Professor Matthew Wand
Winner: Mathematical Sciences, NSW Scientist of the Year Awards 2008

Professor Matthew Wand is Research Professor in Statistics at the University of Wollongong.

Professor Wand is a strong advocate for the use of statistical methodology in science, business and other sectors, and has geared his research toward the continual development of statistical methods in the face of rapid technological change.

Professor Wand is one of the pioneers in the widespread use of smoothing techniques for use in medical and public health research to account for the effects of random variations. A former academic at Harvard University, he has worked closely with public health and medical researchers to develop new methodologies that address their specific questions.

Modern technology is changing at an astonishing rate with vastly increased amounts of numbers now being recorded and stored, with serious implications in the field of statistics.

In biological fields, technology is developing at similarly fast rates.  Biological experiments now involve the recording of millions of numbers, and the internet is making it much easier for international researchers to share these numbers. As a result, the field of statistics is continually being challenged by the growing size and complexity of research problems.

Recently, Professor Wand has focused his applied research efforts on the development of new statistical methods for fast and reliable processing of millions of cellular measurements, with the potential to vastly improve cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In 2007 Professor Wand became a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and in 2008 a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.