A Conversation with Samad Hedayat

Abstract

A. Samad Hedayat was born on July 11, 1937, in Jahrom, Iran. He finished his undergraduate education in bioengineering with honors from the University of Tehran in 1962 and came to the U.S. to study statistics at Cornell, completing his Ph.D. in 1969. Just a few years later, in 1974, Samad accepted a full professor position at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle—now called University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)—and was named UIC Distinguished Professor in 2003. He was an early leader in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science and he remains a driving force to this day. Samad has also made substantial contributions in terms of research and service to the field, as evidenced by his numerous honors: he is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, a fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the American Statistical Association and an honorary member of the Iranian Mathematical Society, among others. This conversation, which was conducted in September 2015 and May 2016, touches on Professor Hedayat’s career, and the past, present and future of statistics. In keeping with one of his great passions, it also offers an abundance of advice for students and junior faculty.