Welcome to the Department of Statistics at Colorado State University. Statistics is the science of inferring knowledge from data and describing uncertainty in those inferences. It plays a central role in scientific research, social policy, and governance. The Department of Statistics has a world-class record of success in education, research and service and has an out-sized impact on campus because of its engagement in educating students in all disciplines and interdisciplinary research.
Department Highlights
Statistics Graduate Student Wins Award at 10th Annual GradShow
Congratulations to Adam Simpson for receiving an Honorable Mention in the Great Minds in Research: Presented by the Graduate School and OVPR category at the 10th Annual GradShow. Adam presented a poster titled ““Fast Computation for Bayesian Spatio-Temporal Factor Analysis.” Well done Adam!
More information can be found here.
Statistics Graduate Students Present at the Graduate Student Showcase
Graduate students Tristan Contant, Brody Erlandson, Amartya Maulik, Adam Simpson, and Yao Zheng proudly represented the Statistics Department at the Graduate Student Showcase. All five students showcased their research through a poster and a 3-minute presentation.
CSU Seeks Chair for the Department of Statistics
Colorado State University seeks a Chair for the Department of Statistics to provide visionary leadership for statistics and data science at a modern land-grant university. We are seeking applicants with outstanding interpersonal communication and organizational skills who are excited about joining an already strong department. Please consider applying here.
Aaron Nielsen Wins Teaching and Mentoring Award
Congratulations to Dr. Aaron Nielsen on winning the CNS Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. This award offers public recognition to superior teachers and mentors in the College of Natural Science and brings attention to CSU’s commitment to excellence in education. Dr. Aaron Nielsen has demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring through innovative curriculum, inclusive pedagogy, and deep investment in student success. In 2025, outside of teaching more than 550 students in STAT 201 and STAT 204, he is also leading a voluntary independent study in Sports Statistics. He has redesigned multiple courses for the Statistics major as well as created the Sports Statistics and Analytics undergraduate certificate, which has landed students jobs with sports teams such as the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Dynamo, and the University of Nebraska Football program. In addition, he has supervised Honors theses and summer research projects leading to CURC presentations and direct career placements. Congrats again!
Welcome to the '25-'26 Academic Year!
The Statistics Department is excited about the start of the ’25-’26 academic year. The Department welcomed 6 new students into its MS/PhD program and met our new Statistics Undergraduates at Ram Welcome. The department would also like to welcome its new interim chair, Darrell Whitley. Welcome to all the new Rams!
College of Natural Sciences students, staff, and faculty welcome the incoming class of 2029 to Colorado State University, August 22, 2025.
Undergraduate Summer Research
This summer 12 Statistics and Data Science undergraduates gained valuable experience by participating in research projects. These paid positions are sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences, the Statistics department and the Data Science program. Students were supervised by faculty members Yunpeng Zhao, Tianying Wang, Ben Shaby, Ben Prytherch and Ann Hess. Application areas included quantum computing, motor symptom progression in Parkinson’s disease, extreme precipitation risk, CO standardized testing (CMAS) and mental health after traumatic brain injury. Students presented their work to the department on June 27. This is the fourth year the department has offered this popular program.
Statistics and Data Science Students Take Part in CURC Showcase
Upcoming Department Seminars,
Preliminary Exams,
& Ph.D. Defenses
Department Video Archive
Student Organized Activities and Research Seminars (SOARS)
SOARS
Student Organized Activities and Research Seminars (SOARS) exists to encourage community and scholarship among graduate students in the statistics department and more broadly at Colorado State University.
The Data Science and Statistical Learning Journal Club
The Data Science and Statistical Learning Journal Club
The Data Science and Statistical Learning Journal Club meets weekly to discuss papers and current work on topics relevant to data science and statistical learning. At the beginning of each semester, we will select a few interesting and latest manuscripts to study.
See the Data Science and Statistical Learning Journal Club website here.
Stat Alliance
CSU Stat Alliance
Stat Alliance is a student-led club welcome to all students with any level of interest or skill in statistics. Our meetings include hearing from guest speakers in the field of statistics, making connections, social activities and much more!
See the Stat Alliance website and full calendar of upcoming events here.
Environmental Biostatistics Working Group
Statistics Communication Group
Statistics Communication Group
The Statistics Communication Group is a student-led platform for communicating statistics research to the public. Graduate and undergraduate students conducting statistics research can submit a short explanation of their research for publication on the writing group’s blog.
See the blog page here for more details.
Department News
The Tomoa Skip: CSU researchers analyze the new move that revolutionized speed climbing
CSU undergraduate computer science student Caleb Chou and Department of Statistics Assistant Professor Andee Kaplan recently published a paper in CHANCE exploring the efficiency of the Tomoa Skip, a controversial rock climbing shortcut.
Q&A with data science alum Austin Lackey
CNS Source sat down with Austin Lackey, a CSU alum (’24), to learn more about the CSU Data Science program.
$2.5M NIH grant will develop statistical tools for precision environmental health research
Researchers in the Department of Statistics at Colorado State University have been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop computational tools for use in the field of precision environmental health.
Andee Kaplan Receives NSF CAREER Award
Andee Kaplan, Statistics Assistant Professor, receives National Science Foundation CAREER Award for flexible Bayesian Record Linkage Research.
