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Book in Honor of the Late Stephen E. Fienberg

The internationally acclaimed statistician, Stephen E. Fienberg, University Professor of Statistics and Social Science Emeritus, was best known for developing and using statistical applications to influence science and public policy in many areas, including aspects of human rights, privacy and confidentiality, forensics, survey and census taking. 

The former Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science, Department of Statistics & Data Science head, and College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) dean made significant contributions in algebraic and multivariate statistics, computing, machine learning, the law, Bayesian theory and methods, mixed membership models, and much more.

He was an elected member and lifetime National Associate of the National Academies (National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council), and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Political and Social Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.

The author or editor of over 20 books and 500 papers and related publications, his co-authored 1975 book, Discrete Multivariate Analysis: Theory and Practice, and his 1980 book, The Analysis of Cross-Classified Categorical Data, are classics in the field.

To those who knew him best, he was as multi-faceted as the issues he tackled.

Steve played ice hockey into his 70s; assumed the nom de plume of the mysterious dining critic, “Belizaire,” in Chance magazine which he co-founded; and edited students’ papers under dimmed audience lighting during Pittsburgh Symphony performances.

“Steve had a marshmallow core even though on occasion he could unsheathe the fangs,” writes co-editor Alicia L. Carriquiry, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University, in the new Statistics in the Public Interest, In Memory of Stephen E. Fienberg, in the Springer Series in the Data Sciences.

It is from the obituary she wrote for the ISBA Bulletin upon Steve’s death on Dec. 14, 2016, at age 74, and which is reprinted in the 573-page volume.

“He was immensely patient with young faculty and students and with anyone who was really trying, but he did not suffer fools gladly. He loved a good competition but did his best to have the last word. He could be demanding, but he gave of himself generously and never ever expected anything in return. He was well respected by some, idolized by others, and ignored by no one, and sometimes he seemed invincible. His many friends will miss him dearly, for perhaps ever.”

While the book is dedicated to the memory of Steve, his wife of over 50 years, Joyce Libman Fienberg, is also remembered with tributes and reminiscences as her kindnesses to Steve’s students and colleagues, particularly from distant lands, are legendary.

Nearly two years after Steve’s death, Joyce was murdered in the worst anti-Semitic attack in the U.S. when a gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018.

Statistics in the Public Interest is also co-edited by Judith M. Tanur, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita, Stony Brook University, and William F. Eddy, retired former John C. Warner Professor of Statistics Emeritus in the Dept of Statistics & Data Science.

Along with the co-editors, official credit for the volume includes: “With Margaret L. Smykla,” a long-time staff member in the Dept. of Statistics & Data Science.

The book features 28 invited papers from a wide range of authors organized into six sections reflecting the breadth of Steve’s interests:  Theory and Methods for Categorical Data; Bayesian Theory and Applications; Statistics and the Law; Causal Analyses; Surveys and Censuses; and Official Statistics.

A seventh section, “Steve and Joyce As We Knew Them,” includes short contributions by some of the couple’s closest friends, reflections from former students and colleagues, and a collection of photographs.

Among the authors whose works add to the eclectic mix are Deptartment of Statistics & Data Science’s Larry Wasserman, UPMC Professor of Statistics & Data Science, and Jay Kadane, Leonard J. Savage University Professor of Statistics, Emeritus.

There are also papers by Steve’s former Ph.D. students Maria Cuellar, Aleksandra Slavkovic, Daniel Manrique-Vallier, Mauricio Sadinle, and Jan van den Brakel.

They and many others contributed reminiscences of Steve, reprinted here, on the occasion of his 65^th birthday and Emeritus celebrations. 

As friend and colleague Steve Stigler, who writes extensively on the history of statistics, states in the book: 

“[Steve] left an indelible imprint on the literature of statistics, on statistical practice in many fields, and on countless colleagues and students.”