Although unable to attend the ceremony, Cressie shared a message expressing his gratitude for the honor and reflecting on the enduring importance of NISS's mission of fostering cross-disciplinary statistical research.

“It is a singular honor to receive the Jerome Sacks Award from NISS, for the cross-disciplinary research that I do involving the statistical sciences. Jerry Sacks was the inaugural Director of NISS, and I knew him from my Iowa State and Ohio State University days. His vision for NISS, to promote and nurture Statistics in cross-disciplinary research, is just as important now in the age of AI as it was then. I’m sorry I could not be at JSM this year, but y’all come Down Under and see us when you get the chance. Finally, my congratulations to fellow awardees Victor de Oliveira, Tim Hesterberg, and Alyson Wilson.”

As a NISS postdoctoral researcher in 1997 and 1998, Victor De Oliveira worked on the design and analysis of air pollution monitoring networks. Since then, he has established an internationally recognized career in spatial statistics, Bayesian methods, environmental statistics, geostatistics, spatial prediction, and space-time modeling.

In addition to his research accomplishments, De Oliveira has contributed extensively through graduate mentoring, professional service, and the development of statistical software, including BTG and geoCount.

The NISS Distinguished Service Award recognizes extraordinary service that advances the mission and impact of NISS. One of this year's recipients was Tim Hesterberg, Staff Data Scientist at Instacart and Fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Hesterberg was recognized for his sustained leadership and dedication to NISS through multiple terms on the Board of Trustees, service as Board Chair, and contributions to numerous committees, including the Executive Committee, Marketing and Communications Committee, Ingram Olkin Forum Committee, and Awards and Nominations Committee. His commitment has helped strengthen NISS and support its continued growth and impact.

The second NISS Distinguished Service Award recipient was Alyson G. Wilson, Vice Provost for Research at William & Mary.

Wilson has provided exceptional leadership to NISS through two terms on the Board of Trustees, service as Board Chair from 2023 to 2024, and contributions to both the Executive Committee and Finance Committee. Her professional career spans statistics, interdisciplinary research, data science, national security, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

Through her leadership, service, and commitment to advancing research and innovation, Wilson has made lasting contributions to both NISS and the broader statistical community.