Statistics Undergraduate Research Seminar, Fall 2007

Time: 1-2pm Wednesdays
Place: 1011 Evans Hall
Course: STAT 98.1, 2 units or STAT 198.1, 2 units; Pass/Fail.
Course Control Numbers: 87414 (STAT 98) / 87492 (STAT 198)
Coordinators: Nicholas Crawford and David Purdy
Course Description: The purpose of this seminar series is to give students a view of career possibilities in statistics, including research areas and areas of application in academia, government, and the private sector. Speakers include faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and statisticians working for government and in the private sector.

Course Details: As this course carries credit,there will be a nominal amount of course work. A three page paper will be due on November 29th. The paper should be an annotated bibliography of 5 references associated with one of the topics presented. We encourage the inclusion of supporting articles, but these won't count towards the three page requirement. The idea is to compile these papers into a packet for distribution to those enrolled and to be kept on file in the Undergraduate Office.

Grading for the course is P/NP.

Besides the aforementioned small research project, regular attendance is required. Students are expected to miss no more than 2 seminars over the semester.

Cookies, coffee, and other assorted beverages will be served.

We will hold an organizational meeting during the first meeting time: Wednesday, August 29, outside 1011 Evans.

Schedule

Aug 29: Organizational meeting

Sep 5: Academia versus Industry, A Graduate Student's Perspective
S. Alex Smith, UCLA and Google Research

Sep 12: A Day in the Life of a Consulting Actuary
Mike Tessler, Health & Welfare consultant, Towers Perrin
Joined by Vickie Sun, Retirement Associate (and Cal '06 alumna), Towers Perrin

Sep 19: Considering graduate school
Colette Patt, Director, Science Student Diversity Programs, UC Berkeley

Sep 26: A Mathematician's Life at RAND
Lauren Caston, RAND Corporation, UCB alumna, UCLA Ph.D.

Oct 3: Functions of proteins and how to reconcile calibrated predictions
Guillaume Obozinski, PhD Candidate, Statistics Department, UC Berkeley

Oct 10: Mathematical perspectives on aging and mortality
Steven Evans, Professor, Statistics Department and Math Department, UC Berkeley

Oct 17: Graduate Student Panel
Graduate students in statistics and biostatistics will share their insights and perspectives.

Oct 24: Statistical consulting questions from linguistics, crime, and open source software.
David Purdy, PhD Candidate, Statistics Department, UC Berkeley

Oct 31: Modelling Game Outcomes of the Brazilian 2006 Series A Championship as Ordinal Valued
David Brillinger, Soccer Fan, Canadian, and Professor, Statistics Department, UC Berkeley
Abstract: "In soccer, all is complicated by the presence of the opposing team." Jean-Paul Sartre (1960) Subtitle: Guilherme can't relax quite yet.

Nov 7: Opportunities in Financial Engineering - An introduction to the MFE program at Haas
Linda Kreitzman, Executive Director, Masters of Financial Engineering Program, Haas Business School, UC Berkeley

Time: 12pm, 11/7 (Wednesday): NOTE - Change of Time
Location: MFE Lab in Haas; NOTE - Change of Location

For just this week, we will have a change of venue - we will go to the MFE Lab in the Haas library, as guests of the MFE program for an information session they are hosting at 12pm. The MFE program is one way to enter careers in quantitative finance, and offers many opportunities for people interested in the intersection of statistics, economics, and computer modeling. Graduates of the MFE program are prepared for careers in fields such as:

  • Investment Banking
  • Corporate Strategic Planning
  • Risk Management
  • Primary and Derivative Securities Valuation
  • Financial Information Systems Management
  • Portfolio Management
  • Securities Trading


Nov 14: What is the difference between bioinformatics, computational biology and mathematical biology?
Lior Pachter, Associate Professor, Math and CS Departments, UC Berkeley

Nov 21: No Seminar
Enjoy the holiday!

Nov 28: TBD
Tasha Belfiore, UCB Biology

Dec 5: Influenza Vaccine: Does it Work?
Art Reingold, UCB Epidemiology