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David L. Banks

Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science
Statistical Science
Box 90251, Dept. of Stat. Sci., Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0251
210A Old Chemistry Building, Duke University, Durham, NC

Overview


David Banks obtained an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Virginia Tech in 1982, followed by a Ph.D. in Statistics in 1984. He won an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Mathematical Sciences, which he took at Berkeley. In 1986 he was a visiting assistant lecturer at the University of Cambridge, and then joined the Department of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon in 1987. In 1997 he went to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, then served as chief statistician of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and finally joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002. In 2003, he returned to academics at Duke University.

David Banks was the coordinating editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association. He co-founded the journal Statistics and Public Policy and served as its editor. He co-founded the American Statistical Association's Section on National Defense and Homeland Security, and has chaired that section, as well as the sections on Risk Analysis and on Statistical Learning and Data Mining. In 2003 he led a research program on Data Mining at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute; in 2008, he led a research program at the Isaac Newton Institute on Theory and Methods for Complex, High-Dimensional Data; in 2012, he led another SAMSI research program, on Computational Advertising. He has published 74 refereed articles, edited eight books, and written four monographs.

David Banks is past-president of the Classification Society, and has twice served on the Board of Directors of the American Statistical Association. He is currently the president of the International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He recently won the American Statistical Association's Founders Award.

His research areas include models for dynamic networks, dynamic text networks, adversarial risk analysis (i.e., Bayesian behavioral game theory), human rights statistics, agent-based models, forensics, and certain topics in high-dimensional data analysis.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science · 2008 - Present Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published October 1, 2024
Judith Deckers Prize Finalists Announced
Published November 24, 2020
Six From Duke Elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

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Recent Publications


Foreword to the Special Issue on Data Science in Business and Industry

Journal Article Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry · May 1, 2025 Full text Cite

Industrial Statistics in the Knowledge Economy

Journal Article Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry · May 1, 2025 Industrial statistics grew up in an era when manufacturing was the primary engine of commerce. Today, the driver is information technology. This paper discusses how statisticians need to adapt to contribute to this new business model, with particular empha ... Full text Cite

Is There a Future for Stochastic Modeling in Business and Industry in the Era of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence?

Journal Article Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry · March 1, 2025 The paper arises from the experience of Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry which has seen, over the years, more and more contributions related to Machine Learning rather than to what was intended as a stochastic model. The very notion of a ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


NRT-HDR: Harnessing AI for Autonomous Material Design

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2020 - 2026

Adversarial Risk Analysis for Optimal Obstacle Evasion

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Auburn University · 2022 - 2025

HDR TRIPODS: Innovations in Data Science: Integrating Stochastic Modeling, Data Representation, and Algorithms

ResearchSenior Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2019 - 2023

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Education, Training & Certifications


Virginia Polytech Institute and State University · 1984 Ph.D.
Virginia Polytech Institute and State University · 1980 M.S.
University of Virginia · 1977 B.A.

External Links


Personal site