Statistical Foundations Driving 21st Century Innovation

Statistical foundations are without question at the core of modern innovation. In today’s economy, a common phrase is “data is the new gold.” Certainly, we live in an age where data is large, ubiquitous, and comes in many forms. The contributions from the statistical sciences go beyond data. We are emerging from a pandemic where statisticians around the globe saved lives by contributing critical understanding to vaccines, treatments, pandemic policies, and management. The contributions from statistical foundations are universal—from self-driving cars to Mars rovers, to sustainable and improved infrastructure, to clean energy and environmental stewardship, to financial markets and investing, to advances in medicine and medical practices, and toward a better understanding of the communities in which we live, work, learn, and play. This article summarizes my 2022 Presidential speech given at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, DC. I highlight these important contributions and the innovations they made possible and will look to new opportunities on the horizon. Further, I reflect on advances the ASA has taken as an organization in data science and AI, establishing the ASA leadership institute, and third a specific focus on community analytics.