{"55264":{"#nid":"55264","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Jeff Wu\u0027s Vision of World-Class Statistic\u0027s Program in ISyE Realized","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERecognized as an icon in the field of engineering\nstatistics, Jeff Wu, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial\nand Systems Engineering (ISyE) and Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics,\nhas galvanized ISyE\u0022s statistics group since coming to Georgia Tech in 2003 and\nhas strategically drawn to the program some of the most talented young\nstatisticians and PhD students in the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201dYou couldn\u2019t write a case\nhistory or a template much better in terms of how you can create a program and\nenhance it any better than by following the recipe that Jeff did, \u201cstates R.\nGary Parker, ISyE professor and associate chair for graduate studies. \u201cBut through\nthe strength of his own personality, will, and established reputation, Jeff put\nit together, and this is what you get.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat Georgia Tech has gotten is the elevation of ISyE\u2019s engineering\nstatistics program to world-class standing as evidenced by an extraordinary\nfive National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awards among the first five\nfaculty Wu hired into the existing program. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWu joined the Georgia Tech faculty following\na search initiated by then ISyE chair Bill Rouse. With an unfilled Coca Cola\nchair in 2001, Rouse queried a lot of the ISyE faculty, asking them if they\ncould hire only one senior, well-known person in any area, where would it make\nthe most difference. \u201cThe notion,\u201d explains Rouse, \u201cwas to pick a group where\nwe could invest and rapidly advance their credibility.\u201d And the consensus was\nstatistics. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA member of the National Academy of\nEngineering and former head of the statistics program at the University of\nMichigan, Wu is a well-known entity in engineering statistics, and he had a\nvery clear vision of what he wanted to do once he got here. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EComing to a school strong in science and\nengineering, Wu wanted to build statistics research that would allow for\ninteraction and collaboration with engineers and scientists and information\ntechnology. He envisioned a diversified faculty where every member of the\nstatistics group would collaborate and do joint work with other groups across\ndisciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was given a mandate,\u201d Wu explains, \u201cto try\nsomething no one had tried before, namely building a strong statistics and\nquality program within engineering.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo fulfill that mandate, Wu asked for and was\ngranted five assistant professor slots to be filled one a year over five years.\nUsing his network of professional colleagues internationally allowed Wu to get\nto know some of the people he brought in before he hired them and to a level of\ndepth where he could identify significant talent. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWithin three years, Wu had filled the five\npositions, hiring Roshan Joseph Vengazihiyil, Ming Yuan, Nagi Gebraeel, Yajun\nMei, and Nicoleta Serban, all of whom have received the NSF CAREER Award. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cThese CAREER awards are\nkind of rare to begin with, \u201cexplains Chip White, H. Milton and Carolyn J.\nStewart Chair and Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics .\u201cTo\nhave the insight to be able to identify junior faculty capable of successful\nCAREER award winners is phenomenal.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, White points out that significant talent\ncan flounder unless it is properly mentored, and according to his colleagues,\nWu is the consummate mentor. Wu deflects that credit, pointing instead to the\nGeorgia Tech, College of Engineering and ISyE environments as well as the\nstudents themselves and their work. Nonetheless, Wu has worked incredibly hard\nto take the talent he was able to identify and turn them into really remarkable\nresearchers. \u201cHe\u2019s definitely tilted the playing field in their favor,\u201d White\nstates, \u201cand that is what we want to do for young faculty.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; According to both White and Parker, Wu also\nunderstands that the right environment for high-quality faculty includes\nhigh-quality PhD students. To be able to execute his vision, Wu would need to\nplay a role in identifying good potential doctoral students and recruiting at\nthat level as well. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey go hand in hand, \u201c adds White.\n\u201cHigh-quality faculty, high-quality doctoral students. The combination, if\neverything goes well, results in some really terrific synergies.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking closely with Parker, Wu has been able\nto attract to ISyE\u2019s statistic\u2019s program PhD applicants from around the world\ndespite ISyE not yet having a dedicated PhD degree in statistics. Statistics is\na specialization within Industrial Engineering (IE), and PhDs are awarded in\nIE. Though there is conversation about establishing a PhD in statistics, a few\nyears away at best, one does not currently exist. That fact has not discouraged\nsome of the best candidates from applying to Georgia Tech. And Wu has been very\neffective at making sure the statistics program is recognized. According to\nWhite, Wu has been very good in that regard because he is so well-connected. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd that has paid off. \u0026nbsp;Tirthankar Dasgupta, who received his PhD in\n2007 and is now assistant professor in the department of statistics at Harvard,\ncites two reasons for his decision to come to ISyE, the first being \u201cthe\nopportunity . . . to work under the supervision of Professor Jeff Wu, a true\nicon in the field of engineering statistics, and second, the fact that this was\nthe top-ranked Industrial Engineering department in America having several\neminent scholars amongst the faculty.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith his most recent hire of Kobi Abayomi,\nWu\u2019s program has grown to fourteen (not counting the group of seven or eight\nprobabilists in ISyE), which rivals the size of stand-alone statistics\ndepartments at other universities. And the boundaries in Wu\u2019s program are very\nclear. \u201cOf all the sub disciplines in ISyE,\u201d states Parker, \u201cit is probably the\nnearest sub group that really exists in a very, very defined way.\u201d For the most\npart, the professors in ISyE\u2019s statistics program teach only in statistics, and\nthey attract students who come directly to work with them in terms of PhDs. \u201cSo\nit is extraordinary to have a group that has all the credentials, has the\nnumbers, and the extraordinary stature of a stand-alone statistics department.\u201d\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom an historical perspective, Parker\nexplains that over the years, there had been several task-force level efforts\nput together to look into establishing a stand-alone statistics department at\nGeorgia Tech, but those efforts never led anywhere. Ultimately, there were two\nunits on campus that covered the interests in statistics: the school of\nmathematics and ISyE. Over time, however, a shift started to occur where the\nstaffing of statistics started to draw down in math as interest in ISyE went in\nthe other direction. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was becoming clear that ISyE\nhad a lot of interest with PhD applicants who had very serious statistics\nbackgrounds and wanted more applied statistics. \u201cWe had some young\nstatisticians that had just been hired,\u201d says Parker, \u201ca couple of senior\npeople who were coming more from the culture of statistics. Their PhDs were in\nstatistics from some of the top programs in the country (e.g.,\nWisconsin).\u201d\u0026nbsp; So, the signs were there,\nbut there still hadn\u2019t been a big commitment, and that is where Wu entered in.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EParker says that he thinks it would be\ncompletely fair to say that Wu changed the dynamic, changed the culture. \u201cHe\nwent after young people who he hand-picked and just kicked it up a whole\ndifferent notch from where it had been, \u201c Parker explains, adding that he\u2019s\npretty sure that there is no place with ISyE\u2019s reputation that exists this way.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201c\u003C\/strong\u003EGeorgia Tech is possibly the only place where the statistics\nprogram is within the school of industrial engineering.\u201d states Roshan Joseph\nVengazhiyil, associate professor and one of Wu\u2019s five initial hires. This is attractive\nto Vengazhiyil because his research interests are in engineering statistics. \u201cI\nfelt that my efforts would be most appreciated in this place.\u201d For Vengazhiyil,\nworking within an engineering school rather than in a department of statistics\ngives him better exposure to the latest developments and trends in engineering\nand provides him better opportunities to collaborate with the engineers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd that collaboration was part\nof Wu\u2019s vision, which is being realized. The tentacles that spread out from\nWu\u2019s group vis a vis research activities strengthen that bond within ISyE and\nacross campus. Examples of its success include Nicoleta Serban\u2019s collaboration\nwith Bill Rouse and the Tennenbaum Institute on health care, Yajun Mei\u2019s\ncollaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute on indoor air quality, Ming\nYuan\u2019s revolutionary bioinformatics techniques to successfully address\nquestions related to aging and diabetes and Nagi Gebraeel\u2019s new degradation lab\nin the Manufacturing Research Center. White reflects that these links into other\ndepartments help ISyE extend its contribution to another school, and vice versa.\n\u201cThat helps to promote the synergies that you want to see in a university.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd Parker agrees that ISyE\u2019s program\nis often recognized as the statistics program for Georgia Tech. When other\nschools have a statistics issue, they frequently come to ISyE for that, and the\nInstitute Graduate Committee, on which Parker served for years, is likely to refer\npetitioners to ISyE if they are proposing a statistics course that duplicates\nwhat is already being taught there. In fact, Parker states, the committee has often\nsaid, \u201c\u2019You have a stat department in engineering; it\u2019s called ISyE.\u2019 And\nthat\u2019s a very powerful thing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor a full listing of the\nStatistic \/ Quality Group faculty, the breadth of their research and the scope\nof their work, visit their website at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www2.isye.gatech.edu\/statistics\/index.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www2.isye.gatech.edu\/statistics\/index.php\u003C\/a\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERecognized as an icon in the field of engineering\nstatistics, Jeff Wu, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of \nIndustrial\nand Systems Engineering (ISyE) and Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering \nStatistics,\nhas galvanized ISyE\u0022s statistics group since coming to Georgia Tech in \n2003 and\nhas strategically drawn to the program some of the most talented young\nstatisticians and PhD students in the world.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2010-04-06 14:50:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:49","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-04-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-04-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"55298":{"id":"55298","type":"image","title":"Seated: Jeff Wu. Standing (left to right): Yajun Mei, Ming Yuan, Nicoleta Serban, Roshan Joseph Vengazihiyil, and Nagi Gebraeel.","body":null,"created":"1449175507","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:45:07","changed":"1475894489","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:29","alt":"Seated: Jeff Wu. Standing (left to right): Yajun Mei, Ming Yuan, Nicoleta Serban, Roshan Joseph Vengazihiyil, and Nagi Gebraeel.","file":{"fid":"190271","name":"Wu_with_NSF_Faculty_Standing_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Wu_with_NSF_Faculty_Standing_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Wu_with_NSF_Faculty_Standing_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3719935,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Wu_with_NSF_Faculty_Standing_1_0.jpg?itok=lcyDlJ3f"}},"55297":{"id":"55297","type":"image","title":"Jeff Wu, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics","body":null,"created":"1449175507","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:45:07","changed":"1475894489","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:29","alt":"Jeff Wu, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics","file":{"fid":"190270","name":"Wu-Jeff_th.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Wu-Jeff_th_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Wu-Jeff_th_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":21815,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Wu-Jeff_th_0.jpg?itok=S9WfZ-cB"}}},"media_ids":["55298","55297"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9106","name":"Engineering Statistics"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"7879","name":"Jeff Wu"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara \nChristopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}