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Alan E. Gelfand

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Statistical Science
Statistical Science
Box 90251, Durham, NC 27708-0251
223A Old Chem Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Current Appointments & Affiliations


James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Statistical Science · 2018 - Present Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus of Statistical Science · 2018 - Present Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Recent Publications


Joint spatiotemporal modelling of zooplankton and whale abundance in a dynamic marine environment

Journal Article Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C Applied Statistics · January 1, 2026 North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species. Their entire population is estimated to be approximately 372 individuals, and they are subject to major anthropogenic threats. They feed on zooplankton species whose distribution shifts in a dynamic an ... Full text Cite

Spatio-temporal analysis of record-breaking temperature increments across Spain

Journal Article Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment · January 1, 2026 The study of record-breaking values is of significant interest in environmental sciences. Studying records implies analyzing both their occurrence and their magnitude. Further, the study of this phenomenon within a spatio-temporal framework is vital for ev ... Full text Cite

On prior smoothing with discrete spatial data in the context of disease mapping.

Journal Article Statistical methods in medical research · October 2025 Disease mapping attempts to explain observed health event counts across areal units, typically using Markov random field models. These models rely on spatial priors to account for variation in raw relative risk or rate estimates. Spatial priors introduce s ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Process based data fusion for Marine mammal science

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2023 - 2026

Double MOCHA: Phase II Multi-study Ocean acoustic Human effects Analysis

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by University of St. Andrews · 2018 - 2023

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Education, Training & Certifications


Stanford University · 1969 Ph.D.
Stanford University · 1967 M.S.
City College of New York · 1965 B.S.

External Links


Personal site