PhD Statistics – Department of Statistics Winter 2020 Graduation

PhD Statistics

A Message From The Program Director…

Professor Ji Zhu
Director of the Ph.D. Program

It is that time of the year again, but everything is so drastically different this time.  PhD oral exams are online, we can’t celebrate the graduation in-person, and there won’t be a graduation ceremony as usual.  But this cannot stop me from congratulating you for your wonderful achievement.  Obtaining a PhD is a big milestone in one’s life.  I’m truly proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself.  I’m so glad that we can at least gather together in this virtual yearbook to celebrate your academic success.

While I was writing these remarks, I wondered what succinct bit of knowledge I could pass to the graduating class.  The first thing that came to mind was “Change is the only constant.”  The Statistics we see today is very different from what it was 20 years ago when I graduated.

20 years ago, SVM, Boosting, Random Forests, and high-dimensional data were cutting-edge and poorly understood by many.  Today, these topics form part of the core curriculum at all levels, from undergraduate to PhD courses.  The cutting-edge of today consists of Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, and Non-convex Optimization, to name a few.  In another 20 years, these topics will become standard, and another wave of new concepts will take their place at the forefront of Statistics.  The field will be vastly different from what it is now.  You will need to stay on your toes to keep up with the continuous innovation, so I ask you all to keep learning, to keep your mind open, and to believe in yourselves.

I also want to thank you for giving your best to the department in the past several years.  I hope you bring the same energy and enthusiasm wherever you may go.  Let me congratulate you again and wish you the best in your future endeavors!


Memories and Plans for Ph.D. Graduates

By: Young Jung PhD Statistics I can certainly say the past five years were the most fulfilling period of my
By: Yuqi Gu PhD Statistics This graduation season does not come with blue and yellow balloons, along with bright tulip
By: Xuefei Zhang PhD Statistics Ji and Liza treated us with great dim sum at Shangri-la to celebrate the Lunar
By: Yuqi Gu PhD Statistics (1) Pink tulip blossom in the Diag last year; (2) My desk in 436 West

2 thoughts on “PhD Statistics”

  1. Congratulations to all the new graduates! I miss seeing the PhD students get their hoods, and especially this cohort, whom I know so well… we will all meet again in better times. Meanwhile, good luck on your journey onward and keep in touch!

  2. Congratulations to all the new graduates! I remember when you all arrived to Ann Arbor. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives for the past five years. I hope you’ll stay in touch with me and the department. Best of luck!

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