ALEXANDRIA, VA- The American Statistical Association (ASA) today announced the election of 60 of its members as Fellows of the Association, in recognition of outstanding professional contribution to and leadership in the field of statistical science. [Among the elected members is Paul Kvam, Professor of Statistics in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.] The designation of Fellow has been a superlative honor in the society for over nine decades. The Fellows will be presented at a ceremony at the Association's 166th annual Joint Statistical Meetings, taking place August 6-10, 2006, in Seattle.

According to ASA By-Laws, each year, the Committee on Fellows can only elect one-third of one percent of the total ASA membership. In order to be honored with the title of Fellow, members must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions in some aspect of statistical work. "Becoming an ASA Fellow is one of the highest honors in our profession," said Sallie Keller-McNulty, President of the ASA. "This year's set of new ASA Fellows represent a superb cross section of our members who have strengthened the statistical sciences discipline through their outstanding achievements in education and research, and through their unselfish commitments to the service of our profession."

Attached is a list of this year's honorees, including their names and affiliations [see http://www.amstat.org/pressroom/index.cfm?fuseaction=2006fellows for the complete list]. The Committee on Fellows evaluates candidates' contributions to the advancements of statistics, giving due weight to publications, the positions held by the candidates in the organizations in which they are employed, activities within the Association, membership and attainments in other societies, and other professional activities. The case for each candidate is judged individually, with no one of these criteria govern selection to the exclusion of the others. Selection committee members were Elizabeth M. Halloran, Demissie Alemayehu, Robert M. Bell, Donald Guthrie, Roderick J. Little, Bonnie K. Ray, Nozer D. Singpurwalla, Robert T. Smythe, and Grace L. Yang.

For additional information, please contact the American Statistical Association at (703) 684-1221, or visit the ASA Web site at www.amstat.org. To receive a press release, including official citation, on a specific Fellow, contact Jeanene Harris at the ASA.

Thanks to the ASA for this article. Copyright * 2006 American Statistical Association.