Adrian Smith (statistician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Adrian Smith
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| 63rd President of the Royal Society | |
| Assumed office 30 November 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Venki Ramakrishnan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Adrian Frederick Melhuish Smith
9 September 1946 Dawlish, Devon, England |
| Residence | UK |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge University College London |
| Awards | Guy Medal (Bronze, 1977) (Silver, 1993) (Gold, 2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Statistics |
| Institutions | Imperial College London Queen Mary, University of London |
| Thesis | Bayesian inference for the linear model (1972) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dennis Lindley |
| Doctoral students | David Spiegelhalter Chris Holmes |
Sir Adrian Frederick Melhuish Smith, born on September 9, 1946, is a very important British statistician. He is currently the chief executive of the Alan Turing Institute. He also holds the respected position of president of the Royal Society. These are big roles in the world of science and research!
Contents
Early Life and School
Adrian Smith was born in Dawlish, England, on September 9, 1946. He went to college at Selwyn College, Cambridge and University College London. There, he studied with a famous teacher named Dennis Lindley for his PhD.
Adrian Smith's Career
Working at Universities
From 1977 to 1990, Sir Adrian was a professor of statistics. He also led the math department at the University of Nottingham. Later, he moved to Imperial College London, where he also led the math department.
He became a deputy leader, then the main leader (called vice-chancellor), of the University of London. He held this important job until August 2018.
Leading the Alan Turing Institute
After leaving the University of London, Sir Adrian became the director of the Alan Turing Institute. This institute is a national center in the UK for data science and artificial intelligence. It's a very exciting place for new discoveries!
Important Advisory Roles
Sir Adrian has given advice to many important groups. He helped the Office for National Statistics with numbers about the country. He also advised the Ministry of Defence on how to solve problems using math.
Recognized for His Work
Sir Adrian was once the president of the Royal Statistical Society. In 2001, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a huge honor for scientists. They recognized him for his many contributions to a field called Bayesian statistics. This is a way of using math to understand how likely things are to happen.
He also helped translate a very important book about probability into English. He wrote key papers that helped develop new ways to solve complex math problems.
Improving Math Education
Sir Adrian also cares a lot about how math is taught. He led a team that wrote the "Smith Report." This report looked at how secondary school math education could be made better in the United Kingdom.
Working for the Government
In 2008, Sir Adrian took on a role in the government. He became the director general of science and research. This meant he helped guide science and research efforts across the UK.
Awards and Honors
Sir Adrian was made a Knight Bachelor in 2011. This means he can use the title "Sir." He has also received many honorary doctorates from universities around the world. These include Plymouth University, Ohio State University, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Honorary Doctorates
- In 2011, Sir Adrian received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University.
- In 2015, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Ohio State University.
- In 2020, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Honoris Causa from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
- He also has honorary doctorates from City University, University of Loughborough, Queen Mary, and the University of London.
Images for kids
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Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society.
