Howard Rowlee Lecture Series 1999

The third annual Howard Rowlee Lecture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln was given by Professor Bradley Efron on Thursday, March 25, 1999. Professor Efron holds the prestigious Max H. Stein chaired professorship in Statistics at Stanford University. Professor Efron has received numerous honors and awards including a MacArthur prize and membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Professor Efron is well known for his pioneering developments in bootstrap and empirical Bayes methodology.

Shakespeare and the Case of the Suspicious Statisticians

Abstract: On November 15 1985 a Shakespearean scholar discovered a nine stanza poem attributed to Shakespeare in a bound volume that had been lying in Oxford's Bodlian Library since 1755. If authentic it would be the first work of Shakespeare discovered since the 17th century. Did Shakespeare really write the poem? More to the point for this lecture, could statistical analysis of the text shed light on its true authorship? A statistical theory originally developed to estimate missing butterfly species turns out to have something to say about the disputed poem.

Sponsored By: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences—Discrete Experimental Mathematics, and Gallup Research Center

For more information, contact: Jamie Radcliffe

Bradley Efron