The Marquardt Program

The Marquardt Memorial Industrial Speakers Program

The Marquardt Memorial Industrial Speakers Program, established in 1998 by the ASA’s Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences (SPES), aims to strengthen communication between industrial statisticians and academic statistics programs. Its primary objective is to introduce students to the role of statisticians in industry —  an area they often have little exposure to.

The program brings experienced industrial statisticians to campuses to engage directly with students. Speakers typically give one or two presentations and spend the remainder of the day meeting with students and faculty to discuss research and shared interests. This exchange benefits both parties—students gain insights into industrial statistical practice, while speakers learn about current academic research and meet future colleagues. To facilitate these interactions, SPES subsidizes seminar costs. Additionally, as part of its outreach efforts, SPES is happy to co-sponsor a student mixer with the host department to discuss the benefits of being a statistician, ASA member, and SPES member in a relaxed setting.

The program is made possible through a generous donation from Mrs. Margaret Marquardt in memory of her late husband, Donald W. Marquardt, an ASA Fellow and former ASA President. Given his long career in industry and strong advocacy for collaboration between applied statisticians and academia, SPES was a natural choice for this initiative.

 

Arranging a Seminar

Arranging a seminar is straightforward:

  1. Contact the Industrial Speakers Program Chair to check the availability of funding. 

  2. Discuss speaker selection with the Chair, identifying a statistician who best fits the needs of the host institution and students. The host may choose a speaker from an existing list or request assistance from the Chair in selecting a suitable speaker.

  3. Coordinate directly with the speaker to finalize details, including the seminar format and topic.

  4. Obtain SPES approval by informing the Program Chair of the confirmed arrangements.

  5. Complete post-seminar evaluations—both the host and speaker submit evaluation forms (host evaluation form and speaker evaluation form) to provide feedback on the seminar’s effectiveness. The host also submits receipts and expense details for reimbursement.

Reimbursement is processed after all required forms and receipts are received.

Note: The views expressed by SPES Industrial Speakers Program participants do not necessarily reflect those of ASA, SPES, or their members.

 

Becoming a SPES Speaker

Experienced industrial statisticians interested in sharing their professional insights are encouraged to participate. Talks typically focus on real-world applications and challenges, with an emphasis on practical aspects of working in industry. Since the audience consists of students with little or no industry experience, discussing essential skills, collaboration with non-statisticians, and career advice is highly valuable.

Speakers and host institutions should coordinate on seminar topics and formats. Those interested in becoming a SPES speaker should contact the Program Chair.

 

Testimonials

Feedback from past seminars has been overwhelmingly positive.

SPES Speaker James Kenyon (University of Connecticut) shared:
“Overall, I found the day not only enjoyable, but successful in creating an exchange that I perceived as useful for all who attended. For me, additional value came from prearranged activities. I made sure to schedule time with faculty to discuss issues and their current research interests. I also met with some of the students over lunch. I commend the department for thinking of this and arranging a situation where more interaction could easily occur.”

Arthur Yeh (Bowling Green State University) noted about speaker Chris Breen:
“interesting and constructive for students” and went on to note that “we had two presentations: one for masters-level applied statistics graduate students and the other for undergraduate business students. In both presentations, Chris pretty much grabbed the attention of both groups of students.”

Derek Bingham (Simon Fraser University) on speaker William Brenneman:
“William was a terrific speaker and has many valuable experiences to share. He met with groups of students on three occasions, including PhD students working in our Industrial Statistics Lab where he posed some unsolved problems of interest to his company. He was very generous with his knowledge.”

  

Reimbursement Policy

SPES reimburses host institutions up to $1000 for travel expenses, including speaker transportation and meal costs on the seminar day. This subsidy is not intended as an honorarium. To maintain program sustainability, reimbursement is limited to original receipts (if possible) and requires submission of an expense breakdown, host contact details, and evaluation forms. Once received, a reimbursement check will be issued.

 

Contact Information

Academic departments interested in hosting a seminar or industrial statisticians interested in becoming speakers should contact the Industrial Speakers Program Chair:

Hai-Ying Wang