Statistical Practice and Research at NASA
When and Where
Speakers
Description
The discipline of statistics has gained recognition within NASA by spurring innovation and efficiency, and it has demonstrated significant impact and value. In aerospace research and development, it accelerates learning, maximizes knowledge, ensures strategic resource investment, and informs rigorous data-driven decisions. In practice, it requires immersive multidisciplinary collaboration to develop solution strategies that integrate statistical methods with subject- matter expertise to address challenging research objectives. This presentation provides an overview of statistical case studies in aeronautics, space exploration, and atmospheric science, and it highlights statistical research motivated by NASA’s challenging applications.
About Peter A. Parker
Dr. Peter Parker is Team Lead for Advanced Measurement Systems at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. He serves as an Agency-wide statistical expert across NASA’s Aeronautics, Exploration, and Science mission directorates to infuse statistical thinking, engineering, and methods. His expertise is in collaboratively integrating research objectives, measurement sciences, modeling and simulation, and experimental test design to produce actionable knowledge in support of rigorous decision-making in aerospace research and development. After eight years in private industry, Dr. Parker joined NASA Langley Research Center in 1997.
He holds a B.S. in Engineering, a M.S. in Applied Physics and Computer Science, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Statistics from Virginia Tech. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. Parker is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Senior Member of the American Society for Quality and American Statistical Association. Dr. Parker is Editor Emeritus of Quality Engineering, past-Chair of ASQ’s Publication Management Board, and past-Chair of the International Statistical Engineering Association.