Conference: Southern Regional Council on Statistics Summer Research Conference

The SRCOS Summer Research Conference in Statistics and Biostatistics Abstract The Southern Regional Council on Statistics (SRCOS) is a consortium of statistics and biostatistics programs in the South. It currently has member programs from more than 10 states in the region. This grant will provide support for graduate and undergraduate students to travel and participate in the 60th Summer Research Conference (SRC) in statistics and biostatistics in Jekyll Island, Georgia from June 9-11, 2025. The SRC is an annual conference sponsored by the SRCOS. The purpose of the SRC is to encourage the interchange and mutual understanding of current research ideas in statistics and biostatistics, and to provide motivation and direction to further research progress. This project will focus on young researchers, giving them an opportunity to participate in the meeting and to interact closely with leaders in the field in a manner not possible at larger meetings. The SRC is particularly valuable for graduate students, undergraduate students, isolated statisticians, and faculty from smaller regional schools in the southern region at drivable distances without the cost of travel to distant venues. Speakers will present formal research talks with adequate time allowed for clarification, amplification, and further informal discussions in small groups. Under the travel support provided by this award, graduate students will attend and present their research in posters to be reviewed by more experienced researchers. In addition to the graduate student participation, the 60th SRC will also include the 5th annual Statistical Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), a conference within a conference aimed to encourage the participation of undergraduate students from under-represented groups to pursue graduate education and career opportunities in STEM fields. SURE will include events specifically for undergraduate students and undergraduate mentors, such as a panel about career opportunities in statistics, a “Real Data Analytics Workshop,” and a speed-mentoring session with current statistics and biostatistics graduate students. The support provided by this award will support SURE and encourage under- represented students to enter STEM fields, including statistics or biostatistics, and provide training to support this endeavor. The 60th SRC will strengthen the research of the statistics and biostatistics community as a whole and help bridge the gap for under-represented groups to pursue statistics or biostatistics, particularly in the sixteen states of the Southern Region.