This July, Jesse Bowling left our department as IT Manager to take a position over in EITS. Jesse was with us for many years, and was a valuable asset to our department. His skills and light-hearted disposition will be missed. We also wish him the best with his new marriage!

We are happy to report that Chris Franklin has been selected to enter the UGA Teaching Academy with the class of 2008. Congratulations!

We are proud to report that Graduate Student Qin Wang has been selected to receive an Institute of Mathematical Statistics Laha Travel Award to attend the 2009 Joint Statistical Meetings/IMS annual meeting. Congratulations Qin!

Congratulations to our three undergraduate students, Aileen Thomas, Shelina Ramnarine, and Neeraj Sriram who participated in the CURO Symposium this April.

We are extremely happy with Gauri Datta's election to the Fellowship in the Institute of Mathematical Statistics! This is a well deserved honor for his outstanding research and contributions to the profession. The presentation took place at the IMS Presidential Address at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, DC. Congratulations Gauri!

The Department hosted the Symposium on New Directions in Asymptotic Statistics at the Georgia Center, May 15-16, 2009. The event was organized by T.N. Sriram and Ishwar Basawa. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this successful event!

A hearty welcome to Mr. Richard Worthington, who is our new Administrative Associate I. Richard brings substantial experience and skills into this challenging position, and we look forward to his professional development and contributions in both the administrative and IT support areas of our department.

Effective July 1, Dr. John Stufken has been reappointed as head of the Department for his third three year term. We congratulate Dr. Stufken on his outstanding administration of our department, and look forward to working with him in the coming years.

Congratulations to Nicole Lazar, who is the recipient of a 2010 Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences for her outstanding accomplishments as an instructor. Well deserved Nicole!

As part of its 60th anniversary, the University of New South Wales highlights 60 of its alumni in its alumni magazine UNSWorld. We are proud to report that it features one of our own, University Professor Lynne Billard.