NISS is an independent research institute, established in 1990, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, as the result of a competition conducted by the national statistics societies. NISS is charged to

• Perform and stimulate cross-disciplinary research involving statistics
• Confront complex, data-driven scientific problems of national importance
• Provide career development opportunities for statisticians and scientists, especially those in the formative stages of their careers.

The parent organizations of NISS include the American Statistical Association, International Biometric Society, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Institute. NISS is governed by a Board of Trustees representing the parent organizations and the statistical and scientific communities.

Research at NISS is project-oriented and directed at solution of difficult scientific problems, with strong feedback to statistical methodology and theory. Support comes from government agencies, industrial research partners, the Research Triangle universities and corporate and university affiliates. Current projects involve over forty senior statisticians and scientists (drawn from universities, industry and government laboratories across the U.S.), seven postdoctoral fellows and fifteen graduate assistants.

Current and recent projects include:

Digital Government: development of Web-based systems to disseminate disclosure-limited analyses based on confidential Federal data

Environment: airborne pollution; quality of drinking water

Large Data Sets: drug discovery (in partnership with Glaxo Wellcome); network computer intrusion and ISP customer churn (partnered by AT&T Labs)

Software Engineering: code decay in legacy systems (in partnership with Lucent Technologies)

Transportation: synthesis of region-wide travel behavior (in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory), evaluation of signal timing and traffic flow models; in-vehicle measurement of emissions; deterioration of concrete

Bioinformatics: collaboration with a developing research program at Duke University

Opportunities for engagement in NISS research are substantial. Senior statisticians and scientists can participate in development of a proposed project, or may join a project already in progress. Recent Ph.D. recipients can become postdoctoral fellows at NISS (sometimes based at other research sites), with appointments of 2-3 years' duration. Graduate students participate under the guidance of senior project personnel (typically, their advisors).

The NISS Affiliates program, established in 2000, creates ties among academic, corporate and government groups in order to identify and solve important cross-disciplinary problems. The program also promotes, through regular meetings, interaction among representatives of statistical sciences groups and programs around the United States. Affiliates influence the development and shape of NISS programs and activities. Through NISS, their personnel can interact with other scientists from a multiplicity of settings on a variety of important issues. Affiliates also receive early notification and access to initiatives and events as NISS develops them. The Affiliates and programs are publicized through the NISS Web site, in NISS publications, via a newsletter reporting the activities of the program and in the NISS Annual Report.

NISS occupies its own building in Research Triangle Park, NC. The 16,000 square foot facility provides space for forty resident researchers, together with classrooms, computing facilities and conference rooms. Work on NISS projects occurs at NISS headquarters, at the Research Triangle universities and over the last 2 years at fifteen universities and laboratories across the nation.