Kerrie Mengersen (born 1962) is an Australian

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

. She is a Professor of Statistics at

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

, and 2024 winner of the

Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture The Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture for women in science is a distinguished career award that acknowledges outstanding Australian women researchers in the biological sciences or physical science. It is conferred by the Australian Academy of Sc ...

from the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

Education and career

Mengersen earned BA (Hons I) and PhD degrees in mathematics, majoring in Statistics and Computing, from the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

(Armidale, New South Wales, Australia) in 1985 and 1989, respectively. She is the Director of the Bayesian Research and Applications Group (BRAG). This group is part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) of Big Data, Big Models, New Insights. She has co-authored three books and edited two, and has written 27 book chapters and approximately 250 journal articles. Her research cuts across a broad spectrum of statistical practice. She is primarily known for her work in

Bayesian statistics Bayesian statistics ( or ) is a theory in the field of statistics based on the Bayesian interpretation of probability, where probability expresses a ''degree of belief'' in an event. The degree of belief may be based on prior knowledge about ...

and

meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...

, and has worked in applications of statistics in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and environmental science. In 2016, she was the first woman to be awarded the Statistical Society of Australia's Pitman Medal, which recognises outstanding achievement in the statistics discipline. She talks about new challenges for statisticians in a YouTube video. She has contributed to Australian

biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, plants, animals etc.) intentionally or unintentionally outside their native range or within new environments. In agricult ...

efforts. In October 2015, her research in building virtual

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s was highlighted on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. Mengersen was the National President of the Statistical Society of Australia (SSAI) in 2013, and was the International President of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA) in 2016. As of 2022, she is a member of the Academy Council of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Publications

Honours and awards

* 2014 Elected Fellow of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis * Elected Fellow of the

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 ...

* Elected Fellow of the Society for Modelling and Simulation * 2015 Biennial Medalist of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (MSSANZ) * 2015

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

Laureate Fellowship * 2016 Statistical Society of Australia Pitman Medal * 2018 Elected Fellow of the

(FAA) * 2018 Elected Fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...

(FASSA) * 2024

from the Australian Academy of Science

References

External links

*
Kerrie Mengersen Deputy director Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical FrontiersQUT: Distinguished Professor Kerrie MengersenGoogle Scholar: Kerrie Mengersen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mengersen, Kerrie Australian statisticians Academic staff of Queensland University of Technology Australian women statisticians Fellows of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics Fellows of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis 1962 births University of New England (Australia) alumni Living people Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society Elected Members of the International Statistical Institute Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science 20th-century Australian women scientists 21st-century Australian women scientists Biostatisticians Bayesian statisticians