, I chanced upon the opportunity to participate in forming the Northwest Ohio Chapter. Now, after more than three decades in the trenches of applied statistics, another opportunity to serve calls, this time as your president. This is truly a welcome opportunity.

The purpose of an ASA Chapter is to advance our profession. Since the NV Chapter was founded a few short years ago it has undertaken an admirable breadth of activities, from school poster competitions through career days through dinner meetings with presentations to symposia, not forgetting the newest which is the Mentoring Program described elsewhere in this Newsletter. Your past and continuing officers and helpers deserve our whole-hearted thanks. All of these activities help in advancing the profession in their own ways, and I pledge to do what I can to enable and encourage them during my tenure.

All of these have one feature in common, of course: people interested in making decisions using statistical tools to deal with uncertainty interacting with others with the same interest. In my own business I work with many knowledgeable and gifted scientists and engineers in various disciplines across the country, and this collaboration continues to make “doing statistics” a source of continuing interest, challenge, and satisfaction. But I rarely get to share these joys with others in the statistical world. I know that there are many others in similar situations, and then again those in other settings who can appreciate and benefit from extra-mural contacts. Our Nevada ASA Chapter is the solution; it provides us with a setting in which to share what we do with all its puzzles, interests, and rewards. So, most of all, I pledge to help our Chapter continue to grow as a meeting and learning place for people with our common interest.

NV-ASA Mentorship Program
By C. L. Cross, Mentorship Program

The NV-ASA membership held a meeting at the University of Nevada, Reno on 22 October 2005 to discuss its new Mentorship Program. The purpose of this meeting was to design and organize the relevant materials necessary to initiate the Program. It was decided that the Program would be divided into three distinct areas to meet both the requirements of the grant that we received from National ASA and to ensure that we could begin at the earliest possible date. These areas were: (1) Development of the Program – this includes planning initiatives, development of program leadership, production of materials, and implementation of a timeline for the Program; (2) Implementation of the Program – this includes advertisements for mentor and mentee recruitment, matching of mentors and mentees, and training/orientation activities; and (3) Sustaining the Program – this includes seeking future funding for the anticipated growth of the program, provision of ongoing support and training, and program evaluation. Further, we decided that the following mission statement captured the spirit the Program: “The NV-ASA Mentoring Program draws on public and private sector statistical expertise to enhance knowledge, competency and career development in the statistical sciences by fostering relationships among students, teachers, professional statisticians and other users of statistics.” The NV-ASA membership is very excited about launching this new program and watching it grow. For those interested in participating in the Program, we shall be providing information and training materials as soon as they are finalized.

Annual Meeting Report
      By Debra Stiver, Past President

The 5th annual meeting of the Nevada Chapter of the American Statistical Association was held at the Little Waldorf Saloon and Restaurant on October 22, 2005.    There were 14 members and one guest in attendance. The meeting began with welcoming remarks by President Deb Stiver and a luncheon. In conjunction with the afternoon annual meeting, the mentoring program development workshop was held on the University of Nevada, Reno campus during the morning. The workshop was the first step in developing the NV-ASA mentoring program for the state as the result of being awarded a Strategic Initiatives Grant by national ASA.

After opening remarks and a little socializing, outgoing and past officers were thanked for their hard work service. Members recognized included Sandra Catlin, first Chapter President and Past President; Dorothy Wilson, Secretary; Chad Cross, past southern VP; and Alicia Hansen, northern VP.   Each member was awarded an appreciation plaque.

Several officers presented short commentary on the year’s chapter activities:   Northern Nevada Vice President Alicia Hansen reported on the northern Career Day events, northern spring 2005 mixer, and chapter newsletter. Although Alicia is retiring from her office, she will continue working for the chapter as co-editor of the chapter newsletter. Southern Nevada Vice President Carol Thompson reported on the southern Career Day and special speaker/dinner events held in Las Vegas. Chapter Representative Hokwon Cho provided details on the 2005 JSM activities held in Minneapolis and also the chapter newsletter. Sandra Catlin thanked out-going President Deb Stiver for her service and also presented highlights of the chapter as its first president.

A report on the mentoring program and mentoring workshop held earlier in the day was presented by Chad Cross, who developed the idea for the program. David Thiel discussed the second annual K-12 NV-ASA Poster Competition, and also provided information on ways NV-ASA could cooperate with school districts to facilitate statistical education for K-12 teachers and students.

Sandra Catlin, Past President, announced the results of the 2006 chapter officer elections. Newly elected officers include Charles Davis, President; Northern Nevada Vice President, Toni Sipic; and Secretary Alejandra Livingston. The new officers were introduced and each gave a brief presentation on their vision and plans for their respective offices. The important last formal report was delivered by Treasurer Paul Nakayu, who detailed chapter finances and membership. The meeting adjourned in late afternoon after capping off a successful annual meeting experience that combined work sessions with chapter business.

Statistics and Networking – Two for the Price of One
      By Carol Thompson, Southern Nevada Vice President

A symposium covering four different areas using statistics was held in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 19, 2005 at UNLV. Attendees, including members and non-members, had an opportunity to learn about a breadth of applications in statistics from the speakers and from other statistics users at lunch. We had wonderful and interesting presentations:

Dr. Kenneth Fernandez, Dept of Political Science, UNLV, discussed his research into how public opinion influences crime policy in the United States.

Ms. Sheniz Moonie, Chronic Disease Epidemiologist, Clark County Health District, described her dissertation research to evaluate a program that helps healthcare professionals prescribe behavior by asthma severity level.

Dr. Chih-Hsiang Ho, Dept of Mathematical Sciences, UNLV, presented his research for defining the hazard area and probability of volcanic disruption at the Yucca Mountain Repository.

Dr. Timothy Max, USDA Forest Service, Portland, OR, described two case histories from his work: sampling to monitor a threatened population and to detect the presence of a species over a large landscape.

Dr. Max, the ASA District Chair for our chapter, met with chapter officers on Friday evening to share how other chapters operate. He congratulated the NV chapter for the variety of activities that it conducts, especially since it is a small chapter. Special thanks go to Dorothy Wilson, Dr. Sandra Catlin, Dr. Hokwon Cho, Paul Nakayu, Alicia Hansen, and Carol Thompson for their help coordinating this symposium.

Get Ready ---- for a Dinner Meeting

The Southern NV-ASA is planning to have several dinner meetings this year. The first one is being planned on Monday February 13, 7:00 p.m at Marie Callender's, located at 4800 S. Eastern Ave. (at Tropicana), Las Vegas. Dr. Jennifer Ramsey in the Department of Psychology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, will be presenting about the topic “How Facial Attractiveness Stereotypes Develop.” For more details and further announcements, watch your email or visit the chapter website (http://www.nevada.edu/~nvasa). Come and join us to learn something new and to network with other statisticians.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT - Assistant/Associate Professor of Epidemiology

School of Public Health, University of Nevada Las Vegas

The School of Public Health invites applications for an Assistant/Associate Professor of Epidemiology commencing Fall 2006. This is a full-time, 9-month, tenure-track position. Primary responsibilities for this position are teaching graduate-level courses in epidemiology and developing new courses for the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program; the candidate will also serve as the Associate Director of the Nevada Center for Environmental and Health Surveillance, a new center being established from a federal grant to the School of Public Health. Additional responsibilities include mentoring graduate students, maintaining an active research agenda, publishing in scholarly journals, obtaining grant funding, and participating in scholarly activities in the School of Public Health by participating in program development and serving on committees as needed. It is also anticipated that the candidate will support the mission, philosophy, and objectives of the School of Public Health by actively participating appropriately at the local, state, and national levels. Candidates must posses a doctoral degree in epidemiology (Ph.D., Dr.P.H., or M.D.) or closely related field from an accredited college or university. Candidates must have demonstrated success in teaching, scholarship, and grant writing. The candidate should also have experience in developing and coordinating academic and research programs, and should have demonstrated leadership and communication skills. Preference will be given to candidates having the ability to interact and collaborate effectively with faculty and students from a variety of disciplines. The review of materials will begin immediately. Materials should be addressed to Dr. Chad L. Cross, Search Committee Chair, and are to be submitted via on-line application at https://hrsearch.unlv.edu. For assistance with UNLV’s on-line applicant portal, contact Bob Sitts at (702) 895-1655 or email hrsearch@ccmail.nevada.edu. UNLV is an Equal Opportunity Employer.