Raquel Prado, professor of statistics at the UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering, has won the 2022 Zellner Medal. This award, presented annually by the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA), is given to one or two members who have “rendered exceptional and distinguished service to the ISBA over an extended period of time, and whose contributions have had an impact on the society beyond the time of his or her incumbency.”
The ISBA was founded in 1992 to promote the development and application of Bayesian analysis, a statistical method that uses probability statements to answer research questions with unknown parameters. The Zellner Medal Committee honored Prado for both her outstanding and sustained leadership contributions to the professional society and her contributions to the broad field of Bayesian analysis.
“This award really means a lot to me as it is a recognition of my work at ISBA over the years,” Prado said. “ISBA has been instrumental to my professional growth since I was a graduate student. Serving in different roles with the society gave me the opportunity to learn from top researchers from all over the world, and it also allowed me to give back to my professional community by aiming to create more and better spaces for research dissemination and professional networking, as well as more opportunities for students and junior researchers to present and discuss their work.”
Prado’s research focuses on time series analysis, Bayesian models, and statistical models for brain images and signals. She’s currently involved in two major projects. One focuses on developing models and statistical tools to analyze complex multi-dimensional data and the other is a collaborative project that aims to develop new software for computer screen magnification control.
Prado received her Ph.D. in statistics and decision sciences from Duke University. She joined the Baskin Engineering faculty in 2001. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the ISBA, and served as ISBA president in 2019. Prado is also a member of the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
