Lincoln, Neb. —Bhaskar Bhattacharya, an experienced professor and administrator, has been selected as the next head of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Statistics Department. He will begin in the role on July 1.
Bhattacharya is currently a professor of statistics at Southern Illinois University. He served as the Chair of the Department of Mathematics in the College of Science from 2015 until the department was restructured in 2020. Following the restructuring, he became director of the newly established School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, a position he held until 2021.
As an instructor, Bhattacharya strives to make statistics more approachable. He enjoys learning what graduate students find most interesting about statistics and matching them with opportunities to conduct research or engage in other experiential learning in those areas.
“Statistics is a very vast discipline,” he said. “I want to know what students are interested in and connect them to opportunities to make a contribution.”
UNL, Bhattacharya said, is an ideal setting for that kind of statistics matchmaking. Strong research and extension programs across a wide array of academic disciplines lend themselves to assistance from statisticians with a wide array of interests and expertise.
“What excites me most about UNL is the extremely cooperative structure,” he said.
In addition to his teaching and administration work, Bhattacharya has conducted research focused on methodological statistical inference, receiving funding from the National Science Foundation, among other funding agencies. He has also served as a graduate advisor for 20 students and been a committee member for over 70 dissertations in science and engineering.
“Dr. Bhattacharya is an outstanding and gifted teacher, collaborator and administrator,” said Mike Boehm, NU vice president and vice chancellor for UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “He brings a wealth of experience and passion to this key position, and I’m looking forward to seeing where he and his new colleagues takes this critically important department.”
Bhattacharya earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Indian Statistical Institute. He completed his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa.
At UNL, Bhattacharya will succeed Bertrand Clarke, who will return to the faculty.
For more information on the UNL Statistics Department, visit statistics.unl.edu.