Chris Franklin was the recipient of the Mu Sigma Rho National Statistical Education Award for her contribution to statistical education. This award was presented to her on August 8, 2006 at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Seattle, Washington. Mu Sigma Rho is the national honorary society for statistics. Its purpose is the promotion and encouragement of scholarly activity in statistics, and the recognition of outstanding achievement among the students and instructional staff in academic institutions.

Nicole Lazar, who joined the Department in 2004 at the rank of Associate Professor, was awarded tenure starting in August of 2006. In her short period at UGA, Nicole has already made many significant contributions to both the graduate and undergraduate program, and the Department looks forward to her continued contributions.

The Department was successful and fortunate in attracting two excellent new faculty members. We are delighted to welcome Jeongyoun Ahn and Yehua Li, who have both started their position as Assistant Professor in August of 2006. Jeongyoun received her PhD in 2006 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she worked under the supervision of Steve Marron. Yehua, also a 2006 PhD recipient, joined us from Texas A&M University where he worked under the supervision of Ray Carroll and Tailen Hsing.

Gauri S. Datta was named Fellow of the American Statistical Association on August 8, 2006, during the annual awards ceremony at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Seattle, Washington. Datta earned a Bachelor's degree at Calcutta University in 1983, a Master's degree at Calcutta University in 1985, and a Doctorate at the University of Florida in 1990. He joined the American Statistical Association in 1991. The official Fellow award citation reads as follows: "Gauri S.

Congratulations to XiangRong Yin who, starting August 2006, has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. This is a fitting recognition for his excellence in research and his outstanding devotion to the department. Of course, we all expect even more from him now!

Starting in August of 2006, Dan Hall has become the Department's new Associate Head. He succeeds TN Sriram in this position, who did a wonderful job from August 2004 - August 2006. The Department holds high expectations for Dan in this important position.

Starting in January, 2007 Julie Davis joined the staff as an Administrative Associate I. She is our new technical typist and webmaster.

Congratulations to Nicole Lazar, who won the 2007 M.G. Michael Award in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences for innovative research.

Congratulations to Paul Schliekelman for becoming Associate Professor with Tenure, starting August 2007. Paul, who received the 2005 M.G. Michael Award in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences for innovative research, joined the department in 2001 and holds a PhD in Biomathematics from North Carolina State University.

Stat Bowl organizer Mark Payton awards a plaque to team winners Susanta Tewari and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay from the University of Georgia. Bandyopadhyay graduated in May and has started a faculty position at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Tewari will graduate next year. "This win is a relief, and we're proud to represent UGA! We want to thank Dr. John Stufken and Dr. Christine Franklin for their encouragement and support. We owe a lot to them."