Concordia to host Quebec headquarters for national statistics group
Concordia is about to become the Quebec base for a national statistics organization.
On November 21, the university will become the official provincial home of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI).
The new regional hub, CANSSI-Québec, hopes to advance the organization’s mission to be a driving force for discovery and innovation in the statistical and data sciences.
Yogendra (Yogen) Chaubey, professor from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will serve as the group’s regional director.
“I am very proud that my home department and Concordia University have been chosen as the host for CANSSI-Québec,” says Chaubey.
“I hope to draw on the ample resources and immense statistical expertise and leadership present at several area institutions and research centres in and around Montreal in fulfilling the objectives of CANSSI.”
CANSSI is a national non-profit organization with a mission to advance research, collaboration and training in the statistical sciences.
With funding support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), CANSSI seeks to promote collaborations between scientists and scholars in the field of academia, government and industry.
“This launch follows a series of collaborations between our statisticians and CANSSI,” says André Roy, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science.
“I extend congratulations to everyone involved, especially Yogen. This positions Concordia in a great place within the field of statistics.”
Prior to being named the Quebec hub for CANSSI, Concordians had already been involved in CANSSI projects such as the Montreal Health Statistics Centre (MHS).
In addition to Chaubey, who serves as its director, MHS members include:
- Simon Bacon, MHS associate director and professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology
- Habib Benali, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science and scientific director of the PERFORM Centre
- Lisa Kakinami, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and research member at the PERFORM Centre
The inauguration kicks off with a half-day morning event, featuring Philippe Caignon, associate dean of student academic services in the Faculty of Arts and Science and professor in the Département d’études françaises, and Justin Powlowski, associate vice-president of research and strategic initiatives and partnerships, and associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Former CANSSI scientific director Nancy Reid and current scientific director Don Estep will be joined by CANSSI deputy director W. Jon Braun and former CANSSI board member Christian Genest, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McGill University. They will speak on topics as varied as challenges for Canadian statistics to small data in a big world.
"I am very proud that Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Concordia University has been chosen as the host for CANSSI-Québec. This is the result of the dedication, vision and support of numerous individuals,” says Cody Hyndman, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Hyndman also thanks the Faculty of Arts and Science and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies for their support.
“Going forward, we are committed to making CANSSI-Québec a catalyst for research, training, and multi-disciplinary collaborations in the statistical and data-sciences."
The CANSSI Quebec launch takes place on Thursday, November 21, from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in room 2.275 of the John Molson (MB) Building (1450 Guy St.) on the Sir George Williams Campus.