Alan Karr named director of Center of Excellence for Complex Data Analysis at RTI International

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International has selected Alan Karr, Ph.D., as director of the Center of Excellence for Complex Data Analysis. 

In this position, Karr will be responsible for a number of activities related to complex data analysis across RTI including: statistical training, the Center's visiting scholar program and the Triangle Census Research Data Center. He will promote staff professional development, publication, research funding and other scientific stature activities. Karr also intends to initiate a postdoctoral program in complex data analysis. 

"As one of the world's leading statistical organizations, we are very pleased to have Alan join our team at RTI," said Craig Hill, Ph.D., unit vice president for Survey, Computing, and Statistical Sciences at RTI. "He will be instrumental in helping shape the future of statistics and furthering the RTI's expertise in statistical science and complex data analysis." 

The Center of Excellence for Complex Data is designed to help government agencies, private businesses and other organizations make informed policy and program decisions based on analyses of complex data. 

Prior to joining RTI, Karr served as the director of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences for 14 years. He was also the assistant director of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences from 1992 to 2000. Karr previously spent roughly 20 years at Johns Hopkins University in the Mathematical Sciences Department. 

He also serves as a professor in Statistics and Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Karr has published more than 130 scientific papers and written two books. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. 

He holds a doctorate degree in applied mathematics and both a master's and bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University.