It's finally here! Beginning today and continuing all week, we are hosting more than 4,000 people from all over the world at Discovery Summit Americas 2020. We hope that includes you. If you haven't signed up yet, you still can. Check out the agenda and register. Today, we've got two "unsessions" -- attendee-driven sessions on scripting and predictive modeling. Plenary speakers this week are John Sall of SAS Caroline Criado Perez, author of the book "Invisible Women" Data journalists Anna Flagg of The Marshall Project, Andrew Ba Tran of The Washington Post, and Aleszu Bajak of Northeastern University Shankar Vendantam, host of the "Hidden Brain" podcast and author of the book "The Hidden Brain" And there are papers and posters, a virtual bike ride and fun run, yoga class, meditation break and social gatherings. Our virtual conference center has a lot of interactive features and virtual rooms to explore. We're going to miss seeing you face-to-face. And inevitably, we'll face technical challenges during the week. Microphones will be inadvertently muted, wi-fi will fail, and video will freeze. But we're also confident that the Discovery Summit spirit will be as present as ever and will help us overcome whatever obstacles arise. We hope to see you in a few hours! ... View more

In her plenary talk, Caroline Criado Perez will highlight the hidden ways in which women are excluded from the very building blocks of the world we live in. (Image by Rachel Louise Brown) The topic is equal opportunity and equal representation for women. Author, broadcaster and feminist campaigner, Caroline  Criado  Perez is all about exposing data bias in a world designed for men.    In her Discovery Summit talk, Perez  will tackle  the topic for our audience, citing one example after another. She supports  her claims with data  – a lot of data .  After sharing  case studies and research results ,  she’ll  answer your questions about the hidden ways in which women are excluded from the very building blocks of the world we live in.    The author of the acclaimed book  “ Invisible Women, ”   Criado   Perez  will explore  the gender data gap  and  invisible bias  that ha ve  a profound effect on women’s lives.  If you’ve ever wondered what happens when entire segments of a population are ignored and gathering data about them isn’t even considered...simply look around.   Woman, man or child, you’ll have some “aha” moments come out of this conversation. And, we hope,  a conviction to be inclusive in how we collect and analyze data moving forward .    Be sure to   register for Discovery Summit Americas , make room on your calendar for the week of October  1 2 , and  get ready to  look at this “timeworn topic through the revealing lens of data.” The Guardian newspaper also said that “this book uses data like a laser.” You can read that review here.   ... View more

Perhaps the headline should be “The data behind the story.” Because as people who care about data, we’re used to talking about story telling with data, about the importance of truth in data, and about the impact that good and bad data visualizations can have on perception. We’ll keep doing that. But at Discovery Summit Americas , we’re also going to dive into the stories that emerge during the exploratory phase of data analysis. In fact, we’ve invited three renowned journalists to share their experiences with using data in their work...from exploration to discovery to communicating their findings on three timely topics. Anna Flagg covers her investigation of the spurious connection between immigration and crime for The Marshall Project Andrew Ba Tran talks about opioid crisis reporting for The Washington Post Northeastern University’s Aleszu Bajak presents his work on the spread of COVID-19 misinformation This session takes place live at Discovery Summit Americas next Thursday, Oct. 15 at 12:45pm ET. More about the panelists... Anna Flagg, Senior Data Reporter, The Marshall Project Anna Flagg is The Marshall Project’s senior data reporter, covering criminal justice topics including immigration, crime, race, policing and incarceration. Her work has been recognized by the Global Editors Network’s Data Journalism Awards, the Society of News Design, and the Information is Beautiful Awards; she was a finalist for a 2019 Deadline Club Award. Andrew Ba Tran, Data Reporter, The Washington Post Andrew Ba Tran is a data reporter for The Washington Post’s Rapid Response Investigative Team and Adjunct Professor at American University, where he teaches quantitative methods and data visualization. In his work for the Post, Tran has, among other things, reported on how COVID-19 has disparately impacted certain communities, the spread of opioids across the country and the rise of right-wing violence. He shared in winning the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2018 for coverage of candidate Roy Moore's alleged past sexual harassment of teenage girls and subsequent efforts to undermine the journalism that exposed it. Tran was previously Data Editor at The Connecticut Mirror's TrendCT.org and Data Producer at The Boston Globe. He has also worked in newsrooms of The Virginian-Pilot and Sun-Sentinel. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and advocate for open data and reproducible research. Aleszu Bajak, Graduate Programs Manager, Northeastern University School of Journalism Aleszu Bajak is a science and data journalist who teaches courses and manages the graduate programs at Northeastern University's School of Journalism. He is a former Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and Science Friday radio producer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Undark, The Washington Post, MIT Technology Review and Nature. At Northeastern, he is innovation lead for the Co-Laboratory for Data Impact, a faculty affiliate with the Global Resilience Institute and an affiliate of the NU Lab for Texts, Maps, and Networks. Here's how to register for Discovery Summit Americas. (P.S. It's free this year!) ... View more

Check out the more than 50 papers and nearly dozen posters presentations that have already been recorded. Discovery Summit Americas 2020 has started...sort of. Technically, Discovery Summit Americas takes place October 12-16. But you can start looking at recorded paper and poster presentations now. More on that later. As you can see from the conference agenda, there are plenty of reasons to block off time on your calendar during that week to attend. To name just a few: Participant-driven "unsessions" on JMP scripting and predictive modeling. The chance to interact live with JMP developers, paper presenters and peers who share your interests. Amazing plenary sessions with thought-provoking perspectives on data collection and analysis that you won't see anywhere else. And of course, it will all stream right to your desk – and it's all free. If you haven't already,   please register! Why wait? You can start reaping the rewards of Discovery Summit Americas content now – or really any time it's convenient. Available on-demand in the JMP Community starting this week is a trove of recorded paper and poster presentations. With more than 50 papers and close to a dozen posters covering topics ranging from data visualization and predictive modeling to quality, design of experiments and much more, there's something for everyone. During Discovery week, 20 of these recorded paper presentations will be streamed live with the authors present to discuss your questions and comments. Check out   the agenda   for exact dates and times. In the meantime, start your Discovery Summit Americas experience now by visiting the   on-demand library of recorded paper and poster presentations. And   register   if you haven't already! ... View more

What questions do you have for Shankar Vedantam of "Hidden Brain"? Get ready for a great conversation. Discovery Summits aren’t just about visualizing data and talking statistics. Our summits are also about exploring ideas, making connections and inspiring innovation. They’re about curiosity and engagement. So, we’ve asked the host of  “ Hidden Brain ”  podcast, Shankar Vedantam, to close the conference  on Friday, Oct .  16,  with a conversation about how we understand numbers, how we make decisions and how we persuade – and are persuaded by – others.    Vedantam will tell real-world stories, share his research and answer your questions.  That’s right. NPR’s social science correspondent is going to answer your questions as part of his Discovery Summit keynote.    As part of our promise to make our online version of Discovery Summit as interactive and interesting as our in-person events, we’re tailoring talks to th is new  format.  And Vedantam is ready.  We’ve told  him  all about you, your work and  that you tend to be natural problem   solvers . We’ve talked with him about the age-old problem of finding the signal in the noise, about  your need for data-driven decision making, about how you strive to create quality goods and services, about the desire to communicate findings and persuade others. You get the idea. We’re ready for an enlightening conversation. Are you?   Simply  register for Discovery Summit Americas , make room on your calendar for the week of Oct .  1 2 , and think about the questions you have for Vedantam. If you’re not familiar with his work as host of  “ Hidden Brain ”  – one of the most popular podcasts in the world – you may want to start listening now.  We’re fans of Vedantam’s science and storytelling...and we think you will be too.    ... View more

Our goal: Put brilliant, statistically minded people together...to challenge one another and to lift each other up. Your dog is welcome, too! When we say that Discovery Summit is the conference series for statistically significant conversations, we mean it. This is the series where we've put   Susan Cain ,  George Box   and   Nate Silver   on stage. It's the series where we've asked   Dan Ariely   and  David Salsburg   about their work. And where we've discuss ed  books with  David  Spiegelhalter   and   Malcolm Gladwell .   Our goal always:  P ut brilliant , statistically minded  people together...to challenge one another and to lift each other up.   These events  have been small by design. We've never  had  more than 500 people  attend  because we know the kinds of conversations that can happen in intimate settings.  Now we can’t put any people together, so we’re going to  take advantage of that . The  world has changed , and with change comes opportunity.     This is your opportunity to participate in fascinating exchanges  about statistics , share  analytics  best practices  and  experience  head-scratching moment s   that  morph  into enlightenment .   View the agenda for specifics .    Welcome to all, including your dog Registration  is  open, and  is  free of charge . Be sure to b lock your calendar  now  for the week of Oct .  12 , when you can s pend all day learning, or just participate in interactive sessions  Tuesday-Friday starting  at 12:30  p.m.  ET. Need more reasons to register? Here are just 10 of the amazing speakers we have lined up :   Anderson Mayfield, University of Miami   Anna Flag, The Marshall Project   Astrid Ruck, Autoliv   Bradley Jones, JMP   Fabio D'Ottaviano, Dow Inc .   Heidi Hardner, Seagate Technology   John Sall, SAS   Shamgar McDowell, GE Gas Power Engineering   Shankar Vedantam ,  “ The  Hidden Brain ”   on NPR   Thor Osborn, Sandia National Laboratories   See you online next month at Discovery Summit Americas!  Here's how to register  now.   ... View more

Don't wait to register. There are perks for early registrants, and there could be limitations on capacity. You don’t need to book a flight. You don’t need to arrange for a hotel. You don’t even need to leave your office.   So why  register  for Discovery Summit Americas  today ?    Because there will be perks for early registrants, and there could be  capacity consequences if you wait too long. Also, don’t you want to have something very special to look forward to?    Here are  five  of our favorite  interactive sessions that we think  you’ll also love:   JMP Predictive Modeling Forum We predict this forum will be popular with modelers of all levels of expertise. Simply bring questions, comments and enthusiasm for the topic.    Discovery Expo Just like an in-person Discovery Summit, you can  Meet   the   Developer s ,  share ideas with your fellow  Birds   of   a Feather, vote for your favorite papers and posters, talk to Tech Support, buy JMP gear, browse books, and  much  more.    The Story Behind the Story  Successful journalists Andrew Tran, Anna Flagg and Aleszu Bajak  share the stories  behind some of their most significant work , from exploratory data analysis to data visualization and publication .    Fireside Chat with Shankar Vedantam     The  host of  “Hidden Brain” tell s  real-world stories, share s  research and answer s  your questions  a bout how we understand numbers, how we make decisions and how we persuade – and are persuaded by – others.    Paper  and Poster Presentations    What’s the next best thing to watching a Discovery Summit  presentation  together in person? It’s watching it live online, where you can comment in real time, ask the presenters questions, and applaud the parts that make you go “wow!”   Of course, there will be many other interactive opportunities and on-demand resources, but these are a few of our favorite things.  Check out the Agenda  to see additional opportunities to get excited about.    And don’t wait too long to  register for Discovery Summit Americas !  Registration is complimentary, but it is required to attend.    ... View more

So much valuable content -- and it's free this year! Can’t travel for Discovery Summit? Don’t worry. Neither can we. Don’t have budget for this year’s registration fee? Don’t worry. It’ll be free. Can’t afford to invest the time? We can’t help you there. Although we wonder how you can afford not to make the time. There are a lot of things to worry about in this world, but we don’t think Discovery Summit Americas should be one of them. We’re making it easy for you to connect with JMP experts and other data explorers who champion statistical best practices in their organizations. Here’s how we’re doing it: Beginning early October, we’ll be making a trove of Discovery content available for on-demand viewing at your leisure. During the week of Oct. 12, we’ll be hosting workshops, interactive plenaries, and paper and poster discussions in real time. We’re even creating an online Discovery Expo, complete with Meet the Developer opportunities, book discounts, data-collection games, ways to get JMP swag and more. Because we believe that learning should be continuous, we’ll be making conference materials easy to access from the JMP Community. After all, Discovery Summits are all about getting conversations started so you can keep on growing. What do you need to do? Just take four easy steps, and you’re headed in the right direction: Register as soon as registration opens in September (we'll send a reminder). There will be some bonus opportunities for JMP users who are on the ball. Clear your calendar for the week of Oct. 12. Spread the word. Until this year, Discovery Summits were limited to a few hundred hard-core, data-driven individuals. This year, we hope to see you, your colleagues and your data-curious friends. To stay in the know on all things Discovery Summit, join our interest list. Hope to see you virtually Oct. 12! ... View more

Susan Cain, from the Discovery plenary stage in 2018, discussed how to harness the strength of introverts. When we say that Discovery Summit is the conference series for  statistically significant conversations, we mean it. This is the series where we've put Susan Cain , George Box and Nate Silver on stage. It's the series where we've asked Dan Ariely and David Salsburg about their work. And where we've gotten to discuss books with David Spiegelhalter and Malcolm Gladwell . Our Discoveries have been small by design. We've never put more than 500 people together at any one time because we know the kinds of conversations that can happen in intimate settings. We've seen enlightening exchanges, best practices shared, head-scratching moments morph into ah-ha moments. If you've been to a Discovery Summit, you know what I'm talking about. But now the world has changed, and in-person gatherings are ill-advised. Yet it is more important than ever to put brilliant people together...to challenge one another and to lift each other up. What does this mean for the Discovery Summit series? It means my colleagues and I will figure out how to keep Discoveries collaborative even as we move online. We will figure out how to present plenaries, papers and posters in a way that incorporates questions and conversations. Meet the Developers and Ask the Experts will evolve as needed. And we'll even figure out how to facilitate those hallway conversations. There is a bright, shiny silver lining to moving Discovery Summits online for a while: These events are now available to the analytically curious people who have previously been limited by geography and/or inability to travel. While I expect that we will continue to restrict registration numbers to maintain that intimate experience, I predict that we will see a more globally diverse line-up of papers, posters and registrants. The only limitation is time zone, and when you're working from home, is that really that big of a hurdle? So, October's Discovery Summit Cary will become the Discovery Summit "from" Cary. Discovery Summit Shanghai will be "from" Shanghai and Tokyo will be "from" Tokyo. In other words, no passports, no visas, no airline tickets needed in 2020. Just a curious mind, an interest in data exploration, and a desire to work through real-world problems with statistical techniques. Even though our sessions will be entirely online for a while, we will still have plenty of opportunities for learning and networking.   ... View more

JMP Web Redirects -- Here are easy URLs to use and share with your friends! ... View more

If you’ve been to a Discovery Summit, you know what you have to look forward to. One of the best parts of the conference is meeting other smart, curious people who are interested in discovering cool things in data. Even the introverts come out of their shells when around hundreds of other like-minded people. When smart, curious and interested people get together, they talk. They talk a lot. And when a large cadre of attendees return year after year, they have a lot to share and catch up on. So what about people who have just recently started playing with data in JMP or who are novices to the conference? To those people, I say: Come find me. I’ll introduce you to other people in your industry who have similar business pains, to users who apply JMP in the ways that you do so you can share best practices, and to the Steering Committee members who select the papers and posters. I’ll hook you up with the developers who work on your favorite JMP platforms. I’ll even introduce you to John Sall, SAS co-founder and JMP creator. Like you, he’s smart, curious and interested in learning new things. Malcolm Gladwell (a speaker at a previous Discovery Summit) would call me a “Connector.” Per Wikipedia, “Connectors are the people in a community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions.” That’s me. There’s a good chance I’ll know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody. By the end of the Summit, you’ll feel like you know a whole lot of somebodies too. So, when you get to San Diego on Sept. 14, come find me so I can start connecting you. ... View more

Go ahead -- take the steps. What’s more satisfying than attending a Discovery Summit event? Presenting at one! I know, I know. That’s an honor reserved for the best and the brightest analytic thinkers in the world. Before you say you’re not up for it, answer this question: Do you have a story of data discovery to share, a tale of a cool application of analytics and/or ROI to tell? If yes, consider yourself qualified to submit a Discovery Summit abstract for consideration. The call for papers for Discovery Summit Europe is open now, but closes 30 September. Now that you know that you CAN submit an abstract, I’ll tell you HOW. Here are six easy steps: Write 150-200 words describing your story: As the protagonist, what conflict did you need to overcome. and how did you resolve it with analytics? Oh, and make up a title. Decide if you want to talk for 30 or 45 minutes, or present a poster. Write a 75-word bio for yourself and any friends who will be presenting with you. Decide if your story would be best for beginners or experts, or folks who are somewhere in between. Fill out this easy form. If your paper or poster submission is accepted, plan to attend Discovery Summit Europe 14-17 March 2016 in Amsterdam. See, it’s a simple process. But start now, because the deadline is approaching and if you don’t take those steps, you can’t make it onto the stage. ... View more

What's your JMP story? Submit an abstract. At Discovery Summit Europe last March, I met many amazing people. You may not remember me, but I remember you. We met during delicious dinners, perky plenaries, and thought-provoking paper and poster presentations. Oh, and we bonded over a lovely glass of red wine or two, if I remember correctly. You’re from Lufthansa, STATCON and Novozymes … GE, GSK and P&G … and you’re the brilliant young researchers at the University of Exeter. Yes, I’m calling you out because now is the time to submit abstracts for consideration for Europe’s second Discovery Summit: 14-17 March 2016. This time, the Summit will be in Amsterdam, and it's shaping up to be another awesome event for analytic thinkers. I know you have a good story to tell, but you need to let us know about it...now! Time is running out to submit an abstract for consideration; in fact, the call for papers and posters closes on 30 September. You’ll find all of the details at the Discovery Summit Europe webpages. ... View more

Some mornings over coffee or tea, my husband asks me what I’ll be doing that day. I like this exercise because it helps me get mentally prepared for the various meetings and projects that await me in the office. Usually, I only make it to my 10:30 appointment before he bores of my calendar entries and moves on to the next topic. That either says a lot about my meetings or about his inability to focus before a second cup of coffee….I opt to believe it’s him and not my calendar. But this morning was different. I told him I’d be spending my day working on Discovery Summit 2015, answering questions from Steering Committee members, telling our R&D leaders about this year’s conference facility, and working with our Systems Engineers (SE) to make sure there was at least one at every paper presentation. Bingo – I had Greg’s full attention. Here’s why: Every year, we ask an SE to hang out in each of the rooms where papers are presented to ensure that any hiccups are addressed quickly. SEs are the natural choice for this assignment this because they are always brilliant and always curious. This is a win-win for all: Paper presentations run smoothly and the SE is guaranteed a seat in the room. I start the process by asking which papers they’d most like to see, and then make room assignments by preference. One of the best things about this process is that I learn which papers pique the curiosity of our SEs – remember, they’re brilliant and curious people. My husband – always curious and, at times, brilliant – wanted to know which papers were most requested. While each and every paper had at least one SE request, these five were the most popular: Developing a Nondestructive Test Gauge Using the JMP Discriminant Analysis Platform By Jason Robbins, Process Engineer, US Synthetic An Interactive JMP Environment for Control Group Selection and Visualizing Impact From Promotional Uplift Experiments By Brian Eastwood, Market Analyst, Nu Skin Enterprises; John Salmon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University Transforming Consumer Surveys into Consumer Insight Using JMP 12 By Mike Creed, Consumer Modeling Expert, Procter & Gamble; Diane Farris, Consumer Modeling Leader, Procter & Gamble Bias Adjustment in Data Mining By Stanley Young, PhD, CEO, CGStat; Bob Obenchain, PhD, Principal Consultant, Risk Benefit Statistics Truth and Lies: Consumer Perception vs. Data By Rosario Murguia, Consumer and Product Research Manager, Procter & Gamble; Diana Ballard, Senior Consulting Statistician, Predictum Inc.; Michael E. Haslam, PhD, Vice President of Application Development, Predictum Inc. Now that you’re thinking about a few of the awesome breakout options you’ll have at Discovery Summit this year, you can begin planning which papers you want to see. And you’ll know that each and every talk will run smoothly because there will always be an SE on call, usually standing in the back of the room, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. ... View more

Two keynotes were presented in English, two in Japanese. Yet nothing was lost in translation. Well, maybe a joke or two fell a bit flat. But for the most part, simultaneous translations bridged the language gap at Discovery Summit Japan . As SAS Principal Research Fellow Bradley Jones talks about definitive screening designs, one screen shows English content and the other shows the Japanese translation. The Nov. 7 event was the first time the conference series left the country. Discovery Summit Japan mirrored the US conference in several ways, principally by conveying the universal themes of excellence in data exploration, innovative uses of analytics and the need for analytics to be more widely accessible across organizations. “Statistics are going to make us so strong,” said Tadashi Mitsui of Toshiba Corporation. As long as you use JMP, you are getting the best from statistics, he went on to say during his keynote address. Mitsui and Takaya Kojima from Waseda University both gave keynote speeches. Also featured were talks from John Sall, SAS Executive Vice President and Co-Founder, and SAS Principal Research Fellow Bradley Jones. More than 150 JMP users attended, including Yoko Suzuki of Tokyo Metropolitan University. Suzuki said she had wanted to attend Discovery Summit in the United States but hadn’t been able to make the trip. As soon as she saw that JMP was hosting one in Japan, she knew she would attend. The conference series will continue to move into regions with high concentrations of JMP users, with Discovery Summit Europe next. That Summit will be held in March in Brussels, and is being led by a Steering Committee made up of JMP users from across the continent. Perhaps we will see you there? If not, plan to attend Discovery Summit 2015, which will be held next September in San Diego. JMP Customer Care Manager Jeff Perkinson gets a microphone in preparation for hosting Discovery Summit Japan.   Translators work from a soundproof booth, providing both Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese simultaneous translations.   Japanese-speaking attendees wear ear pieces to hear English translated into Japanese.   JMP Japan Systems Engineers help staff the “Ask the Experts” stations. This is comparable to the “Meet the Developers” sessions at Discovery Summit in the US. ... View more

We know the timing for our first-ever European Discovery Summit call for papers wasn’t ideal. Basically, it spans the entire summer holiday season. But luckily for all of the JMP champions in Europe, you have a bit of time left. Before settling back into your regular work routine, take a few minutes to think about the ways you use JMP. Does it help you save energy, save time or save money? Do you use it to design efficient experiments? Does it help you communicate important statistical information to people who don’t otherwise get statistics? Think about the value you see in JMP and ask yourself, “Would other JMP users find my application interesting or helpful?” If the answer is yes, then please share how you use JMP products by sending in a paper or poster abstract. Here’s the process: Submit your abstract for a paper or poster by 19 Sept. Our Steering Committee  – a group of JMP champions from various industries and various European countries – will vote on the submissions in October. The authors of the selected paper and poster presenters will be our guests at Discovery Summit Brussels, showcasing their work on the 24 and 25 of March 2015. Need a little inspiration? Check out the paper abstracts that were selected for Discovery Summit 2014 at SAS world headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. Don't wait any longer. Holiday is over. And this opportunity to shine in front of analytic leaders in industry and academia is serious business. You’ll find all you need to know on the European Discovery Summit call for papers page. ... View more

This is an awkward time to write a pro-Brussels piece. The soccer player of my house (right) is quite upset, pacing around, trying to get over the heartbreaking, nail-biting World Cup loss that ended with the USA down one goal to Belgium’s two – and all of those goals scored in extra time. But now it’s time to put that loss aside to focus on an upcoming win. That win would be Discovery Summit Brussels. That’s right. The Discovery Summit you’ve grown to love in the US will have its European debut in March 2015. Provocative plenary talks, in-depth paper presentations, beautiful posters and built-in networking opportunities – this Discovery will have all that and more. I’m writing this now because the call for papers is open. Will the Kevin De Bruynes of data visualization, the Vincent Kompanys of statistical analysis and the Divock Origis of desktop discoveries please come forward? Take a shot at getting your paper or poster accepted. You’d be among the analytic movers and shakers of Europe and of the wider JMP world. Here are all the details. I’m looking forward to meeting the JMP champions at Discovery Summit Brussels! ... View more

I zone out when my colleagues go on and on about North Carolina college basketball. With mascots like Blue Devils and Demon Deacons, you’d think it would be more fun to me than it is. Add to that the fact that my university days were not spent at any of the big schools in North Carolina or surrounding areas. So I don’t really get all of this rivalry stuff. However, I am surprised to see that North Carolina State University is dominating so thoroughly in the competition for free admission to the Women in Statistics conference May 15-17. Where are those brilliant stats students at UNC, Duke, NC Central, Wake Forest University, East Carolina University, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte? It may be because SAS has its roots at NC State. Or maybe it is because NC State’s analytics programs are superior. I don’t really think that, but I’ll put that out there if it’ll get more entries coming in from other area schools. In case you missed my earlier blog post announcing the competition , here’s the scoop: The JMP team and WIN (the SAS Women’s Initiatives Network) want to empower three statistics students by helping them attend the Women in Statistics conference. Entering is as easy as writing a short essay telling us why you want to attend this conference, what you hope to get out of it and how you plan to use statistics in your career. You can submit your entry at jmp.com/wis. You can learn more about the conference here , and you can read the contest rules here . Says one entry from NC State, “I would love to attend this conference in order to hear speakers talk about their experience in their particular field in order to try to hone in on which route would be best for my career path.” Sounds like a winning reason to get a free pass. OK, rival schools: Are you going to let NC State’s stat students take all of the free passes? To be considered in the competition, you need to get your entries in before 5:00 p.m. ET April 11, 2014. Submit your essay today! ... View more

“Know Your Power” is the slogan of the first-ever Women in Statistics conference to be held in Cary, North Carolina, just across the street from SAS headquarters. The May 15-17 conference is a celebration of women in statistics, and the program promises to highlight achievements and career interests of women who work in – or who plan to work in – statistical fields. Check out the conference website. The JMP team and WIN, the SAS Women’s Initiatives Network, want to empower three statistics students by helping them attend the Women in Statistics conference. Here’s how you can apply for one of the three free conference registrations. Write a short essay telling us why you want to attend this conference, what you hope to get out of it and how you plan to use statistics in your career. Submit your entry at jmp.com/wis . The essays can be no more than 300 words each and need to be submitted before 5:00 p.m. ET April 11, 2014. Essays must be in English and will be judged on the following criteria: how well the author connects personal goals to the conference goals (25 percent); how well the author articulates career plans (25 percent); how inspiring the author's career plans are (25 percent); and how well the essay is written (25 percent). One essay per person, please. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. See official rules for complete details. The contest is open only to students currently enrolled in a degree-granting institution, and both graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to enter. The prize covers conference registration only; travel, meals and any other expenses incurred are the responsibility of the students. Each of the three registrations is valued at $199. The conference is a great opportunity for students to learn from women who have successfully navigated courses and careers in technical fields. Submit your essay! ... View more

If you know my colleague Lou Valente, you won’t be surprised to learn that he had an off-the-wall idea. He’s always coming up with cool and creative ways to think about things. But the idea I’m talking about keeps coming back to me – not crazy enough to dismiss, but not easy enough to implement in its current form. Here’s his idea: We should limit Discovery Summit attendance to people who submit paper or poster abstracts for consideration. Why not? The event sells out anyway. Why not make sure that the people there are the ones interested in sharing? Lou’s reasoning is solid: This event is designed for attendees to exchange ideas and benchmark best practices. Yes, we bring in authors and thought leaders to present at the plenary sessions. But that’s just to get conversations started. So much learning happens in paper presentations and poster sessions and in the hallway conversations and during dinner exchanges. What we’ve learned over the years is that all attendees have something valuable to offer in regard to their experiences with analytics and data exploration. Does that mean that we’re going to adopt Lou’s suggestion? No, of course not. But I believe Lou’s points are worth thinking about. If you’re going to register for Discovery Summit this year, perhaps you should also submit an abstract for consideration. You’ve got nothing to lose, and a great conversation starter to gain. Think about it. But don’t think too long. The call for papers won’t be open forever. ... View more

What a great headline: “Date Night at the Zoo, if Rare Species Play Along.” This New York Times story got my attention because I love date night. I also love many different species of animals – many of which are, sadly, threatened or endangered. This article is a great reminder that some beloved rare species could be looking at extinction, whether they’re in the wild or in captivity. The article delves into behavioral issues that clearly affect captive breeding attempts at zoos and conservation centers. That’s nice, but what does it have to do with JMP? Quite a bit, actually. Similar research programs are conducted in various parts of the world with JMP powering the data exploration and visualization pieces. In fact, some of the most unexpected statistical discovery stories come from some of the wildest places on Earth. A researcher at one world-renowned facility that is both a zoo and a conservation center told me about how he and his colleagues use JMP for a variety of programs. I don’t have permission to tell you the name of the organization, but I can tell you that these researchers are making a real difference for animals in captivity and in the wild. One interesting finding that’s comparable to the big cat stories told in The New York Times article centers on Andean bears. The story starts with a chronic and seasonal skin condition that affected bears at quite a few facilities across North America. The vets ruled out parasites and couldn’t figure it out. But when the zoos began sharing information and examining that data using JMP, they learned that all the affected bears were female and that, in a nutshell, it was the guys’ fault. The female Andean bears that lived with males experienced the problem, probably, the researchers think, due to stress. I’m not a biologist, so I can’t conclude that the above problem extends across species and, say, to Homo sapiens. So I’ll let you make your own guesses about that one. But it would make a great study, wouldn’t it? ... View more

One of my favorite things about living in Raleigh is that we have some big-impact museums for a medium-size city. And my favorite one, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, is about to get about twice as big. Last week, I received a “hard hat” tour of the new wing, the Nature Research Center, which is scheduled to open to the public, appropriately enough, around Earth Day. I left that tour determined to host a Discovery Summit function in this space in September 2012. And I left inspired to seek out scientists who use JMP for the study of natural sciences to showcase at the annual conference. I want to know who’s using JMP to better understand our world through astronomy, biology, chemistry, oceanography, physics, materials science, earth science, atmospheric science … you get the picture. I want to meet folks who use JMP and work for NASA, NOAA, USGS…whatever acronym might fit in well with the mission of the museum. If that’s you, let me know by sending an email to diana dot levey at jmp dot com -- or leave a comment below. What, exactly, will we do with you after we meet you? I don’t know exactly, but we’ll figure out a way to help tell your story if you’re interested. If nothing else, I can give you a tour of a very cool museum. ... View more

Because the Discovery Summit is JMP’s most prestigious event of the year, we want to ensure that each paper and every keynote is the kind of talk that keeps you talking. Thanks to you and your fabulous paper abstract submissions for the September event, we’re headed in the right direction. Through personal requests, e-mail blasts to our user lists, and via every other channel we knew to use, we asked you to submit abstracts for consideration for the Discovery Summit. And you answered our call for papers. Thank you! The 100-plus abstracts you submitted represent a myriad of industries, all kinds of application areas and even a variety of JMP products. The papers you pitched range from novice to expert levels, promising that the paper line-up can have something for every user. Of course, we can’t fit 100 papers into a two-and-a-half-day conference, so that number will have to come down significantly. That’s where the Discovery Summit Steering Committee comes in. Today, this group of dedicated customers and advisors will begin the paper selection process. They’ll take into consideration quite a few factors, with the goal of creating a world-class conference. If your paper is selected, you will be notified on or before April 29. From what I’ve seen of the abstracts, this selection process will be anything but easy. If you’re a past attendee and/or someone who’s planning on joining us in Denver this year, comment on this post. Let the Committee know what you’d like to see in this year’s papers. It never hurts to ask. ... View more

Are these people speaking English? I’m in Seattle at SAS Global Forum, where some of the conversations (OK, a lot of them) are over my head. I’m hearing programmer-speak, scientist-speak and statistician-speak. Let’s face it, SAS users are some of the smartest folks around. But they’re not just smart. Between the technical talks, I’m hearing the language of compassion. Years ago, these conference organizers, along with those of the Western Users of SAS Software (WUSS) group, decided to give something back to the host city every year. And they do so through children’s book drives. I love this idea: Through books, we should enrich the lives of children and adolescents who don’t have access to the resources most of us did in our youth. More than a day into the conference, books are still being dropped off at the Book Drive table, as are cash donations. This afternoon, organizers will take the monetary donations and purchase books at Barnes & Noble. Six different Seattle area organizations will benefit from the generosity of these SAS Global Forum attendees and SAS staffers. The decade-old ChildHaven will be one recipient – an organization that works to eliminate child abuse and neglect through early intervention. Nova Alternative High School will receive much-needed books for its library. Seattle Children’s Hospital will also receive a boost to its library of books designated for children confined to their hospital rooms. That’s so cool to leave a city a little better than how we found it. Nice going, SAS users! ... View more

How wonderful it must be to be so comfortable with a beta version of your software that you can demo it in front of thousands of SAS power users! That’s what my colleague, Jon Weisz, just did at SAS Global Forum’s Technology Connection. And he did so quite impressively, I might add. Among other things, Jon showed off the mapping features coming up in JMP 9 by digging into SGF attendee data. Where in the world do you all come from? he asked. And then he showed us. He plugged attendee geographical data into the map of the world. The countries with the highest number of attendees showed up as a very dark blue. Those with fewer were a slightly lighter blue. And so on, so we could see how each country ranked. Those countries with zero representation showed up clear. Not unexpectedly, most attendees came to Seattle from other states here in the US. But quite a few traveled from Europe, China and India. When Jon mentioned Denmark specifically because that country had such a large showing, members of that contingency shouted out. Jon’s going to be looking at this data in more detail later today at a Super Demo on the Demo Room Floor. Perhaps we can dig a little deeper and see the distribution of attendees from within the US. I’m curious if having this event on the West Coast hindered travel by our East Coast users. We’ll see. UPDATE: Here's a map of attendees from the US. ... View more

It’s like I won a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. That’s what it feels like to be a SAS employee who’s asked to go to SAS Global Forum, April 11-14 in Seattle. The buzz on the demo-room floor, hearing from thought leaders both entertaining and enlightening, the interaction between the brilliant developers and the genius folks who use the software … it’s really an action-packed few days. But with that golden ticket comes a lot of responsibility. In addition to providing on-site coverage for this blog, I’ll be reconnecting with customers who have been using JMP for years as well as hosting members of the press who are just learning about JMP. But my self-imposed goal is to leave SAS Global Forum with no fewer than 10 new acquaintances, at least five of whom are using JMP and SAS together. I want to learn about their applications, and I want to turn those applications into success stories for the rest of the world to see. So, if you’re using JMP and some other SAS product together, I want to meet you. After you take in Stephen Few’s post-conference seminar and after you’ve been dazzled by my boss, Jon Weisz, at the Technology Connection, come find me. Seek me out between the papers presented by my JMP friends and colleagues, including my big boss, John Sall. When you build your agenda, build in time to share your story with me. You’ll find me on the demo-room floor or wherever JMP papers are being presented. I look forward to seeing you in Seattle! ... View more