Since the day he arrived at U of T to forge a career in statistical sciences, things have been adding up perfectly for new Faculty of Arts & Science grad Alexander Stringer.
Stringer graduated with a master of science in statistics in June 2015 and a PhD in statistical sciences this November.
Along the way, he worked with faculty members to contribute to the Million Death Study — one of the largest studies of premature mortality in the world — by creating a new statistical method to help assess some of the data.
He also earned an A&S Doctoral Excellence Scholarship, a Superior Teaching Award and served as president of the Statistical Sciences Graduate Student Association.
Stringer joined the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo in July as an assistant professor and will begin teaching courses in 2022.
We spoke to him recently about his journey so far and his future plans.
What interests you most about statistics? Why choose U of T?
I started my undergraduate studies majoring in food science at the University of Guelph. But then I took my first statistics class, and something just clicked. I thought it was so interesting we had all this scientific and mathematical, computational machinery with which to assess uncertainty in decisions that are based on data, and that core concept really stuck with me. U of T has a very strong, high-quality graduate program. And I grew up in Toronto, and I wanted to move back, so that helped with my decision as well.
What are your main areas of interest as a researcher? As a teacher?
My research is in computational statistics. Figuring out how to compute things quicker and bigger, and what are the theoretical properties of the things we end up computing, interests me greatly.
I like teaching because it keeps me grounded in my computational and applied research. When you teach something, you have to really understand it deeply. A deep understanding of the basics helps keep me pointed in the right direction.
What were some of your highlights at U of T and proudest accomplishments?
Being involved with the executive committee of the Statistical Sciences Graduate Student Association was really fulfilling, and we put together good programs for the whole student body. And I had fun developing a new course with Professor Alison Gibbs on stat theory, using mathematics and computation as the driving engines behind the material. We taught it together for the first time in winter 2020. It's on the calendar now and I'm really proud of that.
How has your time at U of T influenced your path forward?
I met PhD student colleagues I hope will be lifetime collaborators and forged really good connections with my professors, and all of that helped me get a really good faculty position at the University of Waterloo. I’m very happy about where I landed and I just want to say thank you to the whole department, colleagues, staff and faculty members; they were all fantastic. You don't do anything in isolation and I was supported really well.
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