by Janet Buckingham
What does it take to be a self-employed statistical consultant? What is Six Sigma and does it really work? How can we improve the PCR measurement of DNA and mRNA? How can we use non-negative matrix factorization in statistical analysis? What do Folgers, Crest, Ivory, Pampers and Actonel have in common? Well, if you had been a student at one of several colleges/universities across the United States that hosted a Marquardt Industrial Speaker you would have the answer to one of those questions! Our SPES members have been busy visiting college campuses to let students know what industrial statisticians do to help companies solve problems – using statistics!
The SPES Marquardt Memorial Industrial Speakers Program coordinates visits by industrial speakers to universities across the country in the spring and fall semesters. This program was established in memory of Donald W. Marquardt (an ASA Fellow and former ASA President) to enhance the communication and interaction between industrial/applied statisticians and academic statisticians and students. The SPES section approves up to six speaker visits per year. Speakers can visit for a full or half day, presenting a seminar and meeting with professors and students. The best part is SPES reimburses each speaker up to $500 of the travel expenses! If you are interested in having a speaker visit your school, please contact Janet Buckingham, Speakers Program Chair, at jbuckingham@swri.org or 210-522-2407. She will find out your school’s interest and help locate a speaker for you. If you would like to be one of our industrial speakers then you can also contact Janet and she will send you an information application. To find out more about the speakers program, click here.