NISS Workshop on Statistics and Information Technology
Workshop Description
This two-day, NSF-supported workshop on statistics and information technology (IT), to be held on September 16-17, 1999, at the NISS building (19 T. W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC), is meant to expose receptive statisticians to researchers and research problems in IT. Several important problem areas in IT will be presented from the perspectives of both IT and statistics, with ample opportunity for questions and discussion.
The 1999 report of the President's Information Technology Advisory Council (PITAC), available on-line at www.ccic.gov/ac/report/, pointedly notes that the future of our society depends heavily on IT. The report presents a compelling case that economic and social benefits of IT cannot be realized without massive, continuing investment in IT research and development. The research agenda advanced by PITAC has four principal themes that address both the future information infrastructure and the people who use it:
This agenda clearly calls for important research in computer science and social science. Both this research and the problems that underlie it are driven by data, models and evaluation -- that is, they are inherently statistical. However, the implications for the discipline of statistics are only beginning to be articulated, and the workshop is meant to accelerate that process.
Some implications seem clear. New statistical methods that work in the staggeringly complex settings of the future must be created, in collaboration with the other disciplines. Scalable statistical techniques are needed to cope with vast amounts of data of disparate types (for example, streaming video) and qualities. Science and policy, equally, demand methodology that merges, combines and assimilates data from laboratory experiments, observational studies and numerical (computer) models. Risks and uncertainties must be quantified. Comprehensible presentation and visualization of results to multiple audiences are crucial. None of these areas has received the necessary attention, and will not without focused, cross-disciplinary collaborations.
A NISS comment on the PITAC report is available at www.niss.org/papers/pitac.html.
The workshop's purpose is to describe the problems that arise, how they might be formulated and what statistical details and ramifications are involved. The approach is to do so through specific examples illuminating the context and the statistical interactions.
The workshop will consist of two days of expository presentations and associated discussion, highlighting the five topics listed below. Each presentation will be dual in nature:
Each pair of presentations will last 60-75 minutes, and will be followed by extended discussion (60 minutes). Three topics will be presented on Day 1 and two on Day 2.
Planned topics and speakers are:
Digital Government , focusing on methodology and technology for Web-based, disclosure-limited dissemination of statistical analyses based on confidential Federal data sets:
Internet Traffic Measurement and Analysis, addressing needs for measurement and modeling of traffic in data networks, for example, in order to characterize quality of service for emerging applications such as streaming video:
Software Development, emphasizing assembly of software from components and prediction of the performance of enormously complex software systems:
Data/Model Integration, addressing systems that respond to queries by dynamically identifying, accessing and fusing relevant data, model components (computer simulations and statistical models) and computing resources:
Human-Computer Interaction, focusing on user interfaces to complex data and models, and on visualization of key outputs and results:
A workshop report will be prepared and made available over the World Wide Web.
A registration fee of $75 will be charged to all participants, to pay for continental breakfast, lunch and breaks on Thursday, September 16 and Friday, September 17, as well as the Workshop dinner on Thursday, September 16.
To apply to attend the workshop, please fill out the on-line application form.
Limited funds to support travel and housing (but not registration fees) are available, not to exceed $750 per person. Reimbursement will be made following the conference, on the basis of actual expenses, a completed travel report and supporting receipts. To apply for travel support, check the appropriate box on the application form.
Return to Statistics/IT Workshop Main Page
|
|
| Help |
© 1999, National Institute of Statistical Sciences. All rights reserved.