2013 Gertrude M. Cox Award Recognizes New Insights in Survey Methodology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – RTI International and the Washington Statistical Society have honored Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D., associate professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, as this year’s recipient of the 2013 Gertrude M. Cox Award for her contributions in the area of survey methodology.

The Cox award was established in 2003 through a joint agreement between the Washington Statistical Society and RTI. It recognizes statisticians in early to mid-career who have made significant breakthroughs in statistical practice. The recipient is chosen by a committee of representatives from RTI and the Washington Statistical Society.

Kreuter will receive the award at the Washington Statistical Society Annual Dinner Meeting on Tuesday, June 25, where she will deliver the keynote address.

Kreuter received her doctorate degree from the University of Konstanz and her bachelor’s and master’s in sociology from the University of Mannheim. Since then, she has made many noteworthy contributions in the area of survey methodology – specifically in survey nonresponse, measurement error and statistical modeling. Kreuter contributed new insights in each of these fields.

Her research focuses on sampling and measurement errors in complex surveys. In her work at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, she maintains strong ties to the Federal Statistical System and has served in advisor roles for the National Center for Educational Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Kreuter’s recent awards include the 2008 Research Award from Nielsen Media Research, 2007 Summer Research Award from the University of Maryland, and 2006-2008 Research Award from Nielsen Media Research.

The Cox award commemorates Gertrude M. Cox (1900-1978), who headed the Department of Experimental Statistics at North Carolina State College in the 1950s. There she played a key role in establishing Mathematical Statistics and Biostatistics departments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the statistical division at the newly founded not-for-profit RTI. She was director of RTI's Statistics Research Division from 1959 to 1964.

Cox was the first woman elected into the International Statistical Institute in 1949. In 1956, she was elected president of the American Statistical Association, and in 1975, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

The Cox award consists of a $1,000 honorarium, travel expenses to attend the Washington Statistical Society dinner and a plaque. RTI fully funds the award. This year’s selection committee consisted of Marcus Berzofsky, Phil Kott and Karol Krotki (co-chair) from RTI and Nancy Bates, Jonaki Bose and Keith Rust (co-chair) from the Washington Statistical Society.

Past recipients include, in chronological order: Sharon Lohr, Alan Zaslavsky, Tom Belin, Vance Berger, Francesca Domenici, Thomas Lumley, Jean Opsomer, Michael Elliott, Nilanjan Chatterjee and Amy Herring.

The Washington Statistical Society serves the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and is the largest, most active chapter of the American Statistical Association.