professor emeritus

In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Harry Van Trees

Tama Moni — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 18:41:54 +0000

In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Harry Van Trees Tama Moni Wed, 01/18/2023 - 13:41

Professor Emeritus Harry Van Trees

Harry Van Trees, a distinguished and award-winning researcher, textbook author, member of the National Academy of Engineering, and ��AV Professor of Information Technology and Electrical and Systems Engineering passed away on December 29, 2022.

Van Trees was born in Kansas City on June 27, 1930. He went on to graduate first in his class from West Point and earned an Sc.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after a stint in the army. He joined the MIT Electrical Engineering Department, where he studied signal processing. He made significant contributions to detection and estimation theory, optimum array processing, and Bayesian estimation of random processes. He is regarded as a founder of the detection and estimation theory body of knowledge. His impressive CV may be found here.

Later in his career, he would go on to be the founding director of Mason's Center of Excellence in Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I). ��AV Professor Emeritus Alexander Levis noted, “His vision for such a center was inspired by his brief service as Air Force Chief Scientist and then as the first Assistant Secretary at DoD for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence. He recognized that rapidly evolving information technology would change fundamentally Command and Control and that both basic and applied research were very much needed. Indeed, thirty-five years later, Command and Control has now been recognized as a defining pillar of national security.”

Others on the Mason campus also paid tribute to his lasting legacy. “Harry Van Trees was a brilliant engineer, educator, mentor, and colleague who had a remarkable life and career in academia, government, and industry,” added Kristine Bell, Affiliate Associate Professor in the Mason Statistics Department. “His books on Detection and Estimation Theory and Array Processing have educated so many engineers and inspired so many important research findings in the last 45 years. There is no doubt that our world would look different without his contributions. I was so privileged to have worked with him. He was a wonderful man who cared deeply for his family, but also for his colleagues, and his community. I will miss him tremendously.”

According to his official obituary, his passing was unexpected but fortunately, although in the hospital, he was able to spend his last week with Diane, his beloved wife of 69 years, and his six surviving children, Stephen, Mark, Katie, Tricia, Harry, and Julia. 

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USA Today: HAP Emeritus Faculty member Len Nichols quoted in article on health care efforts that need improvement

eander6 — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 13:34:13 +0000

USA Today: HAP Emeritus Faculty member Len Nichols quoted in article on health care efforts that need improvement eander6 Thu, 09/22/2022 - 09:34

The U.S. pours money into health care, then holds back on social services that can improve health.

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Claudio Cioffi-Revilla named 2019 AAAS Fellow for lifetime contributions to science and technology

Colleen Rich — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 18:53:28 +0000

Claudio Cioffi-Revilla named 2019 AAAS Fellow for lifetime contributions to science and technology Colleen Rich Thu, 12/19/2019 - 13:53

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Center for Social Complexity

In memoriam: Cóilín Owens

Melanie Balog — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 19:32:31 +0000

In memoriam: Cóilín Owens Melanie Balog Mon, 07/15/2019 - 15:32

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Daniel Carr

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Daniel Carr admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Professor Emeritus, Statistics

Contact Information

Email: dcarr@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

Professional Webpage

Biography

Professor Daniel Carr is known for his contributions to the field of statistical graphics. These contributions include the creation of new graphics designs and dynamic visualization software. The challenges that motivated the designs have come from a variety of fields such as genomics, proteomics, life sciences, and environmental monitoring.

Carr’s statistics career started in 1976 at Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. At first, he was involved in the analysis of animal experiments, calibration of measurement devices, and modeling of monitoring data. In the 1980s, he worked with a small team of statisticians, computer scientists, and computer engineers on the Analysis of Large Data Sets project. The research publications and presentations brought visibility.

Carr was appointed chair-elect when the Statistical Graphics Section of the American Statistical Association was created in 1986. He continued to serve the section for many years in roles such as Program Chair and editor of the graphics section in the Statistical Computing and Statistical Graphics newsletter. Carr was elected ASA Fellow in 1992.

After joining Mason in 1990, Carr interacted with visionary colleagues and researchers at federal agencies. A 1992 collaborative NSF proposal yielded a virtual reality laboratory in the Center for Computational Statistics. On sabbatical at the National Cancer Institute, he was a member of a team that developed the usability-assessed State Cancer Control Profiles website. Team members received NIH merit awards for their contributions to cancer control planning. Carr has created and taught statistical graphics and visualization courses at the 400 to 800 levels, served on numerous dissertation committees and seen 11 of his PhD students graduate.

Research

2014 - 2015: Uncertainty in Spatial Date: Identification Visualization and Utilization. Funded by the University of Texas at Dallas.

2008 - 2010: Curriculum Design in Data Sciences. Funded by National Science Foundation.

2005 - 2008: Visual Analytic Tools for Networks and Graphs with Attention Given to Data Synthesis and Evaluation. Funded by Office of Naval Research.

Research Interests

Data mining
Statistical graphics
Knowledge visualization
Data exploration
Analysis of massive data sets

Degrees

PhD, Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
MS, Statistics, Oregon State University
MEd, Counselling, Idaho State University
BA, Mathematics, Whitman College