Over the past 365 days, statistics have come and statistics have gone. But, none more striking than these important ones of 2017 compiled by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) in its effort to look back on all that was statistics in the United Kingdom and internationally, as well.

Nominations were made by members of the public as well as RSS members worldwide. The judging panel, chaired by RSS president, David Spiegelhalter, includes former UK National Statistician, Jil Matheson and BBC News home editor Mark Easton.

‘We were delighted with the quality of the nominations for the inaugural ‘Statistic of the Year’, said RSS executive director Hetan Shah. ‘Taken together, the selected statistics tell us a story about important issues in 2017: land use (in the context of debates about housing), pressures on pay, mobile phone usage, teen pregnancies, our environment, and even deaths by lawnmowers.

The December 2017 issue of CHANCE is entirely dedicated to climate research, specifically the role that statistics play in detecting, attributing and projecting climate change. With the recent spate of devastating natural disasters and extreme weather events like Hurricane Maria that struck Puerto Rico, this edition is a must read for anyone in the statistics community interested in learning how climate models function, their challenges and new research endeavors in the age of Big Data.

A timely conversation conducted with Monica Dashen and Rachel Green touches on their experiences on a volunteer project with Statistics without Borders (SwB) in Haiti during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew (October 2016). In September of this year, the countries and territories of the Caribbean were hit especially hard by a series of hurricanes. The IAOS, the ISI, and SwB are working with regional partners such as Caricom and the Inter-American Statistical Institute (IASI) to identify areas where the NSOs may need help and support. Other manuscripts in this issue deserve mentioning include the winning paper of the 2016 IAOS Prize for Young Statisticians (YSP): “Balancing Input-Output Tables with Bayesian Slave-Raiding Ants,” by Rolando Gonzales Martinez.

The Statistics Education Research Journal Volume 16, Number 2 is now available! Guest Editors include Rolf Biehler, Daniel Frischemeier and Susanne Podworny, with the assistance of Associate Editor Randall Groth. This special publication focuses on models in the context of informal statistical inference. It also includes regular papers from Editor Maxine Pfannkuch. Please visit the main SERJ page at iase-web.org/Publications.php?p=SERJ for information about submitting manuscripts for review, and to access past issues.

Help solve the challenge of combining Big Data and Survey Science. Meet with experts and exchange ideas about promising technologies and methodologies for using massive datasets and state-of-the-art analytical techniques to improve, supplement or replace data and estimates from complex surveys and censuses. Conducted by RTI International and ESRA, BigSurv18 is the intersection of survey science and Big Data and takes place October 25-27, 2018 at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Research and Expertise Centre for Survey Methodology, in Barcelona. A call for papers will soon be issued. Learn more about the conference, see who is on the Scientific Committee, and find out about sponsorship opportunities atwww.bigsurv18.org.

The editorial staff of the World of Statistics relies on you so that we can share newsworthy statistics-related events. Send us details via the links below. In addition, the World of Statistics will feature job listings for statistics and data science positions in this newsletter. There is no cost for this service, but listings are limited to 250 words and must include a link to where more detailed information can be found. Send your job listing to ron@amstat.org.

As always, we look forward to promoting the positive work of the global statistical community to educate the public, grow the profession, expand research and development, and improve the quality of life.

Department of Biostatistics

Associate/Assistant Professor

The University of Iowa, Department of Biostatistics is looking to fill a tenured or tenure-track faculty position at the rank of associate professor, with research expertise in the area of clinical trials. Exceptional applicants will also be considered at the rank of assistant professor. The successful candidate will hold a leadership appointment in the Clinical Trials Statistical and Data Management Center (CTSDMC). The position requires a PhD or equivalent in Biostatistics, Statistics, or a related area, as well as evidence of excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary, collaborative academic environment. The successful candidate will have expertise and experience in the design and conduct of clinical trials, and the statistical analyses of data arising from clinical trials. For a tenured appointment, an established record of achievement in research and teaching is expected, along with a record of extramural funding. For a complete position description and application procedures.