The 2024–2025 academic year has been a fruitful one for our graduate student community. With a vibrant body of around 200 active students, we have remained engaged in research, community-building, and supporting both faculty and fellow students.
New this year is the Statistics (Graduate) Student Seminar & Social, founded by Duy Pham and organized by Duy, Danny Ying, and Edouardo Honig. Held biweekly, this series aims to foster community and encourage research exchange among graduate students. It provides a platform for students from various labs to share their work, receive feedback, and learn about faculty research directions—creating opportunities for collaboration and mentorship.
Students Duy Pham, Hengzhi He, and visiting student Julia Jansson gave talks. Additionally, Professors George Michailidis, Yuhua Zhu, Xiaowu Dai, and Karen McKinnon gave individual talks. In a special edition of the seminar aimed at introducing students to faculty, Professors Mark Handcock, Yuhua Zhu, Oscar Leong, Guang Cheng gave short talks on their research.
On the social front, we organized events such as bonfires, BBQs, and interdepartmental gatherings (partnering with Math and Physical Science Council) to help graduate students connect with one another and with peers across the Physical Sciences. In addition, the Society of Women in Statistics hosted gatherings specifically for women in the department, creating a welcoming and inclusive space for women in statistics and STEM more broadly.
The Society of Women in Statistics (SWS) members continue to meet annually and do their best to plan meaningful events for students to attend. This year, they convened at a lunch social at the Faculty Club. SWS is looking for new people to organize events!
We continue to actively support departmental and university-wide initiatives. Many of our students served as volunteers and mentors at the annual DataFest, and we helped host Exploring Your Universe, UCLA’s largest science outreach event.
Overall, this year has been marked by growth, collaboration, and a strengthened sense of community among our graduate students. Through the dedicated efforts of our fellow graduate students, we continue to build a dynamic and supportive environment where students can thrive academically, professionally, and personally.
Danny Ying
Eduoardo Honig
Tanvi Shrinke