Fellow wins medal for ‘reshaping’ understanding of statistics

A ‘stellar’ mathematician from St John’s is one of the first winners of the David Cox Medal for Statistics, which commemorates the work of a ‘giant of a statistician’ and alumnus. Professor Richard Samworth, who is College Lecturer in Pure Mathematics, University Professor of Statistical Science, and Director of the Statistical Laboratory at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, has been awarded the international prize for his contributions to methodological and theoretical statistics.

The inaugural award is in honour of the late pioneering British statistician, Sir David Cox, who died in January 2022, aged 97. Professor Samworth said: “I was really touched and honoured to be awarded the David Cox Medal. In addition to being a giant of a statistician, Sir David was a Johnian undergraduate and Honorary Fellow, and something of a personal hero of mine. It therefore means a great deal to be awarded this medal named in his honour.”

The prize is given jointly by the Royal Statistical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Bernoulli Society, the International Biometric Society, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the International Statistical Institute. Professor Peter McCullagh, Chair of the Prize Committee, said: “Sir David Cox’s work led to great advancements in the field, so it feels fitting to celebrate those carrying on his great work in moving the profession and our understanding of statistics forward.”

The medal recognises researchers in the fields of statistical theory, methodology and applications whose work is original, with conceptual depth and novelty. Professor Samworth has made numerous contributions to several areas of statistics, including shape-constrained modelling, high dimensional statistics, change-point analysis and nonparametric classification.

A Royal Statistical Society citation states: “These important and broad areas of statistical science encompass the majority of the prevailing topics where statistics has focused over the past two decades, and Richard has been at the forefront from the outset.“ In addition to his stellar research contributions, Richard has mentored with distinction many students and young researchers, as well as serving the profession tirelessly through journal editorships and other contributions to multiple statistical societies.”

The prize celebrates mid-career researchers because Sir David, who studied Mathematics at St John’s in the 1940s, published his seminal paper on regression models in the Royal Statistical Society’s Series A Journal aged 48. Professor Samworth’s fellow two winners are from the University of Pennsylvania: Professor Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen, for his work improving our understanding of causal inference, and Dr Nancy Zhang for her contributions to statistical genomics and its application in biomedical research. Professor McCullagh added: “Eric, Nancy and Richard are to be wholeheartedly congratulated for their contributions that have reshaped our understanding across the discipline.” In September 2024, Professor Samworth was selected for the 2025 Institute of Mathematical Statistics Grace Wahba Award and Lecture.