We are delighted to announce that Professor David Firth will be the next RSS president after Sylvia Richardson’s term of office comes to a close at the end of 2022.
David is a British statistician who works on general theory and methods and who is known, in part, for his influential work on exit-polling and election-night forecasting at UK general elections. He is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Warwick, where he has worked since 2003. Previously he was Professor of Social Statistics at Oxford, and before that worked at the University of Southampton and the University of Texas at Austin. He has MSc and PhD degrees in Statistics, both from Imperial College London.
In 2012 David was awarded the Guy Medal in Silver by the RSS, for outstanding published research, including his work on exit-polling and extensive contributions to statistical theory, methodology and computing.
He was chosen from a list of nominees put forward by RSS fellows to the Society's President Nominating Committee. Council endorsed the nomination earlier this year and his nomination has been uncontested.
David said he felt 'deeply honoured' to have been chosen to be the next RSS President, and aimed to build upon the work of Sylvia Richardson and her predecessors. 'Principled data-analytic methods have never been so important,' he added. 'The Royal Statistical Society plays a global leadership role in promoting best practice and innovation, and I look forward to working with RSS members and staff to sustain and develop this leadership in the next few years.'
Professor Sylvia Richardson, current President of the Royal Statistical Society, commented: 'David Firth is a superb choice for the next President of the Royal Statistical Society. His contributions to social statistics have been outstanding and he has played an active role in the RSS over the years. I know that his leadership will drive forward the Society’s aim of putting data at the heart of understanding and decision-making.'
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