American Statistical Association New York City Metropolitan Area Chapter New York University Statistics in Society Lecture The Center for the Promotion of Research Involving Innovative Statistical Methodology (PRIISM)

Mark Hansen will be giving a talk that examines the interface between statistics, computing and society. Hansen is perhaps best known locally for his work co-creating a current art installation, "Movable Type" in the New York Times Building here in Manhattan. However, his research reaches far beyond this realm drawing on fields as diverse as information theory, numerical analysis, computer science, and ecology.

For instance, Hansen currently serves as Co-PI for the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing or CENS, an NSF Science and Technology Center (http://research.cens.ucla.edu/) that describes itself as "a major research enterprise focused on developing wireless sensing systems and applying this revolutionary technology to critical scientific and societal pursuits. In the same way that the development of the Internet transformed our ability to communicate, the ever decreasing size and cost of computing components is setting the stage for detection, processing, and communication technology to be embedded throughout the physical world and, thereby, fostering both a deeper understanding of the natural and built environment and, ultimately, enhancing our ability to design and control these complex systems." For an example of how the center's work on "urban sensing" can inform the interaction between society and the environment see http://urban.cens.ucla.edu/.