Section Chair Dan Heitjan called the meeting to order at 6:10pm, welcomed members and guests, and introduced the members of the Executive Committee. The minutes of last year’s meeting were distributed and accepted.
Dan Heitjan introduced Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy, who addressed Section members noting that he is the first holder of this position, that it is an honor to do so, and that he regards sections as key to the activity of the ASA. He described efforts to develop brochures in a series titled “Statistical Significance” that underscore key areas where statisticians have an impact on policy so that policymakers can acquire a better understanding of what statisticians do. He views his role in part as involving education of the ASA membership about ways to influence policy and noted that 120 meetings were scheduled on Capitol Hill on Thursday, with efforts focusing in particular on funding for NIH and NSF as well as for statistical literacy. He entertained multiple questions, discussing the Congressional Fellows program that seems to draw more on other scientific disciplines, the prospects for funding to train statisticians, and promotion of statisticians for membership in the National Academy of Sciences and its associated committees. Appreciative sentiments were expressed by both Steve Pierson and Section members for the opportunity to have this interchange.
Hormuzd Katki issued a call for invited session proposals to be submitted by September 9, noting that the Section has four invited session slots and can compete for up to two more. A proposal at this point could consist of a list of speakers and titles with the possibility of a discussant. Proposals for Introductory Overview Lectures are also being entertained, with a later deadline. Jerry Heatley reported on the success of this year’s continuing education courses and noted that there is a September 30 deadline for CE course proposals for next year’s JSM. The Section recognized the efforts of Jerry as 2009 CE Chair and Wensheng Guo as 2009 JSM Section Program Chair.
Past Section Chair Jeremy Taylor introduced Sonja Greven (Johns Hopkins University) as the winner of the David P. Byar Young Investigator Award and Xiaoxi Zhang (Pfizer) as the recipient of a Biometrics Section travel award.
Bonnie LaFleur described the section’s Strategic Initiative program, which made four grants this year with a total budget of $12,000. Bonnie introduced Roslyn Stone of the University of Pittsburgh, recipient of multiple Strategic Initiative awards from the Biometrics Section, who described her group’s work with a high school roughly an hour from Pittsburgh where AP Statistics is taught; the project involved developing take-home materials for students, teachers, and parents to encourage understanding of and enthusiasm for statistics as a profession, with much of the budget devoted to paying for the services of a designer of instructional materials. The section's support provided a foundation for the group to develop a successful application for NIH/NHLBI funding to broaden dissemination of such materials. Section members expressed their appreciation for the effort. Bonnie LaFleur noted that recipients of a Strategic Initiative award from the Section could also apply for and receive support for related efforts through the broader ASA strategic initiative program. Jeremy Taylor paid tribute to the leadership of previous Section Chair Dennis Dixon, who initiated the Section's Strategic Initiative program. Section members conveyed their appreciation to Dennis as well.
Treasurer Tom Belin reported that the section started calendar year 2008 with a balance of $35,585.54 and ended 2008 with a balance of $26,081.67. It was noted that while the drawdown was intentional as part of the effort to maintain Section funds at reasonable levels (approximately twice annual expenses), such an imbalance could not continue indefinitely. It was announced that the Executive Committee had voted to raise Section dues from $3 to $5, that $4,500 would be budgeted for student awards, with the Byar Award winner to receive $1,500 and the remainder for travel awards, and that an initiative to provide refreshments such as muffins between the morning sessions at JSM was being explored. Feedback on the refreshment initiative was positive but included a suggestion that even providing just coffee would be welcome.
Section Chair Dan Heitjan thanked Section members for their involvement and attendance at the Business Meeting, which was adjourned at 7:00pm.
Tom Belin
Secretary/Treasurer
Biometrics Section