Fall 2026 Seminar Series
Department of Statistics and Data Science 2026-2027 Seminar Series - Fall 2026
The 2026-2027 Seminar Series will primarily be in person, but some talks will be offered virtually using Zoom. Talks that are virtual will be clearly designated and registration for the Zoom talks will be required to receive the zoom link for the event. Please email Kisa Kowal at k-kowal@northwestern.edu if you have questions.
Seminar Series talks are free and open to faculty, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students
TBA
Friday, October 23, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. central time
Location: Ruan Conference Room – lower level (Chambers Hall 600 Foster Street)
Speaker: Xiao-Li Meng, Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics, Harvard University
Abstract: TBA
This talk will be given in person on Northwestern's Evanston campus.
Categorical distance correlation: Concepts, properties and applications
Friday, November 6, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. central time
Location: Ruan Conference Room – lower level (Chambers Hall 600 Foster Street)
Speaker: Qingyang Zhang, Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences, University of Arkansas
Abstract: In this talk, I will introduce categorical distance correlation (CDC), a simple yet powerful statistical functional for assessing dependence in categorical data. After highlighting its empirical power advantages over the traditional Chi-squared test, I will present key theoretical properties of CDC. These include its B-robustness for fixed or diverging numbers of categories, its asymptotic distributions under both null and alternative hypotheses, and the sure screening properties of the maximum likelihood and unbiased estimators. I will also demonstrate its practical utility through an application to General Social Survey data. Time permitting, I will discuss two extensions, including CDC under general encodings (such as one-hot encoding for nominal variables and semi-circle encoding for ordinal variables) and a privacy-preserving framework for CDC.
This talk will be given in person on Northwestern's Evanston campus.
planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/647057
TBA
Friday, November 13, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. central time
Location: Ruan Conference Room – lower level (Chambers Hall 600 Foster Street)
Speaker: Randall Balestriero, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Brown University
Abstract: TBA
This talk will be given in person on Northwestern's Evanston campus.