HYDERABAD: A new breed of statistics-crazy youngsters is set to emerge from universities in the country, said Padma Vibhushan C R Rao during his visit to the city on Friday.
Announcing the launch of the new campus of C R Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science at Gachibowli, Rao said that those who have an aptitude in statistics from a young age should be given an opportunity to do research in the subject.
The institute is expected to come up on a five-acre land on the University of Hyderabad’s (UoH) campus. It is expected to host 30 statisticians and will have around 250 research scholars.
A Guy Medal awardee in statistics, Rao said that the research in this subject was useful for the enrichment of several areas of science, including genome theory, cryptology, cyber crime studies, etc.
“There are several areas where statistics can be applied. It can even be useful for national security and safety. Such practical and high-end applications of statistics should be studied and developed in research institutes,” said the 91-year-old statistician.
“To draw the interest of students, we have started several ventures including Statistics Olympiad for those from Classes VIII to X. Around 30,000 students take the test every year and later get training in the subject,” said Rao.
A museum of statistics to showcase research in the subject will be set up in the country soon.
Addressing the media, Allam Appa Rao, vice-chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Kakinada, said that Rao, who has already been given 32 honorary doctorates from 18 countries, would be given his 33rd honorary doctorate from JNTU-K on February 6. “We consider it an honour to felicitate a Guy Medal winner,” Appa Rao said. C R Rao is the first recipient of Guy Medal from India. In the past 150 years, the medal from Royal Statistical Society has been awarded only to statisticians from US and Europe.
Source : TOI