Fang Liu, professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS) at the University of Notre Dame, has been named an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA).
She was recognized “for novel contributions to differentially private synthetic data and Bayesian modeling; for outstanding interdisciplinary research in clinical and public health studies; for leadership in education and training; and for service to the profession,” according to the organization.
Fellow designation is limited to one-third of one percent of membership each year. Liu is the first ASA fellow named within Notre Dame’s ACMS department.
“I was very excited upon receiving the news. This award is definitely one of the highest honors in the statistics profession,” Liu said. “I am so humbled, honored, and grateful to be recognized and to have been chosen as an ASA fellow.”
The ASA is the world’s largest community of statisticians, founded in Boston in 1839. It supports development, application, and dissemination of statistical science through meetings, publications, membership services, education, accreditation, and advocacy. Members serve in industry, government, and academia in more than 90 countries, according to the organization’s website.
"Dr. Liu is an outstanding researcher in statistical analysis data privacy, machine learning in big data, and Bayesian methodology and modeling,” said Bei Hui, professor and chair of the department. “She has an extensive funding record, and an essential role in interdisciplinary collaborative research.”
Liu’s research focuses on several areas, and she enjoys finding creative ways to add a statistician’s touch to various fields. She is one of the first statisticians who joined the ACMS department when it was formed in 2011. Her work has been generously supported by the National Science Foundation and she has served as the lead statistician on large-scale studies funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Unitaid.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Peking University and her master’s degree from Iowa State University. After receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, she worked at Merck Research Labs before joining the faculty at Notre Dame.
“Being selected as the first fellow in ASA in our department is a recognition not only of Liu’s excellence,” Hu said, but “will certainly add to our young ACMS department’s reputation."