Peter McCullagh facts for kids

Peter McCullagh (born on January 8, 1952) is a famous expert in statistics. He was born in Northern Ireland and later became an American citizen. He is a special professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Statistics.

Early Life and Education

Peter McCullagh grew up in a place called Plumbridge, Northern Ireland. He went to the University of Birmingham for his first degree. Later, he earned his PhD, which is a very high university degree, from Imperial College London. His main teachers for his PhD were David Cox and Anthony Atkinson.

Important Work in Statistics

Peter McCullagh is well-known for his work in statistics, which is the science of collecting and analyzing numbers. He wrote a very important book called Generalized Linear Models with another expert named John Nelder. This book, first published in 1983, taught many people about a special way to understand data called generalized linear models (GLMs). It has been used and referenced by other scientists over 23,000 times!

He also wrote another book in 1987 called "Tensor Methods in Statistics." These books helped many students and researchers learn more about statistics.

Awards and Recognitions

Peter McCullagh has received many important awards for his work. He is a member of the Royal Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. These are groups that recognize top scientists.

In 1990, he won the COPSS Presidents' Award, which is a big honor in the field of statistics. The Royal Statistical Society gave him the Guy Medal twice: a bronze one in 1983 and a silver one in 2005.

He also won the very first Karl Pearson Prize from the International Statistical Institute along with John Nelder. They received this award for their famous book, Generalized Linear Models. In 2007, his old high school, St Columb's College, gave him a Notable Alumni Award.