August 4, 2009, Washington DC: James Landwehr, chair of the Board of Trustees for the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) announces that Vijay Nair and John Rolph are the recipients of this year's NISS Distinguished Service Awards. The awards were presented by Alan Karr, director of NISS, at the NISS/SAMSI reception held August 3 at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Washington, DC.
The awards, established in 2005, recognize individuals who have given extraordinary service that significantly advances NISS and its mission. As Karr put it, "These are people who didn't have to do what they did for NISS, but did it because they believe in NISS and what it does to serve the statistics community."
Nair is professor of statistics and industrial engineering at the University of Michigan. His award honors his service as the chair of the Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2008, his role in development of the 2004 strategic vision, his leading the 2007 strategic positioning study and his leadership during most of the building addition project.
The award to Rolph, who is professor of business and law at the University of Southern California, recognizes his service to NISS as a long-term member of the Board of Trustees and his leadership within the Board, including having chaired the Science Committee, and chairing the Finance Committee throughout the building addition project.
The names of both Nair and Rolph will be added to a plaque at NISS that honors all 12 of recipients to date of the awards.
About NISS
The National Institute of Statistical Sciences was established in 1990 by the national statistics societies and the Research Triangle universities and organizations, with the mission to identify, catalyze and foster high-impact, cross-disciplinary and cross-sector research involving the statistical sciences. NISS is dedicated to strengthening and serving the national statistics community, most notably by catalyzing community members' participation in applied research driven by challenges facing government and industry. NISS also provides career development opportunities for statisticians and scientists, especially those in the formative stages of their careers. NISS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
For more information about NISS, go to the new website www.niss.org.
# # #