To honor Jon Wellner's 65th birthday, the Departments of Statistics and Biostatistics of the University of Washington hosted the conference "From probability to statistics and back: high-dimensional models and processes". For a visual impression of the conference, please see:

• Official pictures by Chris Raezer,
• Various other pictures.

• Rudy Beran UC Davis
• Peter Bickel UC Berkeley
• Norman Breslow University of Washington
• Kjell Doksum UC Berkeley
• Lutz Dümbgen University of Bern
• Sara van de Geer ETH Zurich
• Evarist Gine University of Connecticut
• Piet Groeneboom Delft University of Technology
• W. J. Hall University of Rochester
• Chris Klaassen University of Amsterdam
• Vladimir Koltchinskii Georgia Institute of Technology
• Michael Kosorok UNC Chapel Hill
• David Mason University of Delaware
• Pascal Massart Université de Paris-Sud
• Ivan Mizera University of Alberta
• Susan Murphy University of Michigan
• Andrew Nobel UNC Chapel Hill
• David Pollard Yale University
• Ya'acov Ritov Hebrew University
• Frits Ruymgaart Texas Tech University
• Alexandre Tsybakov Université Paris VI
• Aad van der Vaart VU University
• Marten Wegkamp Florida State University
• Willem van Zwet Leiden University

The abstracts of talks are here.

The conference program as well as some other useful information is here.

Information about the hike is here.

• Moulinath Banerjee University of Michigan
• Florentina Bunea Florida State University (chair and contact person)
• Petra Buzkova University of Washington
• Jian Huang University of Iowa
• Marloes Maathuis ETH Zurich
• Marina Meila University of Washington
• Bin Nan University of Michigan
• Arseni Seregin University of Washington
• Ying Zhang University of Iowa

We have now released our hold on the University of Washington dorm rooms (McMahon Hall). However, it is still possible to make reservations if there are rooms available. The rooms can be reserved as a "housing and dining package", including 4 nights of housing (July 28-August 1) and $80 on a debit meal card. The package rate (including all fees) is $259.50 for double occupancy and $349.90 for single occupancy. Limited early arrival and late departure housing is available at an additional charge. Upon arrival, please go the the McMahon Hall Front Desk, which is open 24 hours a day. For further information, and for reserving a room, please go to the online reservation page.

We recommend the following hotels (see Maps and Directions for their locations):

• Watertown Hotel
  4242 Roosevelt Way NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  
  Phone: 206-826-4242 Toll-Free: 1-866-944-4242 Fax: 206-315-4242
  Summer 2009 rates: $179 single room, $10 for an additional adult + tax
• University Inn
  4140 Roosevelt Way NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  Phone: 206-632-5055 Toll-Free: 800-733-3855 Fax: 206-547-4937
  Summer 2009 rates: $130 traditional room, $150 deluxe room + tax
  Room is single king or double queen, for up to 2 people
• Best Western Hotel - University Tower
  4507 Brooklyn Avenue NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  Phone: 206-634-2000 Toll-Free: 800-899-0251 Fax: 206-545-2103
  Summer 2009 rates: $179 + tax for a single king room or a double queen room
• Silver Cloud Inn - University District
  5036 25th Avenue NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  Phone: 206-526-5200 Toll-Free: 800-205-6940 Fax: 206-522-1450
  Summer 2009 rates: $155 + tax for a single king room, $179 + tax a double queen room
• The College Inn
  4000 University Way NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  Phone: 206-633-4441 Fax: 206-547-1335
  Summer 2009 rates: range from $60 + tax for a twin bed room up to $90 + tax for a room with 2 queen size beds. Shared bathrooms.
• University Motel
  4731 12th Avenue NE
  Seattle, WA  98105
  Phone: 206-522-4724 Toll-Free: 800-522-4720 Fax: 206-522-4728
  Summer 2009 rates: $90 - $120 + tax

Map of conference locations and hotels:

View a larger Map.

Directions to the University of Washington campus:

• From Sea-Tac International Airport to UW Campus:

  By Shuttle Express: An independent airport shuttle service.

  By bus: At the airport catch bus 194 to Downtown Seattle. Once in downtown, get off at any stop on Third Avenue. Transfer to the 71, 72, or 73 bus to the University District. Get off at NE Campus Parkway. You are now one block from the campus.

  By car: From the main terminal, follow signs to I-5 Northbound. Drive north on I-5 (do not use the express lanes), and take the NE 45th St exit (#169). Turn right onto NE 45th St and continue east to 15th Ave NE. The UW campus begins at the corner of NE 45th St and 15th Ave NE.

• From Amtrak's King Street train station - 303 South Jackson, Seattle, WA to UW Campus:

  By bus: From the station walk to Third Ave, about three blocks. Catch either the 71, 72, or 73 bus to the University District. Get off the bus at NE Campus Parkway. You are now one block from the main campus.

  By car: From the station head North on S. Jackson Street. Turn right onto 2nd Avenue ext. (the next right), and then another right onto 4th Avenue S. Ahead on the right is the on-ramp for Interstate-5 and Interstate-90. Follow the signs to Interstate-5 Northbound. Take exit 169 to NE 45th St and turn right.

• Additional information when coming by car:

  UW campus map.
  Access guide for persons with disability to the Seafirst Executive Education Center.
  Detailed driving directions to the University of Washington Club.
  Parking fees at UW Campus.

Jon was born in Portland, Oregon on August 17, 1945. After living in Missoula, Montana, Spokane, Washington, and Ogden, Utah, he completed high school at Ogden High School, Ogden Utah in 1963. He attended the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho from 1963 to 1968 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Mathematics and Physics. After a start at graduate school at Yale University in 1969 - 1970 followed by service in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1969 - 1971, he began graduate study at the University of Washington in 1971. Jon completed his Ph.D. in Statistics (with a degree from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine via the Biomathematics Program) with Galen Shorack at the University of Washington in 1975. He worked as Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Statistics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, from 1975 until 1983. Jon accepted a position as Professor of Statistics at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington in 1983, and has remained at the University of Washington since that time. Sabbatical leaves from the UW have taken him to Munich (Germany), Leiden (The Netherlands), and the Free University of Amsterdam and Delft University (The Netherlands) in 1980-1981, 1987-1988, and 2003-2004 respectively. Jon has had 25 Ph.D students (as of November 2009), and is currently advising two Ph.D. students.

Jon has served the Institute of Mathematical Statistics as an Associate Editor of the Annals of Statistics (1983-1988 and 1992-1994), Program Secretary (1996-1998), Co-Editor of the Annals of Statistics (2001-2003), IMS Executive Editor for Statistics Surveys (2007-2009), and member of the IMS Council (2007-2010). He is also currently serving as an Associate Editor for Probability Theory and Related Fields.

Jon's research interests include empirical process theory, large sample theory in statistics, semiparametric models, statistical inference under shape constraints, and inequalities. He has published four books on empirical processes, semiparametric models, and maximum likelihood estimation in inverse problems with Galen Shorack, Aad van der Vaart, Peter J. Bickel, Chris Klaassen, Ya'acov Ritov, and Piet Groeneboom, and over 90 papers (written with over 43 co-authors).

Further details are available here

On July 31, we invite everyone on a hike in the glorious Pacific Northwest mountains. The destination is to be decided from among a number of local favorites, so that it can suit as many tastes and levels of physical fitness as possible. Wherever we go, there will be flowering meadows, very likely an alpine lake, evergreen forests and views of peaks and glaciers.

For those who like numbers, look forward to hiking "up" for the first 2 hours or so, taking a lunch break in a high point, maybe roaming around a bit for the more daring or sitting in the sun for the lazier of us, and then a leisurely descent back to the cars. We'll plan for a round trip of ca 6 miles, with some significant elevation gain.

You need to wear sturdy shoes and bring a backpack containing water (at least 1 liter = 1 quart recommended), lunch, rain-gear, some extra clothes and a hat. Also, don't forge bringing sunscreen lotion and your camera.

We plan to carpool in cars of locals and (if needed) rental vans. You can indicate if you need transportation when you register for the hike.

Jon A. Wellner