REU Site: The Rice University Summer Institute of Statistics (RUSIS)

这一奖项继续支持莱斯大学统计系为研究统计及其应用而举办的一个为期10周的夏季REU站点。随着国内数学科学研究生数量的持续下降，迫切需要开发人力资源，以继续支持美国在科学和技术领域的优势。莱斯大学夏季统计研究所(RUIS)现已进入第10个年头，也是第四个供资周期，它成功地鼓励学生攻读数学和统计学的研究生学位。就读于RUIS并已毕业的学生中，大约85%现在是全国各地博士项目的博士生，其中大约61%是数学专业中代表性较低的人群。Rusis通过密集的课程、对研究项目的密切监督以及对休斯顿的各种研究机构和机构的访问实现了这一目标。该计划将通过概率、随机过程和统计推理方面的强化核心课程，培训和指导12名(7名NSF资助和5名NSA资助)被选中的少数族裔学生和在其机构不易获得研究经验的学生，包括社区大学生，特别强调当前感兴趣的领域，例如多元比较、极值理论、多元生存分析、复杂基础设施系统的风险-可靠性-可持续性、人工智能、统计学习、统计遗传学和一般生物统计学。该研究所在教师导师的密切合作下，让学生参与研究项目，目标是在暑期工作值得的情况下，联合出版出版物。学生在全国会议上展示他们的成果，并在演讲的准备和陈述方面得到指导。此外，学生们还会与由顶尖科学家组成的顾问委员会会面，并向他们展示他们的工作。RUIS还教授有关Unix平台、LaTeX和用于研究目的的软件的短期课程，如数学、sPlus和/或R，以及MatLab。此外，该计划还组织学生和教职员工参观科学设施(例如，美国宇航局MD Anderson癌症中心的生物数学和生物统计学)。通过非正式会议，该计划讨论了各种主题，从申请研究生院到杰出科学家的职业经历，以及对统计学前沿主题的讨论。该计划评估和监测学生在参与后七年(他们完成研究生学业的预期时间)内的进展情况，参与学生和外部咨询委员会对该计划的年度评估是该计划不可或缺且有价值的一部分。这项投资正开始产生切实的效果。第一位Rusis校友于2011年夏天获得博士学位，现在是一个博士项目的统计科学助理教授。还有几个人将在未来几年内获得博士学位。

This award provides continued support for a successful 10-week summer REU site within the Statistics Department at Rice University for the study of Statistics and its applications. As the number of domestic graduate students in the Mathematical Sciences continues to decline, there is a critical need to develop human resources to continue supporting the United States' advantage in the world of science and technology. The Rice University Summer Institute of Statistics (RUSIS), now in its 10th year and fourth funding cycle, has been successful in encouraging students to pursue graduate degrees in Mathematics and Statistics. Roughly 85% of the students who have attended RUSIS and have graduated, are now doctoral students in Ph.D. programs around the country, and roughly 61% of them are members of underrepresented populations in Mathematics. RUSIS has accomplished this through intensive courses, close supervision of research projects, and visits to various research institutes and agencies in Houston. The program will train and mentor 12 (7 NSF- and 5 NSA-supported) selected underrepresented minority students and students with no easy access to a research experience at their institution, including community college students, through intensive core courses in probability, stochastic processes, and statistical inference, with special emphasis on areas of current interest; e.g. multiple comparisons, extreme value theory, multivariate survival analysis, risk-reliability-sustainability of complex infrastructure systems, artificial intelligence, statistical learning, statistical genetics, and general biostatistics. The RUSIS engages the students in research projects under close collaboration with faculty mentors, and with the objective of producing joint publications, when the summer work merits it. Students present their results at national meetings and they are mentored in the preparation and presentation of their talks. In addition, students meet with an advisory committee composed of top scientists and present their work to them. The RUSIS also teaches short courses on the use of Unix platforms, LaTeX, and software to be utilized for research purposes such as Mathematica, Splus and/or R, and Matlab. In addition, the program organizes student and faculty visits to scientific facilities (e.g., Biomathematics and Biostatistics at MD Anderson Cancer Center, NASA). Through informal meetings, the program discusses a variety of topics ranging from applying to Graduate School to career experiences by outstanding scientists, and discussion of cutting-edge topics in Statistics. The program evaluates and monitors the progress of students for seven years (expected time for them to finish graduate school) after their participation, and an annual evaluation of the program by the participating students and an external advisory committee is an integral and valuable part of the program. The investment is starting to produce concrete results. The first RUSIS alumnus received his Ph.D. during the summer of 2011 and is now an assistant professor of statistical sciences in a Ph.D. program. Several more are due to obtain their PhDs in the next few years.