Robert Easterling, Ph.D.

2016 Distinguished Alumni

Ph.D. Statistics, '67

Rob Easterling graduated from OSU with a Ph.D. in statistics in 1967 and joined the statistical group at Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque, N.M. He was at Sandia from 1967 until 2001 except for one semester as Visiting Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin (1974), a two-year assignment as Statistical Advisor with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1975-77), and a Research Fellowship with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1994). At Sandia he managed the Statistics and Human Factors department and the Systems Modeling and Analysis department and became a Senior Scientist in 1998.

 

After his retirement from Sandia in 2001, he taught introductory statistics courses at the University of Michigan, the University of Auckland, McMurry University, and the Naval Postgraduate School. This experience led to two articles: Teaching Experimental Design (2004) and Passion-Driven Statistics (2010). He also authored a book, Fundamentals of Statistical Experimental Design and Analysis, published in 2015, dedicated to two OSU professors, Bob Morrison and Dave Weeks.

 

Professionally, he was Editor of the journal, Technometrics, was elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, served on various society and conference committees, and was a member of two National Research Council panels on the topics of: Reliability Growth in military systems, and Test Protocols for Combat Helmets, both 2014.