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WSS Awards

Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award

The Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award is co-sponsored by the ASA Government Statistics Section and Social Statistics Section, NORC at University of Chicago, Westat, American Institutes for Research (AIR), American Educational Research Association (AERA), The Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS), Stata, the Washington Statistical Society, and the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP). The award is given annually to a supervisor, technical director, team coordinator, or other member of the Federal, State, or Local government statistical staff who is nominated by a supervisor and co-workers for his or her efforts in supporting the work and developing the careers of junior staff.

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Roger Herriot Award

The Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics is co-sponsored by the Social Statistics and Government Statistics Sections of the American Statistical Association, and the Washington Statistical Society. The award is intended to reflect the special characteristics that marked Roger Herriot's career including:

  • Dedication to the issues of measurement;
  • Improvements in the efficiency of data collection programs; and
  • Improvements and use of statistical data for policy analysis.

Please click here for more information on the award and how to nominate. The nomination process occurs annually, early in the year.


Curtis Jacobs Memorial Award for Outstanding Statistics Projects

The Curtis Jacobs Memorial Award for outstanding statistics project is an opportunity for fun, experience, and recognition - great for college applications and teacher development. It aims to encourage middle school and high school students to gain an understanding of the design of statistical studies and their uses. One of the intents of the award is to bring awareness and reward to school teachers. Nominations for the Curtis Jacobs Award are accepted in the spring of each year.

WSS created the Curtis Jacobs Memorial Award in 1991 to honor the memory of Curtis Jacobs, a former Bureau of Labor Statistics statistician.

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Julius Shiskin Award for Economic Statistics

The Julius Shiskin Award is designed to honor an unusually original and important contribution to aid in the management and interpretation of the economy or for exceptionally sound and innovative research in economic statistics. The contribution could be in statistical research, the development of statistical tools, the application of computers, the use of economic statistics to analyze and interpret the economy, the management of statistical programs, or developing public understanding of measurement issues. Individuals and groups in the public or private sector can be nominated.

The Award was established in 1980 by the Washington Statistical Society and is now cosponsored by WSS, the National Association for Business Economics, and the Business and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association.

Please click here for information on the award and how to nominate.


Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship

The Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship is in memory of Wray Jackson Smith, a founding member of the Government Statistics Section and long-time contributor to Federal statistics. The Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship was created by the Government Statistics Section in 2001. The scholarship is co-sponsored by the Government Statistics Section and the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association, WSS, the Caucus for Women in Statistics, Harris-Smith Institutes, Mathematica Policy Research, and Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc. The scholarship is intended to reward promising young statisticians for their diligence, thereby encouraging them to consider a future in government statistics.

Please click here for more information.  Applications are due by May 1.


Gertrude Cox Award

The Gertrude Cox Award is presented in memory of Gertrude M. Cox (1900-1978), who in the 1950s, when Head of the Department of Experimental Statistics at North Carolina State College, played a key role in establishing Mathematical Statistics and Biostatistics Departments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Statistical Division at the then newly founded not-for-profit RTI. This award is made possible by funding from RTI. The recipient is chosen by a six person committee - three each from RTI and WSS. Nominations for each year's Gertrude Cox Award will be accepted early in the year.

Nominations for the 2024 Gertrude Cox Award will be accepted until February 28, 2024. Details are here.


Washington Statistical Society Student Travel Competition

The Washington Statistical Society (WSS) offers a Student Travel Competition annually for a local area student in a degree program (bachelors, masters, or doctoral) in the areas of statistics, survey methodology, or allied survey research disciplines. Support is offered for students to attend an American Statistical Association (ASA) meeting or conference.

Applications must contain a letter of support either by a current member of the WSS or a faculty advisor. Plans to present a paper or poster at an ASA meeting or conference will entitle the applicant to preferential review of their submission.

One award will be granted to a student attending a school local to the DC, MD or VA area.

The award covers conference hotel and travel expenses up to $800, early-bird student conference registration, and a one-year student membership to ASA and the WSS. In addition to attending the meeting or conference, the winner also is required to attend the WSS Annual Dinner in the spring of 2024 to be recognized by the WSS. The winner also is required to prepare an essay on his/her experience at the ASA meeting or conference to be published in a WSS newsletter shortly after the meeting/conference.

For the 2024 Student Travel Competition, applications are due by January 5, 2024. The application is here.


ASA Awards

The American Statistical Association, of which WSS is a chapter, presents awards throughout the year. Information on many ASA awards can be seen on the ASA Awards & Scholarships page.