Larry Wasserman to Receive the COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship

Each year, the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) gives out its highest honor, the Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes meritorious achievement and scholarship in statistical science and highly significant impact of statistical methods on scientific investigations. And this year’s award will go to Larry Wasserman, the UPMC University Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Wasserman was selected for his “original and path‑breaking contributions in nonparametric, causal and Bayesian inference; for advancing methods in machine learning, genetics and astrostatistics; for his exceptional ability to communicate statistical thinking; and for his innovative textbooks,” according to the Committee.

“I am, of course, really honored to get the award,” said Wasserman, who is also a professor in the Machine Learning Department. “It’s a big thing, and lots of famous people, including many friends, have had this award.”

This will also not be Wasserman’s first time at this particular awards podium — he received the COPSS Presidents’ Award in 1999 for the outstanding statistician under age 41.

The award comes with a plaque and a cash honorarium of $2,000, as well as a chance to deliver the COPSS Distinguished Lecture at the Joint Statistical Meetings, which will take place in Boston this August.

Wasserman, who has also written three books, hasn’t solidified his lecture just yet, but he said it will likely focus on the intersection of causal inference and optimal transport.

“It will follow nicely from last year’s winner’s talk, which was given by one of my best friends, Jamie Robins, one of the founders of the modern theory of causal inference,” said Wasserman.

Incredibly, Wasserman is now the fourth member from the Statistics and Data Science Department to win the COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award. He is preceded by Kathryn Roeder (2020), Rob Kass (2017), and Stephen E. Fienberg (2015).

“To have four COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award winners in the last eleven years speaks volumes about the international impact of Carnegie Mellon Statistics & Data Science on the field of statistics, and it’s wonderful to have Larry be recognized for his highly influential research as well as his very popular classes and textbooks,” said Rebecca Nugent, Stephen E. and Joyce Fienberg Professor of Statistics & Data Science and department head. “Larry has also been a fantastic mentor to many of our junior faculty and graduate students, always bringing new ideas, great humor, and a sense of (purple) style to the room. His COPSS Lecture is a must-see!”