EMIS 3340/STAT 4340/CSE 4340:
Statistical Methods for Engineers and Applied Scientists

Course Description

Whether you are a major league baseball team trying to identify the next Bryce Harper (see Moneyball as an example of this kind of sports analytics), a defense contractor running simulations to understand the reliability of a key engine component, or a law enforcement agency trying to predict the next crime, knowledge of basic probability concepts and statistical techniques is fundamental.  This course will involve a blend of watching online pre-recorded lectures, collaborative in-class group problem solving, guest speakers from area engineering companies who work on statistical or analytics challenges and a short project in data analytics using data from a local company or organization and statistical software. It will be an intense but richly valuable learning experience that will not only give you resume enhancing skills but develop your critical thinking to understand, analyze and address common statistical problems that arise in engineering and business.

Instructor Biography

Leslie-Ann Asmus teaches Engineering Leadership, Operations Research and Probability and Statistics courses in the EMIS department of the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering. She earned a M.S. and Ph.D. in Operations Research from New York University and George Mason University, respectively. After teaching in the Mathematics Department of Brunel University in London, she returned to the States and began a career working as a consultant on projects ranging from financial bond portfolio planning, strategic planning associated with corporate mergers, supply chain capacity planning, factory planning and scheduling, and demand planning. Her clients span a wide array of industries and include BASF, Weyerhaeuser, Repsol, Seiko-Epson, Frito-Lay, Samsung as well as at least half a dozen semiconductor companies in the US and Asia.  She joined the EMIS faculty on a part-time basis in 2002 and switched to be a full time member upon her return from living in Shanghai in 2009.

Learning Outcomes and Benefits

• Understand basic concepts of probability and statistics
• Appreciate where and how probability and statistics are used in large enterprises
• Work with real-world data to perform a client needed statistical analysis
• Get hands on experience with statistical software

It is one thing to learn about mathematical concepts and practice textbook exercises, and quite another to put it to work in a corporate or large organization environment. The intent of this course is that you’ll leave with a grasp of and experience with both.