Travel Support for the Directions in Statistical Computing (DSC) 2009 Meeting; Copenhagen, Denmark; Summer 2009

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

DSC 2009, an international workshop on Directions in Statistical Computing, will be held July 13--14, 2009 at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. This is the sixth in a series of meetings; previous meeting were held in Vienna, Austria (1999, 2001, and 2003), Seattle, WA (2005), and Auckland, New Zealand (2007). The workshop will focus on, but is not limited to, open source statistical computing and aims to provide a platform for exchanging ideas about developments in statistical computing. UseR! 2009 will be held July 8--10 in Rennes, France, and is the fifth in a series of conferences the use and development statistical methods and software related to the R system. This proposal is for funding exclusively to provide support to assist with travel expenses for junior investigators from US institutions to attend this meeting. Work of young researchers is often among the most novel, yet often these researchers lack the travel funds necessary to attend such a conference because they have not yet established themselves sufficiently to attract external travel and other funding for their work. Statistics is playing an increasingly important role in interdisciplinary research, and statistical computing is essential as the means for making new methodology available to researchers and allowing the best statistical practices to be applied effectively. Scholarly conferences on statistical computing are an essential framework for the exchange of ideas and for encouraging the exploration of new directions in the design of statistical software. International conferences are particularly valuable as they allow the exchange of ideas among researchers from around the world who would not ordinarily come into direct contact. The benefit to young researchers of a first exposure to the international research community is particularly important. International meetings also provide an opportunity to meet with outstanding international graduate students and encourage them to consider opportunities for further study in the United States.