Sir Bernard Walter Silverman, (born 22 February 1952) is a British statistician and former Anglican clergyman. He was

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th ...

, from 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2009. He is a member of the Statistics Department at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, and has also been attached to the

Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics Wellcome () is a supermarket chain owned by British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings via its DFI Retail Group subsidiary. The Wellcome supermarket chain is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Parkn ...

, the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance. He has been a member of the Council of Oxford University and of the Council of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

.Council for 2008/9
of the

He was briefly president of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

in January 2010, a position from which he stood down upon announcement of his appointment as

Chief Scientific Advisor The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Advi ...

to the Home Office. He was awarded a Knighthood in the 2018 New Years Honours List, "For public service and services to Science".

Education

Silverman was educated at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

, an independent day school in Central London, from 1961 to 1969, on a Carpenter Scholarship (similar to today's full bursary), followed by Jesus College at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Career

* 1970–73 Undergraduate, Jesus College, Cambridge. * 1973–74 Graduate Student, Jesus College, Cambridge. * 1974–75 Research Student, Statistical Laboratory, Cambridge. * 1975–77 Research Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. * 1976–77 Calculator Development Manager,

Sinclair Radionics Sinclair Radionics Ltd was a company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England which developed hi-fi products, radios, calculators and scientific instruments. History After raising funds to start the business by writing articles ...

Ltd. * 1977–78 Junior Lecturer in Statistics, Oxford University and Weir Junior Research Fellow of

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. * 1978–80 Lecturer in Statistics,

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. * 1981–84 Reader in Statistics, University of Bath. * 1984 and 1992–93 Head of Statistics Group, University of Bath. * 1984–93 Professor of Statistics, University of Bath. * 1988–91 Head of School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Bath. * 1993–2003 Professor of Statistics,

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

* 1993–97 and 1998–99 Head of Statistics Group, University of Bristol * 1999–2003 Henry Overton Wills Professor of Mathematics, University of Bristol * 2000–03 Provost of the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol * 2003–09 Master of St Peter's College, Oxford * 2010– Senior Research Fellow, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford (part-time) * 2010– Professorial Research Associate,

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford (part-time) * 2010–17 Chief Scientific Advisor, Home Office * 2018–22 Professor of Modern Slavery Statistics, Rights Lab,

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

Degrees and qualifications

* 1973 Bachelor of Arts, Cambridge. ( Wrangler) * 1974 Part III of Mathematical Tripos, Cambridge (with Distinction) * 1977 Doctor of Philosophy, Cambridge * 1989 Doctor of Science, Cambridge * 1993 Chartered Statistician,

* 2000 Bachelor of Theology, Southampton (First Class Honours) through STETS

Awards and honours

* 1970 Gold Medal,

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

* 1974

Mayhew Prize The Mayhew Prize is a prize awarded annually by the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge to the student showing the greatest distinction in applied mathematics, primarily for courses offered by DAMTP, but also for some courses offered b ...

for Mathematical Tripos Part III,

* 1976 Smith's Prize,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

* 1984

Guy Medal The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Silver and Bronze medals are awarded annually. The Gold Medal was awarded every three years between 1987 and 2011, but is awarded biennia ...

in Bronze * 1985 Special Invited Paper,

Institute of Mathematical Statistics The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts o ...

* 1988 Technometrics Special Discussion Paper,

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

* 1991 Presidents' Award of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies * 1993 Fulkerson Lecturer,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

* 1995

Guy Medal in Silver * 1997 Fellow of the

* 1999 Special Invited Paper,

* 1999 Henri Willem Methorst Medal, International Statistical Institute * 2000 Corcoran Lecturer, Oxford University * 2001 Member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

* 2002 Original Member, Highly Cited Researchers database, ISI * 2003 Honorary Fellow,

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

* 2018

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for public service and services to Science.

Ecclesiastical career

Silverman was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1999 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 2000. From 1999 to 2005, he was an honorary

assistant curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of Cotham Parish Church in the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

. Between 2005 and 2009, he held

Permission to Officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows th ...

in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contain ...

. Then, from 2009 to 2015, he was an honorary assistant curate of St Giles' Church and

St Margaret's Church, Oxford St Margaret's Church is a church in North Oxford, England. It is near the northern end of Kingston Road, at the corner of St Margaret's Road. The church was built between 1883 and 1893. The building is Grade II listed. The parish War Memoria ...

. From 2015 to 2022, he held Permission to Officiate in both the Diocese of Oxford and in the Diocese of London. He renounced his orders in 2022.

Books

* * * * *

References

Sources and links

Bernard Silverman's CV

Bernard Silverman home page
*
Prof Bernard Silverman, FRS
at Debrett's ''People of Today'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Bernard 1952 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society 21st-century English Anglican priests English statisticians Fellows of University College, Oxford Academics of the University of Bath Academics of the University of Bristol Masters of St Peter's College, Oxford People educated at the City of London School Presidents of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Members of Academia Europaea Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge International Mathematical Olympiad participants Civil servants in the Home Office Annals of Statistics editors