Participant Testimonials

Apr 22 - Apr 27, 2012

The workshop definitely had a positive impact on my future research activities. I already have 3 PhD students taking up different aspects of research problems that are a direct result of my participation at this meeting.

Richard Davis Howard Levene Professor of Statistics
Statistics, Columbia University

The topic touches on fundamentals...how to deal with data that are incomplete or partially inaccessible...a challenging question. The opening sessions gave a very clear over view of the topic and indicated the challenges. The venue and the organization and the associations provided the essentials. There seems now from the workshop to be an essential resolution which was sketched in the final summary session, central to this is the BIRS workshop style and the BIRS organization.

Don Fraser Statistics, University of Toronto

It was great to meet so many people working in the relatively small field of composite likelihood methods. I think that the workshop was very successful in clarifying the progress that has been made in this subject over the past few years, and highlighting the large number of open questions that remain. I have written down pages and pages of new problems to think about, many of which hadn't occurred to me at all before I attended this workshop. As a PhD student I felt that I was treated no differently to the most well known and respected professors - everyone seemed to be judged not on who they were, but on what they had to say. With the reasonably small numbers, I think I got to talk to just about all of the other participants, many of whom had very interesting suggestions for new ways to tackle to problems I discussed in my talk. Thank you BIRS!

Helen Jordan Statistics, University of Warwick

The workshop was excellent in the sense that I met very interesting and influential people in my discipline but also got informed for ongoing research on the field. It also boosted new collaborations which I find very promising for the future!

Dimitris Karlis Associ. Professor
Dept of Statistics, Athens University of Economics and Business

This was my first scientific visit to BIRS and I thoroughly hope it will not be my last. I have nothing but admiration and the highest esteem for the organization, the concept, and the way everything is so efficiently run. Friendly staff, a stimulating natural and built environment do everything to inspire creativity, to use a tag line of the Banff Centre. The research interactions, formal and informal, will have a lasting impact on many people's scientific research, including mine. The Banff Centre, and BIRS as part of it, is the modern-day version of the most splendid concept of "desert" that scholars and monks alike sought in medieval times, and that can also be found in some traditional universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge. It reminded me of the "Chartreuse" in France, where the monks retreated in a superb natural environment to devote themselves to their most beloved activities. The Banff Centre has the additional advantage that the seclusion is wonderfully married with the proximity of downtown Banff. I am ever so grateful for a wonderful experience.

Geert Molenberghs Professor
I-BioStat, Hasselt University & Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Our workshop was outstanding, and I started at least one new project, and continued on two others. The talks were very good, there was lots of time for discussion, and we all felt we were making real contributions to an important area of research. My graduating PhD student got great exposure to the leaders in his area, which he found inspiring. Even better, he got some leads on postdoc opportunities that he would not have had. I met several old friends and made some new ones, and came home feeling intellectually enriched.

Nancy Reid Department of Statistics, University of Toronto

The workshop is very valuable to my current research. A nice collection of talks has updated me significantly the current status of the research progress on composite likelihood methods. With no doubts these heard new ideas, new methods, and new results will impact my pursuit in future research of composite likelihood methods. I am once again convinced that composite likelihood methods will continue to attract a good deal of attention in statistics and have profound impact in theory, methods and applications.

Peter Song Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan

I think this workshop could likely have a substantial impact on the diffusion of composite likelihood methods in statistics and related disciplines. I enjoy the talks and learn much about a diversity of applications of composite likelihood methods. Furthermore, the workshop gave me the opportunity to meet coauthors and discuss about ongoing and new projects.

Cristiano Varin Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University