This award supports the participation of junior researchers in the international conference "Advances in Interdisciplinary Statistics and Combinatorics," held at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro on October 10-12, 2014. The conference brings together statisticians and researchers from other disciplines to discuss the use of statistical techniques in research programs in a variety of disciplines including anthropology, biology, computer science, economics, education, education research methodology, environmental science, information systems, medicine, psychology, and public health. A major emphasis is on training young researchers through two workshops, one on Big Data and Machine Learning, and the other on Mathematical Biology and Game Theory. In addition to these two workshops, the conference includes a variety of sessions on topics that highlight the use of statistical methods in other disciplines.
The main goal of the workshop on Mathematical Biology and Game Theory is to introduce undergraduates and graduate students to the mathematical modeling that is an essential part of any research in applied mathematics, mathematical biology in particular. The workshop focuses on game theoretical models that are used for situations where several entities interact (directly or indirectly) with one another and where each entity acts in its own interest (potentially in conflict with the interests of others). The workshop on Big Data and Machine Learning, designed for graduate students, will provide a forum for researchers from academia and industry to exchange information and develop new research directions in areas of big data and machine learning focusing on scalability, reliability, and security. These workshops will help to advance the next generation of researchers on some of the most important contemporary topics in statistical science. The meeting also offers an opportunity to students from underrepresented groups to be part of a high profile conference to broaden their vision of research in mathematical sciences and advance their career goals. More details are available at the conference website www.uncg.edu/mat/aisc/2014/index.html
