Statistician Stelios Georgiou, RMIT University spoke to us about his research and parts with advice for students who are thinking of pursuing a career in Mathematics. He will be lecturing at Summer School 2016 on Design and Analysis of Experiments.
What are the most interesting “big questions” in your field?
In design of experiments the big question is to find the optimal design matrix that will minimize the cost and will lead to easy experimentation and good data collection.
What kind of problems are you interested in broadly in the field? (maths as a whole)
Solving discrete optimization problems for matrices (design matrices), Statistical analysis of different experiments and implementations
What are your favourite applications of your work?
My favourite application of my work is when people are taking the theoretical optimal designs and apply them in real situations to make their experiments and get their data.
What are some other areas of maths that are particularly interesting to you?
I am also particularly interested in combinatorics and discrete mathematics which have a tight connection to statistical experimental designs.
Why did you become a mathematician?
I become a Mathematician (statistician) because I believe that behind all sciences are some mathematics and statistics is hidden there. In more areas of research, statistics is widely used to justify, explain or argue on particular points.
Do you have any advice for future mathematicians?
Mathematics and Statistics build on previous knowledge. So, try to clear everything before taking the next step in mathematics.
