Fellows will be sad to learn that Colin Mallows passed away recently, at the age of 93. He is probably best known for devising what came to be known as the “Mallows Cp Statistic”, a measure which is used to choose between multiple regression models.
Colin was born in 1930 in Great Sampford, Essex and studied at University College London. After completing his PhD in 1953, he spent a further year at University College London, followed by a year at Princeton University and another two years back at University College. In 1960, he joined Bell Labs in New Jersey, and he joined AT&T Labs in 1995, until formal retirement in 2000. Subsequently, he was a consultant at Avaya Labs.
Colin had been an RSS fellow since 1955. He was chosen as Fisher Lecturer in 1997, Deming Lecturer in 2004, and received the Wilks Memorial Award in 2007. He also received the AT&T Science and Technology medal in 1999. He was a prolific researcher and wrote over 200 papers, covering rank models, regression diagnostics, network engineering, software engineering, stopping rules, inequalities, order statistics, robust statistics, smoothing, experimental designs, software testing, matrix methods, principles of data analysis, implementation of governmental regulations, privacy and security and Apollonian packing.
Our sincere condolences go out to Colin’s family and friends at this time. A full obituary will be published in a forthcoming edition of our Series A journal.