Personal Journey of Brian Phillips: A Webinar by Early Career & Student Statisticians Network and History Standing Committee of SSA

This is the first in the series of webinars that focus on the personal journey of older Australian statisticians that have made a difference. 

What to Expect:

• Interview Session: Conducted by Dennis Trewin, former SSA President and History Committee member, Brian will reflect on his path from secondary school mathematics teacher to Associate Professor at Swinburne University. His journey is unique, transitioning into Applied Statistics and shaping graduate programs in statistics education.

• Q & A Session: Following the interview, engage directly with Brian. Pose questions that delve deeper into Brian's experiences and gain insights relevant to your own career aspirations.

Why Attend?

• Learn from Experience: Brian's unconventional career path offers invaluable lessons for aspiring statisticians and educators.

• Contribute to History: This webinar will be recorded, with a transcript prepared to support the History Standing Committee's efforts in documenting the evolution of statistics education in Australia.

Who Should Attend?

• Early career statisticians
• Students aspiring in statistics and related fields
• Anyone interested in the history and development of statistics education

Registration

Registration is free but required to secure your spot. 

 BIO– BRIAN PHILLIPS 

Brian was born in regional Victoria in 1940. He undertook tertiary studies at the Secondary Teacher’s College specialising in teaching science and mathematics. His early career was as a secondary school teacher in these disciplines but resigned after 4 years when he couldn’t get the leave to take up an appointment in Canada. After returning to Australia, he taught in an independent school for a short period before taking up an appointment as a Lecturer at what is now Swinburne University where he worked for 46 years albeit with some short experiences elsewhere. This included post-graduate studies at Southampton University.

At the time of his retirement, Brian was an Associate Professor responsible for the graduate statistics programs which grew strongly under his leadership. Brian speciality was the teaching applied statistics to non-statisticians including the use of SPSS and SAS. He was awarded the Swinburne Vic-Chancellors Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Brian has tried to contribute to the statistical community in many ways. He was President of the Victorian Branch of the Statistical Society from 2005-07 and a long-term Council member. He won a Society service award for his contributions to statistical education. He has also been very active in international statistical activities, having chaired several international meetings on statistics education. He was President of the International Statistical Education from 1999 to 2001 having been one of the inaugural Vice-Presidents in 1991.