Participant Testimonials

Aug 22 - Aug 27, 2010

Attending the workshop on extremes in climate and weather was important for me and my Ph.D. student for many reasons. We met people that are leaders in the field of extremes in climate and weather, got a good overview of the current status of the field and great ideas to work with. My Ph.D. student is now more motivated to work on his thesis and it is not like he wasn‘t motivated before. The Banff Centre campus creates a great atmosphere for ideas and exchanging ideas. The nearby area allows one to experience nature at it‘s very best. We had a great time at BIRS and in Banff both in terms of scientific work and in terms of enjoying ourself as individuals. Thanks to the staff at BIRS and the Banff Centre.

Birgir Hrafnkelsson University of Iceland

This was a great workshop where the format was excellently chosen. Not the traditional meeting where you only go to listen to conference talks and then talk to people afterwards. Peter Guttorp made us be highly involved and active in group or on one-to-one discussions. The workshop provide to me many 'fresh insights' on my current work in the area and lots of feedback. It was really interesting to have statisticians and climate experts involved in this workshop and bringing their perspectives together. It was also great to hear about the state of the art in 'climate modeling' and 'extremes' I learn a lot from it and I frankly believe this was one of the most productive meetings I ever attended!

Gabriel Huerta University of New Mexico

The BIRS workshop was absolutely invaluable for my research. Just to have a chance to converse with so many distinguished statisticians was a one-in-a-lifetime event. I obtained new insights, found out things that I was doing incorrectly (and correctly) and I am certain that I will be using what I have learned in my next papers. Thanks very much for inviting me.

Kevin Shook Research Scientist
University of Saskatchewan, Centre for Hydrology

Indeed my BIRS visit did help. Two ways: 1) Interaction with other investigators gave me a much clearer view of where I'd like to take my own research agenda in this area; 2) I began two new collaborations with other workshop participants. SO, the workshop was great for me scientifically, as well as a delightful experience all around. My thanks to the BIRS and Banff Center staff and leadership.

Robert Wolpert Dept of Statistical Science, Duke University