The College of Sciences has named Subhashis Ghoshal of the Department of Statistics as a Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Statistics. The professorship was made possible by a gift from longtime NC State supporters Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight.
Ghoshal is an accomplished statistician who joined the NC State faculty in 2001. His work focuses on high and infinite dimensional models, Bayesian inference and various applications of nonparametric Bayesian methodologies. He works on data analysis and modeling for biomedical applications.
Ghoshal has been awarded more than $2 million in research grants over the course of his career, including funding from the National Science Foundation, Army Research Office and the National Security Agency. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 scientific publications, worked on the editorial boards of nearly a dozen journals and delivered research presentations all over the world. Under his advisement, 30 students have obtained their Ph.D. from NC State.
Ghoshal earned the De Groot Prize for the best book on statistical science in 2019 from the International Society for Bayesian Analysis for his book “Fundamentals of Nonparametric Bayesian Inference.” He is also a fellow of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis, the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute in 1988, 1990 and 1995, respectively.
“Subhashis Ghoshal’s significant contributions to statistics continue to advance both NC State and the field at large,” said Chris McGahan, dean of the College of Sciences. “Professorships like this one are important because they help us honor accomplishments and support future innovation from our faculty. We are so grateful to the Goodnights for their continued generous support of our programs.”
The Goodnights are NC State alumni and co-chairs of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign. Jim Goodnight — the founder and CEO of SAS — earned his B.S. in applied mathematics in 1965, his M.S. and doctorate in statistics in 1968 and 1972, respectively, and the university conferred an honorary degree to him in 2002. Ann Goodnight earned her B.A. in political science in 1968, works as the senior director of community relations at SAS and serves on the North Carolina State University Board of Trustees.
They established the Goodnight Scholars program in 2008 which supports more than 250 North Carolina students each year. Through their generous support, the Goodnights have strengthened centers, programs and scholarships across the university. Their commitment to faculty excellence has resulted in the creation of 24 named endowed faculty positions across several colleges at NC State as well as support for faculty funds.
