March


Parameter
The Official Newsletter of the Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association
March 2018
In This Issue
2018 CCASA Annual Conference 
Weather and Prediction 
March 14, 2018 
(Pi Day)
UIC Student Center 
750 S Halsted Street
Abstract:
Precision weather forecasting has tangible benefits in our daily lives. The advancement of weather forecasting provides us the confidence to leave our umbrellas at home rather than second guess about rain. With the advancement of statistical methods such as machine learning techniques, weather and prediction is currently seeing further advancements. In this conference on weather and prediction, we will learn about the forecasting methods to predict future weather; discuss calibration methods to predict future sea levels; illustrate select methods on temperature and precipitation data from various observational networks in the United States; compare two spatio-temporal random fields that are of interest in climatology; and learn to incorporate advanced image processing and feature tracking techniques to study precipitation processes.
President's Letter

 
As March rolls in, we are extremely pleased to host our annual conference which is on the topic of Weather and Prediction this year. The awareness in global warming spotlights weather research among the many active areas in statistics. Speakers from across the nation will be joining us to present their latest cutting-edge methods in weather prediction. The topics and agenda are highlighted below.  
  • Christopher Wikle: Adapting Science-Based and Machine Learning Methods for Statistical Long-Lead Forecasting of the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Related Processes
  • Won Chang: Calibrating an Ice Sheet Model Using High-Dimensional Binary Spatial Data
  • Sooin Yun: Comparing Two Spatio-Temporal Fields
  • Will Kleiber: Statistical Challenges in Creating Historical Weather Products for the United States
  • Chen Chen: Complex Changes in Precipitation Characteristics Revealed by Feature Tracking
Agenda
8:30 AM - 9:10 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:10 AM - 9:15 AM Introductions led by Kwang-Youn Kim
9:15 AM - 10:30 AM Christopher Wikle (Q&A included)
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Won Chang (Q&A included)
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM Lunch Break (lunch provided)
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Sooin Yun (Q&A included)
2:15 PM - 3:30 PM Will Kleiber (Q&A included)
3:30 PM - 3:45 PM Coffee break
3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Chen Chen (Q&A included)
 
I hope to see many of you on March 14th (Pi Day!!). 
  
Respectfully yours,
Kwang-Youn Kim, PhD 
News from the CCASA Board
Save the data; registration details coming soon.
CCASA 2018 Workshop: Friday April 27, 2018
Title: Art and Practice of Regression Trees
Presenter: Wei-Yin Loh, Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Location: Chicago, DePaul Loop campus
Abstract: Regression tree and forest methods have greatly improved in the last decade. Their ease of use, prediction accuracy, execution speed, and interpretability make them essential tools for machine learning and data analysis. The course teaches how to use the tools effectively and efficiently. It uses an example-focused style, with each example chosen to illustrate particular weaknesses of traditional solutions and to show how tree methods overcome them and yield new insights. 


See here for the latest on 
News from the World of Statistics.
  
2018 DataFest at Loyola University, March 23-25.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us!  Also, if you have news or events that you would like to share or are interested in speaking at a luncheon, please contact us at chicagochapterasa@gmail.com.