Faculty in the Department of Statistics at the University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences continue to earn recognition for their scholarship, leadership, and research.

Professor Lynne Billard has been honored by the AI Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia. The institute is organizing a symposium titled "Statistical Analysis of Distributional Data" in recognition of Billard's contributions to symbolic data analysis. The symposium will take place Aug. 21, 2026, in Sydney.

The event will bring together researchers who study distributional, functional, and aggregated data. This area of statistics helps researchers analyze large and complex datasets. The symposium reflects Billard's longstanding influence on the field and her leadership within the statistical community.

The department also celebrates the appointment of assistant professor Yuan Ke as an associate editor for the Theory and Methods section of the Journal of the American Statistical Association. The journal is the flagship publication of the American Statistical Association and ranks among the leading journals in statistics and data science. Ke's appointment recognizes his contributions to statistical research and service to the profession.

Assistant Professor Ting Zhang recently received a National Science Foundation grant for the project “Collaborative Research: Change Point Testing and Estimation with Irregular Signals” Zhang and collaborators Wei Biao Wu of the University of Chicago and Maggie Cheng of the Illinois Institute of Technology will develop statistical methods to detect abrupt changes in irregular and unpredictable data.

The research could improve the detection of disruptions in power grids, attacks on sensor networks, and emerging patterns in social networks. Zhang described the award as an important milestone because it is his first externally funded collaborative project. 

“This grant highlights the value of bringing together expertise from multiple researchers to address complex scientific questions,” he said.

RJ Liu recently received funding through the Sarah H. Moss Fellowship Program. The fellowship supports travel and research collaborations for UGA faculty members. Liu will use the award to support her collaboration with Fei Jiang at the University of California, San Francisco.

These accomplishments reflect the department's continued impact through research, professional service, and scholarly collaboration. Congratulations to Billard, Ke, Zhang, and Liu on their achievements.