We are delighted to reveal the three finalists of the 2025 Statistical Excellence Award for Early-Career Writing.
Launched earlier this year, the competition attracted entries from across the world, which were considered by a panel of nine judges.
This year’s shortlist (in alphabetical order) is:
Becky Griffiths
The Semmelweis Effect: How many lives can hand hygiene save?
Sarah C. Lotspeich
Interweaving probability and crochet: A stati-stitchin’s guide
Zhaoxi Zhang
Early Scottish statisticians and their lasting legacy
The following was highly commended:
Mark Louie F. Ramos
Autism, Bayesian probability, and why we do what we do
Winners and runners-up will be announced at the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) Statistical Excellence Awards on 15 July. The three finalists have been invited to present papers based on their articles at the RSS 2025 Annual Conference, which takes place 1-4 September in Edinburgh. The winning article will be published in a future print edition of Significance and its digital version, and runners-up will be published on the Significance website.
“A huge thank you to all this year’s entrants, whose work we have so enjoyed reading and discussing,” said Significance editor Anna Britten on behalf of the judging panel. “It wasn’t easy to decide upon a shortlist, as we received some exceptionally strong entries, on an invigorating variety of subjects, including sport, health, history, gaming, luck and animals (both real and imaginary!).
“Clearly, this cohort of early career statisticians and data scientists is honing a real talent for connecting with readers beyond the stats bubble, something that will become ever more prized in the age of AI.”
The Statistical Excellence Award for Early-Career Writing is jointly organised by Significance and the Young Statisticians Section of the Royal Statistical Society, and forms part of the RSS Statistical Excellence Awards programme.
Congratulations to Becky, Sarah and Zhaoxi on making the shortlist, and to Mark Louie for being highly commended, and many thanks to all the other early-career statisticians and data scientists who took the time to submit their entries.
While you wait for this year’s winner to be announced, why not check out last year’s winning article, by Joseph Lam, and this one by runner-up Fabio Feser?
You might also like: William Guy: Victorian statistics’ biggest champion
Statistically speaking… How long can the next Pope expect to live?
Photo: Kaitlyn Baker/Unsplash
