New Faculty Spotlight: Nicole Lazar
The Department of Statistics in the Eberly College of Science is delighted to welcome Nicole Lazar as professor of statistics beginning in the fall 2020 semester. Professor Lazar is a co-hire of the Huck Institutes for Life Sciences and will collaborate with Penn State scientists on interdisciplinary statistics research in the neurosciences.
After serving as professor and interim department head in the Department of Statistics at the University of Georgia, Lazar has returned to Pennsylvania where she was a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University.
At Penn State, she will investigate two main areas of research: foundational statistical issues, including how statistics affects scientific practice; and the analysis of functional neuroimaging data, which employs brain imaging technologies to measure brain functions.
“All of my research is inspired by a number of factors,” said Lazar. “The challenge of solving a new puzzle; the opportunity to improve the world in some small way; and simple curiosity about what lies around the next corner.”
Lazar said she chose to join Penn State because of the extraordinarily vibrant research and teaching community, especially the collegial atmosphere in the Statistics department. Last but not least, she saw at Penn State the opportunity to forge exciting new collaborations at the forefront of science.
When she’s not doing statistics, Lazar enjoys cooking with and for her family, hiking and other outdoor activities, and musicals such as "My Fair Lady" and "Cabaret".
Join us in wishing Lazar a successful first semester in the Department of Statistics!