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Ronald J. and S. Dorè Mead Fund for Student Experience in Statistics awardees

The department is very pleased to offer our students financial support from the new Ronald J. and S. Dorè Mead Fund for Student Experience in Statistics.

Miranda Tilberg (née Tilton) (pictured left) worked as a statistical consultant in fall 2020 with the support of the fund. Her favorite projects included detecting manufacturing defects under realistic industrial conditions, modeling harmful algal blooms in lakes, and predicting crop loss in African mangos due to harvest techniques.

Debosmita Kundu (pictured right) was supported by the fund in fall 2021 to improve probability models for gene sequences in biological samples by using a multi-type branching process. The overall goal of her work is to improve the identification and quantification of gene sequences

In addition to providing consulting, research, and other work experiences, the fund also enables supported students to learn about the Rasch model, which has been of great interest to Ron Mead for many years. Ron is an ISU alum, earning BS and MS degrees in Statistics before moving to the University of Chicago for a PhD in Educational Assessment, Testing, and Measurement. We are grateful to Ron and Dorè for creating the Mead Fund!