Nairanjana Dasgupta to lead Department of Mathematics and Statistics

A highly successful researcher with a strong commitment to interdisciplinary outreach, Regents Professor Nairanjana Dasgupta has been named chair for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The department provides more student credit hours of instruction than any other academic unit at WSU, supporting a wide range of degree programs, and its Math Learning Center is vital to student success throughout the system. She succeeds Charles Moore as he retires from more than a decade of leadership and teaching at WSU.

"Math and stats are everywhere and for everyone-and they are the foundation of our modern, digital life. I'm honored to serve as chair for a department that is so deeply connected to both the student experience and research excellence at WSU," said Dasgupta.

Throughout her 28-year tenure at WSU, Dasgupta and her innovative approach to data and its applications have continually raised the visibility and reputation of the department and the University. She has been a co-PI on three NIH grants totaling more than $3.5M addressing 3D-printed bone and dental implants, and contributes her expertise to research projects ranging from statistics to mechanical engineering and food science.

Dasgupta was a leading force in the development of WSU's interdisciplinary data analytics degree, offered through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and available at Pullman, Vancouver, Everett, and Global Campus. As director of the data analytics program-a role she will retain while serving as department chair-she has helped develop real-world opportunities for students, cultivated strong connections with industry leaders across the state, and led efforts to add the degree to the Career Connect Washington networking program.

Recently, Dasgupta has been leading an initiative to improve data literacy among elementary students and their families. Her data 'playshops' bring WSU graduate students to local, underrepresented communities for an evening of learning and discovery.

"Dr. Dasgupta is not only a highly accomplished, internationally respected researcher, she is an outstanding leader and dedicated educator who brings out the best in her colleagues and collaborators, and her students," said Courtney Meehan, College of Arts and Sciences interim dean.

Dasgupta has supervised more than 80 graduate students in math and statistics and served as a committee member for many more in fields spanning marketing, machine learning, anthropology, and economics.

She also founded and served several years as the director of the WSU Center for Interdisciplinary Statistical Education and Research, a service center that helps research faculty and graduate student across the university improve their experimental data and leverage the benefits of statistical methods and analysis.

Her many accolades include election as a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty award, a WSU Women of the Year award, and a Boeing Distinguished professorship. She is a member of the ASA leadership council and the immediate past president of the international Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science.