The mission of the ASA Section on Statistical Computing is to promote computational applications that solve problems arising in the practice of statistics and data science. Through these efforts, we advocate efficient and user-friendly computational applications arising from methodological and software developments. In addition, we encourage the joint application of computational statistical and data science techniques in other fields, and act as a focal point for computational activities within the ASA. The importance of these activities is becoming even more critical with the advance of data technologies that challenge us with new problems.
The mission of the ASA Section on Statistical Graphics is to foster understanding and proper use of statistical graphics in the practice of statistics and data science, in other scientific fields, in the greater data visualization community, in the mass media, and among the general public. In addition, we encourage the teaching of statistical graphics in universities, colleges, secondary schools, and primary schools and we encourage research in statistical graphics and data visualization to provide a focus within the Association for it. The importance of these activities is becoming even more critical with the availability of large datasets of extremely high dimensionality.
If these activities interest you, please consider adding either or both sections to your ASA membership.
JSM 2027 Invited Session Proposals Now Open
The ASA Statistical Graphics and Statistical Computing Sections invite proposals for invited sessions at the 2027 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), to be held August 8-12, 2027, in Chicago, Illinois.
The JSM 2027 theme is “People Powered. Science Driven. Future Ready.” Proposals related to the theme are encouraged, though sessions addressing broader topics in statistics and data science are also welcome.
Invited sessions are 110 minutes long and include a session chair. Sessions typically include 2-6 participants. Common formats include two to three speakers with a discussant, or a panel discussion with three to five panelists.
Proposals must be submitted online by September 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Submit an invited session proposal
Proposal organizers will need to provide:
- Session type (Invited Paper or Invited Panel)
- Sponsor(s) (up to three JSM partner societies, ASA sections, committees, or other listed sponsors)
- Session title and description
- Organizer and chair names, affiliations, and email addresses
- Speaker and discussant names, affiliations, and email addresses
For questions or ideas, please contact Adam Loy, JSM 2027 Program Chair for the Statistical Graphics Section, at aloy@carleton.edu, or Oksana Chkrebtii, JSM 2027 Program Chair for the Statistical Computing Section.
2026 JSM Mixer
The Joint Statistical Computing and Graphics mixer will be held at 5:30 pm EDT on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at the Westin Boston Seaport District (Room W-Marina Ballroom 3) in Boston, MA, USA. With many thanks to our sponsors: Posit and NORC at the University of Chicago.
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HIGHLIGHTS & KEY UPDATES FROM POSIT!
- posit::conf(2026): Our annual conference takes place Sept 14-16 in Houston and online.
- Positron: A free, modern data science IDE built for Python and R.
- Posit Cloud: An easy, browser-based environment ideal for workshops in RStudio.
- Posit Connect Cloud: A platform for publishing and sharing apps and documents such as Quarto or Shiny.
- Posit AI: A subscription service for powering Posit Assistant and smart code suggestions inside RStudio and Positron.
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2026 Student Awards announced!
The review panel of the John M. Chambers Statistical Software Award consisted of Susan VanderPlas, Tiffany Timbers, Edward Ionides, Michael Kane, Heike Hofmann, Binbing Yu, Mohan Pant, Emily Robinson, and Arun Chind (Awards Chair). The 2026 John M. Chambers Statistical Software Award goes to:
- Harriet Mason, Monash University, for "ggdibbler," (https://harriet-mason.github.io/ggdibbler/) a R graphics (add-on for ggplot2) software package that enables visualising uncertainty in data on a variety of graphic outputs including raster plots, contour plots, stack plots and spatial plots.
The review panel of the Student Paper Award consisted of Susan VanderPlas, Tiffany Timbers, Edward Ionides, Michael Kane, Heike Hofmann, Binbing Yu, Mohan Pant, Emily Robinson, and Arun Chind (Awards Chair). The 2026 Student Paper Awards go to:
- Yujie Ran, Nanyang Technological University, for "A Propensity Score–Based k-Nearest Neighbor Approach for Estimating Individual Treatment Effect".
- Beenu Sareena, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln, for the paper "ggtwotone," describing the R graphics (ggplot2-add on) software package of the same name which ensures that text and lines remain readable on both light and dark backgrounds on plots.
- Adam Struzik, Adam Mickiewicz University, for "Capturing Small Discrepancies in Record Linkage: A Maximum Entropy Framework with Continuous Similarity Measures"
- Sarah Wang, University of Pittsburgh, for "Accurate and Ultra-efficient P-value Calculation for Adaptive Rank Truncated Product Test"
The student award recipients will present their work in a topic-contributed session of the 2026 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). They will also receive their certificate and cash prize at the mixer of the Section on Statistical Computing and the Section on Statistical Graphics.
Congratulations 2025 Data Challenge Expo Winners!
Student Winners
FIRST: Producing Estimates of International Migration for U.S. States
Andrew Forrester and Srijeeta Mitra (see pic), both from University of Maryland College Park
SECOND: Demystify Flight Data
Melinda Combs, Bao Anh Maddux, Winston-Salem State University
Professional Winner
The Effect of Delays on Airline Flight Pattern,
Sherry Zhang, Sarah Coleman, Lydia Lucchesi, Saptarshi Roy, University of Texas Austin