University of Illinois Department of Statistics

On April 21, the top teams from the 2026 Illinois Statistics Datathon were invited to present their work at the Data Science Education Symposium, hosted by the Illinois Data Science Education Council.

This session highlighted the value of experiential learning in data science, with students sharing insights from their Datathon projects and reflecting on their approach to solving a real-world forecasting challenge.

The symposium brought together a variety of perspectives to explore how hands-on learning opportunities—like the Datathon—can support student development and strengthen connections between academic programs and real-world applications.

We are proud of our Illinois students for representing the Datathon and demonstrating the impact of applied data science education.

We were proud to host the annual Robert E. Bohrer Memorial Student Workshop in Statistics on April 18 at the I-Hotel & Conference Center. The Bohrer Workshop is a day dedicated to research excellence, collaboration, and community.

Named in honor of Robert E. Bohrer - a founding member of the University of Illinois Department of Statistics - the workshop continues to reflect his legacy as a dedicated educator, researcher, and mentor. Despite significant health challenges, Bohrer remained actively engaged in teaching and scholarship for over two decades, leaving a lasting impact on the field and those around him.

This year’s program featured distinguished speakers addressing timely topics in statistics and artificial intelligence:

Mikhail Belkin, University of Cali. San Diego - 40th Anniversary Lecture on feature learning and large language models
Kosuke Imai, Harvard University - Wijsman Lecture on AI and human decision-making
David Dunson, Duke University - Bohrer Lecture on interpretable AI in scientific applications

The workshop also highlighted the breadth of student research through lightning talks spanning causal inference, computational methods, machine learning, and applied statistics.

We were especially pleased to recognize several outstanding doctoral students:

Bo Yuan – Horace W. Norton Prize for Outstanding Research
Kaustav Chakraborty – Norton Prize Honorable Mention
Zhaohao Zu – Qualifying Exam Award
Georgios Avdis – Doctoral Student Leadership & Service Award

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event a success. The Bohrer Workshop continues to showcase the strength, innovation, and collaborative spirit of our academic community.

Thinking about a Statistics MS at Illinois? Get a head start.

The Illinois Statistics MS Prep Track is designed for advanced undergraduates who plan to pursue a Statistics MS at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Through the Prep Track, eligible students can take up to 12 hours of graduate coursework during their final year that can later count toward the Statistics MS degree. This can potentially reduce the time needed to complete the MS by a semester — saving both time and tuition.

Info Session
March 10, 2026
4:00 PM
1043 Sidney Lu

Learn about:
• Eligibility requirements
• How the Prep Track works
• Application materials and timeline
• How this program can accelerate your path to a graduate degree

Who should attend?
Statistics majors, Statistics & Computer Science majors, and Statistics minors graduating Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 who are interested in pursuing a Statistics MS.

Application deadline: April 27, 2026

Come learn how you can get a head start on your graduate degree.

One week left to register!

The deadline for the 2026 Illinois Statistics Datathon is just one week away — now’s the time to gather your party and get ready for the adventure.

Work with real-world data, learn from mentors, compete for prizes, and be part of the 2026 Illinois Statistics Datathon!

Register at go.illinois.edu/illinois-datathon

👥 Teams of 2–4 students (or register solo and get matched)
📊 Real-world data from industry partners
🍕 Food, workshops, and prizes all weekend

Register by March 13 to guarantee your Datathon t-shirt!

Don’t wait — lock in your team and start the quest.
🔗 Link in bio to register

Application Deadline Approaching!

Interested in gaining hands-on research experience in statistics and data science this summer? Don’t miss your chance to apply for the Blackwell Summer Scholars Program at Illinois!

Application Deadline: March 13
Program Dates: June 16 – August 7

The 8-week program gives undergraduate students the opportunity to:
🔹 Conduct research with faculty and graduate mentors
🔹 Participate in workshops and micro-courses in statistics and R
🔹 Build professional and research skills through seminars and networking
🔹 Present your work at the Blackwell Scholars Research Symposium

Participants receive a $5,000 stipend during the program.

If you’re an Illinois undergraduate interested in statistics, data science, or related fields, be sure to submit your application before the deadline!

Apply now: go.illinois.edu/blackwellscholarsprogram

Introducing Our New M.S. in Statistics Ambassadors!

We’re excited to launch the Statistics M.S. Ambassador Program, a new initiative connecting prospective and current graduate students with members of our master’s community. These ambassadors will share their experiences in the program and offer insight into life as a statistics graduate student at Illinois.

Meet our inaugural ambassadors:

Jackson Bunte – First-year M.S. student who previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry after earning his B.S. in Statistics from North Carolina State University. Jackson enjoys traveling, cooking, and cheering on big games with friends.

Hubert Witkos – Second-year M.S. student with a mathematics background from University of Wisconsin–Madison. When he’s not studying statistics, you’ll likely find him skiing, hiking, or playing tennis.

Sam Switz – First-year M.S. student who previously worked as a data analyst after studying Economics and Statistics at University of Virginia. Sam enjoys soccer and cheering on Boston sports teams.

Our ambassadors are here to help share what makes the graduate statistics experience at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign unique—from coursework and research opportunities to life in the program.

Stay tuned to learn more about our ambassadors and their experiences!

🎉 Congrats to Our Sandia Data Challenge Winners! 🎉

After a weekend of deep analysis, creative thinking, and serious data wrangling, the results are in! Announced at the Sandia Data Challenge Awards Presentation on Nov. 11, the following teams took the top prizes:

🥇 1st Place: Team Mamba Out
Songyang Chen (sophomore, information science) • Yixun Huang (sophomore, statistics) • Tianqi Fu (senior, information sciences)
(1st picture – left to right: Tianqi Fu, Songyang Chen, Yixun Huang)

🥈 Runners-Up: The Blind, the Deaf, and the Mute
Jehyeok Yeon (senior, computer science + linguistics) • Chaeyeon Lee (senior, statistics) • Sunwoo Baek (MS, computer science) • Jian Jo (senior, statistics)
(2nd picture – left to right: Mallory Stites - Sandia, Sunwoo Baek, Jian Jo, Jehyeok Yeon, Nicole Jackson-Sandia)

This year’s challenge tackled a real-world engineering problem from Sandia National Laboratories:

Participants were given a dataset of additively manufactured (3D-printed) parts and asked to determine which combinations of build parameters—including build plate layout, part location, powder type, and use of test artifacts—minimize scrap rates and ensure key dimensions (inner diameter, outer diameter, height) meet qualification standards.

Nearly 50 teams of students from across campus dove into predictive modeling, parameter tuning, and data exploration to uncover what reduces the probability of scrapping a part. And these teams came out on top!

Huge thanks to everyone who participated and to our partners at Sandia National Laboratories for providing such a compelling challenge.

🧬💻 New RSO Alert: Health Analytics Society (HAS)!

Ready to put your data skills to the test? Join the newly formed Health Analytics Society for their inaugural event — Outbreak Detective: Can You Stop It in Time? 🕵️‍♀️

📅 November 17
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 3038 Campus Instructional Facility

Step into the role of a public-health analyst and race to stop a mysterious campus outbreak. You’ll analyze real-style health datasets, uncover patterns through data visualization and modeling, and even watch a live forecasting demo showing how analytics and biology come together to power smarter healthcare decisions. 🧠📊

The Health Analytics Society helps students explore how data is transforming healthcare and medicine — bridging biology, statistics, and computer science to tackle real-world health challenges.

🔗 Learn more about HAS: one.illinois.edu/healthanalyticssociety/home

Today we celebrate the incredible impact of the Department of Statistics and the College of LAS! Our students are exploring big questions, and our faculty are leading groundbreaking research—all thanks to supporters like you.

To donate to Statistics during today’s LAS Day of Giving, visit go.las.illinois.edu/dayofgiving and click on “Choose an LAS annual fund.” Then select “LAS Annual Fund for Statistics” from the drop-down list (4th from the bottom).

Together, we can achieve wonderful things and showcase that back!

It’s here! Today is LAS Day of Giving!

Want to give directly to the Department of Statistics? Visit go.las.illinois.edu/dayofgiving, click on “Choose an LAS annual fund,” and then select “LAS Annual Fund for Statistics” from the drop-down list (4th from the bottom).

Every dollar goes directly to supporting our students, faculty, and unit initiatives. Join us as we showcase how back —every contribution makes a difference!

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Chan Park!
He’s been awarded the 2025 IMS New Researcher Travel Award by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

This prestigious honor supports early-career researchers within five years of earning their PhD, providing funding to present their work at IMS-sponsored meetings around the world.

We’re proud to see Professor Park’s contributions to statistical research recognized on a global stage. Way to go!

Read more here: https://stat.illinois.edu/news/2025-06-02/assistant-professor-chan-park-receives-2025-ims-new-researcher-travel-award