April 22, 2014 Dr. Maria-Pia Victoria-Feser Professor of Statistics, University of Geneva   Title:  A Prediction Divergence Criterion for Model Selection   Abstract: The problem of model selection is a crucial part of any statistical analysis. In fact, model selection methods become inevitable in an increasingly large number of applications involving partial theoretical knowledge and […]

April 8, 2014 Anirban Bhattacharya Assistant Professor of Statistics, Texas A&M University   Title: Tensor decompositions and sparse log-linear models. Abstract: Contingency table analysis routinely relies on log linear models, with latent structure analysis providing a common alternative.  Latent structure models lead to a low rank tensor factorization of the probability mass function for multivariate categorical […]

April 1, 2014 Dr. Ramalingam Saravanan Professor of Atmospheric Science, Texas A&M University   Title: Modeling and Predicting Atlantic Hurricane Activity Abstract: Hurricane activity in the Atlantic region exhibits variability on a range of timescales. Both statistical and fluid dynamical models are used to make seasonal predictions of hurricane activity. The talk will discuss the major […]

March 25, 2014 Dr. Venkatesh Shankar Coleman Chair Professor in Marketing Director of Research, Center for Retailing Studies Mays Business School, Texas A&M Title: A Flexible Semiparametric Approach to Model, Measure and Improve Sales Agency Productivity Abstract: Numerous firms use third-party sales agencies to sell their products. These firms are interested in identifying clusters of […]

March 20, 2014  Dr. Michael P. Bishop Professor and Haynes Chair in Geosciences Department of Geography Texas A&M University  Title: Invitation to Multidisciplinary Research and the Geospatial Science and Technology Center Abstract: Dr. Bishop will be presenting multidisciplinary research activities involving Earth Science, remote sensing, geographic information technology, and numerical modeling to address integrative science […]