International Prize in Statistics

The International Prize in Statistics is awarded every two years to an individual or team "for major achievements using statistics to advance science, technology and human welfare". The International Prize in Statistics, along with the COPSS Presidents' Award, are the two highest honours in the field of Statistics.

The prize is modelled after the Nobel prizes, Abel Prize, Fields Medal and Turing Award and comes with a monetary award of $80,000. The award ceremony takes place during the World Statistics Congress.

Laureates
Year Laureate(s) Citizenship(s) Institution(s) Citation
2017 David Cox British Imperial College London, University of Oxford "For Survival Analysis Model Applied in Medicine, Science and Engineering".[1]
2019 Bradley Efron American Caltech, Stanford University For the bootstrap
Rules

The prize recognizes a single work or body of work, representing a powerful and original idea that had an impact in other disciplines or a practical effect on the world. The recipient must be alive when the prize is awarded.[2]
Organization

The prize is awarded by the International Prize in Statistics Foundation, which comprises representatives of the following major learned societies:

American Statistical Association
International Biometric Society
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
International Statistical Institute
Royal Statistical Society

In addition to recognizing the contributions of a statistician, the Foundation also aims at educating the public about statistical innovations and their impact on the world and gaining wider recognition for the field.[3]

The recipient of the prize is chosen by a selection committee comprising international experts in the field. As of 2016, the committee members are:

Xiao-Li Meng (Harvard University)
Sally Morton (Virginia Tech)
Stephen Senn (Luxembourg Institute of Health)
Bernard Silverman (University of Oxford)
Stephen Stigler (University of Chicago)
Susan Wilson (Australian National University)
Bin Yu (University of California, Berkeley)