Statistics Awards Recipients Fall 2026

Congratulations to the Statistics graduate students and Statistical Applications and Innovations Group collaborators honored at the Department of Statistics’ 2026 awards ceremony on Sept. 4!

 

Leading the way, Colby Stakun-Pickering received the 2026-2027 Daniel M. Wardrop Ph.D. ’85 and Barbara J. Wardrop Graduate Fellowship, SAIG’s most prestigious award. Daniel Wardrop, who holds a doctorate in statistics from Virginia Tech, and his wife, Barbara, fund the fellowship annually to celebrate the teaching, consulting, service and leadership skills SAIG works to build in every student collaborator.

 

Stakun-Pickering also received the 2025-2026 SAIG Collaborator of the Year Award alongside recent Ph.D. graduate Mingang Kim, and both were celebrated for their excellent statistical consulting, communication and teamwork.

 

Jared Clark, Stakun-Pickering and Amy Vennos each received the 2026 John Bartko Ph.D. ’62 Award, which recognizes graduate students who excel in statistical collaboration, communication and consulting. The three used the award funding to attend the Fall Technical Conference from Oct. 6-8, where they presented research with statistical experts from across companies and industries.

 

The Department of Statistics also recognized SAIG collaborators and graduate students department-wide:

●     Jared Clark — Klaus Hinkelmann Award for Outstanding Departmental Service

●     Miranda Bihler, Jared Clark, Jacob Gareis, Leah Jones, Colby Stakun-Pickering, Dylan Steberg and Amy Vennos — Gibbons STARS

 

Congratulations again to this year’s honorees! To learn how SAIG can support your statistical research, visit saig.stat.vt.edu.