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PRESENTER: Friends and family members, the academic procession has arrived.
Leading the procession is Yang Ning, Director of Graduate Studies, and Xiaolong [? Yang, ?] Director of the Master of Professional Studies program, followed by our doctoral candidates.
Followed by our Master of Professional Studies candidates. And finally, our bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science candidates. Please congratulate and welcome the class of 2024.
[APPLAUSE]
And now please welcome the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of computing and Information Science, Department of Statistics and Data Science faculty. The department's award winning faculty are comprised of scholars from Cornell Bowers CIS, the Cornell College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and the Cornell ILR School.
The department's unique cross college structure encourages innovation, interdisciplinary research, and pedagogy in a field that is increasingly central in addressing some of the most pressing problems of the modern world through the science of learning from data and of measuring, controlling, and communicating uncertainty. Please welcome our statistics and data science faculty.
I am now pleased to introduce Martin Wells, chair of the Department of Statistics and Data Science, and the Charles A. Alexander, Professor of Statistical Science. Professor Wells is a leader in Bayesian statistics, high dimensional data analysis, statistical bioinformatics, and empirical legal studies. His focus is collaborating and teaching across a wide range of disciplines to apply theoretical frameworks and data analysis to 21st century challenges. Please join me in welcoming department chair Marty Wells.
[APPLAUSE]
MARTIN WELLS: What a great day. On behalf of the Department of Statistics and Data Science, faculty and staff in the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, welcome to the 2024 commencement ceremony. I'm Martin Wells, the Department Chair.
On the stage, we have wonderful faculty members that are up here that worked with your students and your graduates over the years. We have Xiaolong Yang, Sreyoshi Das, Samuel Wang, Melissa Smith, Marten Wegkamp, Florentina Bunea, Kengo Kato, Jeremy Entner, Ahmed El Alaoui, and Yang Ning and Dana Yang. You'll be hearing from some of those today.
Thank you for coming today and to support your graduates and to celebrate their achievements. And thank you for supporting them in their time here at Cornell. Congratulations to all of today's graduates. You have to look way over in this direction to talk to you guys. Congratulations. It's been a pleasure to know you, to meet you, and we just really congratulate you on all your achievements.
At Cornell, you've been challenged and you've completed a very rigorous and demanding program, and you've done this under some truly exceptional circumstances. Your class has developed some valuable skills beyond the usual academic rigors to get through the challenges of COVID. These skills included resilience, adaptivity, time management, problem solving, clear communication, technological proficiency, self-discipline, empathy, compassion, and flexibility. These are all wonderful skills that you're going to use, that you use to get through your time at Cornell, and you use those throughout the rest of your career.
As you stand here today at the threshold of this momentous occasion, it's essential to acknowledge the support that you've all received that propelled you on this journey. Today, as we celebrate your achievements, you must remember all those people that helped you along the way. They're your unwavering support of your families, the camaraderie of your fellow students, and the encouragement of your friends and family. They have been indispensable to your success.
At this time, statistics and data science students need to acquire multiple skill sets to succeed. They combine expertise in statistics, in mathematics, computer science, and optimization. Statisticians and data scientists need to also become experts in other areas such as climate science, social sciences, economics, political science, biology, on and on. So the interesting aspect of what your graduates have done, they've combined expertise in statistics and the mathematical sciences as well as in other areas. And that's somewhat special, and it's a great skill set for them.
So today is just the beginning for you, graduates. You all know that. We applaud you and your graduation today and the commencement as you begin this new chapter of your life. As ambassadors of statistical science, your skills will influence how the data driven society will respond to new challenges. And you'll be the leaders in pushing that agenda forward.
The faculty are very fortunate to have such excellent students. As the faculty venture out into our careers, we want to be faculty. We really enjoy working with students. And you've been exceptional students. Cornell has some of the just excellent students, and we really appreciated working with you in your time here.
So as you move on into the next steps of your life, remember to embrace challenges. Continue learning and pursue your passions. May you revel in the search for clarity and understanding and truth. Keep your eyes open to the opportunities that will come before you. But also be careful. There could be some challenges in your life. Stay resilient and understand how to avoid obstacles. Treat others at all stations of life fairly, with dignity, and with respect. Your Cornell education has laid the foundation. Now it's time to apply it and to use what you've learned to impact the world.
So once again, congratulations to all of you, and best wishes on continued success. Now on to the ceremony. So we have three types of degrees we'll be presenting today. We have a bachelor's degree and a master's of science degrees, which are all about doing data analysis and these multifaceted applications. The doctor of philosophy, the PhD, is all about figuring out how to do these things for the first time and doing original research.
So as the students process after the names have been called and they receive their certificate on stage, handshakes are optional. If you don't want to shake hands, just give us a sign that you want to do that. Elbow bumps, fist bumps are also OK. There'll be a picture on stage and there'll be one afterwards off the stage. So let's get on to the business. And so let me first introduce Professor Yang Ning, who's our Director of Graduate Studies.
[APPLAUSE]
YANG NING: Faculty, colleagues, future alumni, friends and family. The doctor of philosophy is the highest academic degree awarded in the United States. So a PhD in statistics involves typically two years of advanced coursework followed by three or more years intensive research, ultimately leading to publications in peer reviewed journals. It's my great pleasure to present this year's doctoral degree recipient in the field of statistics.
Kerstin Frailey. Her advisor is Dr. Martin Wells. So her thesis title is "Data Quality For Modern Data and Modern Uses With Applications to American COVID-19 data." So she will be the manager of data science at Asana.
[APPLAUSE]
[INAUDIBLE] His PhD advisor is Professor Kengo Kato. So his thesis is "Statistical Inference For Regularized Optimal Transport." And he will join University of Washington Seattle as a postdoctoral fellow.
[APPLAUSE]
Inbeom "Daniel" Lee. His advisor is Professor Yang Ning, and his PhD dissertation is about statistical methods for high dimensional data with latent variables. And he will join the postdoc position at University of Chicago.
[APPLAUSE]
Sara Venkatraman. Her PhD advisors, Professor Martin Wells and Professor Sumanta Basu. Her PhD dissertation is about parameter estimation and inference for nonlinear dynamic systems. And she will be a postdoctoral research associate at Weill Cornell Medicine, the Cornell Medical School.
[APPLAUSE]
Kimberly Webb. Her PhD advisor is Professor Martin wells. Her PhD is estimation method in the presence of outcome and the mediator misclassification. And she will be assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
[APPLAUSE]
For more than 15 years, our Master of Professional Studies program has offered world class training in applied statistics and data science and preparation for the 21st century workplace. So the MPS provides a solid foundation in theoretical statistics, a broad education in many applied statistical topics, and the real world data analysis project. Now the MPS program director, Dr. Xiaolong Yang, will present our MPS graduates, and Dr. Sreyoshi Das will congratulate each graduate.
[APPLAUSE]
XIAOLONG YANG: Good morning. Dear MPS graduates, families and friends, today we come together from near and far to recognize and witness the graduation of our MPS students. So this is a very significant achievement. Congratulations. We're very proud of you. So first, we would like to recognize the graduates of May 2024.
[READING NAMES]
Now comes our future graduates. They will be graduating in December 2024. Congratulations.
[READING NAMES]
Thank you. Now I also want to announce the awards of the MPS capstone project. The MPS capstone project is a very important part of MPS education. The students use the knowledge and the skills learned from our program to solve real world problems in industry. So that is very important to the students.
While doing the projects, the students work in teams. They collaborate, and every student has an opportunity to serve as a rotating team leader. In this way, they build up teamwork experience and skills and the leadership skills, which are very important for the future, for their future careers.
In addition to our yearly Best MPS Awards, which is given to a project team, this year, we added two new types of awards. The Client Communication Award and the Project Leadership Award. You all do a very good job. So the awards are based on the nominations of the project advisors, client feedback, and overall performance. This year we have determined one best MPS projects, eight Client Communication Awards, and four Leadership Awards.
When I will call the winner's names, please stand up so that we can recognize you. The winners will have their photos taken after the ceremony during the photo session. They will be given awards by [? Ellen ?] and other staff members during that time. Now comes the exciting time. First, I would like to announce the winners of the Client Communication Award.
[READING NAMES]
Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
Next, I will announce the winners of the Project Leadership Award.
[READING NAMES]
Now I'm going to announce the Best Project Award. This year's Best MPS Project Award is given to project team level. The team members are.
[READING NAMES]
The project title is Modeling Retirees' Liquidity Needs. The project was sponsored by T. Rowe Price and was advised by Dr. David Rupert. Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
So I wish all our graduates a very bright future. Thank you.
MARTIN WELLS: Thank you, Professors Ning, Das, and Yang. Cornell offers two undergraduate statistics majors. One major is called biometry and statistics, which is in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The other major is statistical science in the College of Arts and Science.
Typically awarding Latin honors is mentioned during this graduation ceremony. However, due to the lateness of the academic schedule, the Latin honors haven't been determined. You'll be notified of those who receive Latin honors shortly. So now Melissa Smith will present the undergraduates majors and Dr. Florentina Bunea will congratulate each of the graduates.
[READING NAMES]
Thank you Professors Bunea and Smith. Congratulations to all of our graduates. You've achieved a great deal. You've been a tremendous part of our community, and we'll miss you. Please keep in touch with us. We love to hear from you. We like to hear how our graduates have been progressing in their careers. We like to hear what you've learned and how you're applying it in your job.
I want to take a moment just to thank all the people that have come a great distance for this event. Spouses, siblings, parents, close friends, other relations. Thank you for coming to support your graduates. You've been tremendous and you've been part of their success and their success is your success. I'm a parent of three graduates, so I really understand what that means.
So I want to also thank all the volunteers that have helped out today that made this event a great event. This is a holiday weekend. They've given up their time this weekend to make this an excellent event for you. Thank you very much.
[APPLAUSE]
As we move to closing the ceremony, I'd like to remind you about the remaining events planned this weekend. First, right after the ceremony on the other side of the red curtain, we'll have a reception. Tomorrow is also an exciting day. It's the day you officially graduate from Cornell University. The University ceremony is at Schoellkopf Stadium. I'm sure you know where that is. The Bowers CIS is assigned to the afternoon. If you choose to join Bowers CIS, please meet us on the arts quad between 12:30 and 1:30. Friends and family should be seated in the stadium by that time. We look forward to seeing you there.
Now, as we conclude, I'd ask the esteemed guests to remain seated until our graduates have recessed and they recessed to the bleachers for a group photo. Once the recession is over, guests should adjourn and join their graduates at the reception. Again, thank you for coming today. Graduates, the ushers will take you to where you need to be and tell you what to do. Thank you for coming and congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
(SINGING) Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus rise before us
Strike up a song to Cornell
And set the campus ringing with our singing
Fill the glasses with a song
And drink the magic music spell
We will sound the joy of life intense
In a rousing toast to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus rise before us
Strike up a song to Cornell
And set the campus ringing with our singing
Fill the glasses with a song
And drink the magic music spell
We will sound the joy of life intense
In a rousing toast to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
Come let us strike up a song to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus rise before us
Strike up a song to Cornell
And set the campus ringing with our singing
Fill the glasses with a song
And drink the magic music spell
We will sound the joy of life intense
In a rousing toast to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus rise before us
