Department of Mathematics

The University of Nebraska at Omaha

Math Awareness Month 2004 – Invited Talk

Chris Bilder

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Turning data into knowledge to solve real world problems

When:

Thursday, April 22, 2004, 4:00-5:00PM

Where:

Durham Science Center 164

Abstract: Statisticians use and develop new techniques to obtain the most 

information possible out of data. They work in a variety of areas including agriculture, 

ecology, epidemiology, genetics, government research labs, marketing,

pharmacology, and quality control.  While the areas statisticians work in are 

diverse, the majority have followed the same path to become a statistician 

– a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a graduate degree(s) in Statistics.  

This is the path that I followed earning a BS in Mathematics from UNO (1994) 

and then an MS (1996) and PhD (2000) in Statistics from Kansas State University.  

The purpose of this talk is to introduce mathematics students 

to statistics 

through particular examples centered on answering these questions:

1) Which grocery store, Albertson’s or Super Wal-Mart, has lower average prices?

2) What factors affect the probability of success for NFL placekicks?

3) What proportion of people is inflicted with Hepatitis C in a population? 

I will also discuss recommended undergraduate coursework to help prepare 

students for graduate work in statistics and identify graduate opportunities 

available in the new UNL Department of Statistics.