UC Berkeley Department of Statistics

Big Give 2026 is live! Today, your enthusiasm for UC Berkeley Statistics shines even brighter than usual. We invite you to give to Statistics to help support graduate students, fund faculty, and more.

Members of the Berkeley Statistics Alumni Advisory Board will match, dollar for dollar, every gift made to the Department of Statistics up to $20,000.

Big Give 2026 March 12

Associate Professor Fernando Pérez recently participated in a Cal Alumni Association panel titled “Democratizing AI Through Platforms,” with fellow Berkeley Professor and Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica, AI Squared CEO Darren Kimura, and moderated by AI Squared Chief Innovation Officer and Berkeley lecturer Napoleon Paxton.

Pérez is the co-founder of Project Jupyter, a non-profit, open-source project that evolved from the IPython Project in 2014 to support interactive data science and scientific computing across all programming languages. Pérez's research focuses on creating tools for modern computational research and data science across domain disciplines, emphasizing high-level languages, interactive and literate computing, and reproducible research. Pérez also serves as Faculty Director for the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS).

Berkeley Forward Recap: Democratizing AI Through Platforms - Cal Alumni Association A look inside Berkeley Forward brings together Ion Stoica, Fernando Pérez, Darren Kimura, and Napoleon Paxton to discuss artificial intelligence, open platforms, and community driven innovation.

Last month, Assistant Professor Amanda Coston was awarded a significant research grant by the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications. The award ceremony took place at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

Photos via the Okawa Foundation.

In September 2025, at the Berkeley Statistics Annual Research Symposium, legendary Professor Peter Bickel spoke about the department's history as it celebrated its 70th anniversary. Bickel goes from Statistics' founder Jerzy Neyman all the way to the present day, all while contextualizing the Department's wider role in the study of statistics. Bickel also shares his views of the future of data science and its part in society.

Peter Bickel’s Historical Overview of the UC Berkeley Department of Statistics In September 2025, at the Berkeley Statistics Annual Research Symposium, legendary Professor Peter Bickel spoke about the department's history as it celebrat...

Assistant Professor Amanda Coston has been awarded a significant research grant by the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications.

“I am very grateful to the Okawa Foundation for their support of my research,” said Coston. “This generous research grant will support my group's work to advance trustworthy AI by developing rigorous methods for evaluating machine learning in high-stakes domains.”

Coston’s research focuses on real-world data challenges that affect the validity, reliability, and fairness of algorithmic decision-support systems and data-driven policy making. Her work integrates methods from causal inference, machine learning, and nonparametric statistics. She earned her Ph.D. in Machine Learning and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and later completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Machine Learning and Statistics team at Microsoft Research. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a focus on Computer Science from Princeton University, along with a certificate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

“Congratulations to Amanda on this notable honor,” said Chair Ryan Tibshirani. “Only seven such grants were awarded in the U.S. annually, and Amanda has distinguished herself as a leading scholar on AI and its applications.

The Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications is a public interest corporation founded mainly by the late Isao Okawa, one of the pioneers of the IT industry in Japan, who established CSK Corporation. The Foundation's mission is to promote and develop ICT through awards, research grants, and efforts to nurture researchers, engineers, and providers. It also seeks to promote diversity and the ubiquity of human communication, thereby contributing to the peace and prosperity of humankind. The Foundation was established in 1986.

Distinguished Professor and election integrity expert Philip Stark was recently quoted in

One Republican Now Controls a Huge Chunk of US Election Infrastructure Former GOP operative Scott Leiendecker just bought Dominion Voting Systems, giving him ownership of voting systems used in 27 states. Election experts don't know what to think.

We recently hosted our good friends from Genentech for an all-day workshop full of talks, poster sessions, and conversations. Genentech is a Silver-level Industry Alliance Partner.

Statistics Ph.D. student Ruiqi Zhang has been awarded a fellowship for the 2025-26 academic year from Citadel Securities. A gold-level partner with Berkeley Statistics' Industry Alliance Program, Citadel is one of the world's leading securities firms. Citadel's CEO is Peng Zhao, a 2006 graduate of Berkeley Statistics, advised by Distinguished Professor Bin Yu.

Zhang's research primarily focuses on the theory and applications of modern Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and large language models. Peter L. Bartlett and Song Mei advise Zhang.

Send a message to learn more

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the UC Berkeley Department of Statistics, formally established in 1955.

“Over the last seven decades, this department has shaped the way we study statistics, and I have every reason to believe we will remain thought leaders in the 21st century,” said Ryan Tibshirani, professor and chair of the department.

To celebrate this milestone, faculty, students, alumni and researchers came together to honor the past and explore the future at the Berkeley Statistics Annual Research Symposium (BSTARS) 2025. The day featured a historical overview from Professor Emeritus Peter Bickel on the department’s beginnings, talks by faculty and industry guests, an alumni panel and a reception with a poster session.

🔗 Learn about the department’s history and groundbreaking contributions: https://bit.ly/4gRu5xS

UC Berkeley Department of Statistics

Thanks to all who joined us for BSTARS 2025 and our 70th Anniversary celebration! The day featured a keynote from Distinguished Professor Philip Stark, a special 70th anniversary historical overview of the department from Professor Emeritus Peter Bickel, and a panel discussion featuring some of our distinguished alums.

September 17, 2025 - Memorial Stadium - Berkeley, CA

Join us for BSTARS 2025, a gathering for the Berkeley Statistics department and its friends, featuring a keynote speech by Distinguished Professor Philip B. Stark, a special 70th anniversary Q&A with Professor Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate School Peter Bickel, alum panel, and reception.

https://statistics.berkeley.edu/research/industry/berkeley-statistics-annual-research-symposium-bstars