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NEWS RELEASE

10-18-01

Contacts:
Dean Isaacson, Statistics, (515) 294-3440
Hal Stern, Statistics and Baker Center for Bioinformatics
and Biological Statistics, (515) 294-5582
Teddi Barron, News Service, (515) 294-4778

HAL STERN NAMED ENDOWED CHAIR IN BIOLOGICAL STATISTICS

AMES, Iowa -- Hal Stern has been named the first Laurence H. Baker Endowed Chair in Biological Statistics. Stern is a professor of statistics and interim director of the Laurence H. Baker Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics.

"Stern was selected for his outstanding research record in developing statistical methodology and collaborating with scientists from other disciplines," said Dean Isaacson, professor and head of statistics.

Stern earned his doctoral degree in 1987 from Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. He was on the faculty of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., from 1987 until 1994 when he joined Iowa State's statistics faculty. Stern was named interim director of the Laurence H. Baker Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics in 2000. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and co-author of the book, "Bayesian Data Analysis."

The Laurence H. Baker Endowed Chair was established in 1999 as part of a $10 million endowment to the Department of Statistics and the Plant Sciences Institute. The endowment from Norma Baker, Los Angeles, honors her late husband, Laurence H. Baker, who was a 1954 graduate of Iowa State and a long-time employee of Pioneer Hi-Bred International.

The chair will lead collaborative research in the biological or agricultural sciences, including bioinformatics, said Isaacson. "For example, Stern is collaborating with faculty in the animal breeding and genetics group on selection experiments and with faculty in zoology and genetics about evolution and natural selection."

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