With an ever-growing demand and interest in the field of statistics, the need for additional faculty and staff to meet this demand is critical in order to educate future data scientists and statisticians of the world. That is why the Department of Statistics at Illinois is pleased to announce the additional faculty and academic professionals joining the department this fall! Expanding not only our area of expertise and research, we are also able to expand course offerings and broaden the scope of our influences on the students at the University of Illinois.
Faculty
Lelys Bravo de Guenni – Visiting Associate Professor – With more than 35 years’ experience teaching Statistics and Data Analysis in Environmental Sciences with experience in Data Analysis and Modeling of spatial-temporal data from different disciplines, including health, environmental and biological sciences, Professor Bravo brings with her a tremendous amount of fundamental experience. Leyls received her PhD in Environmental Sciences from Griffith University, MSc in Water Resources Engineering and Planning as well as a Bachelor in Mathematics at the Simon Bolivar University. Lelys began teaching STAT 448 for the Department of Statistics during the summer term and will teach a section of STAT 410 and STAT 429 during the fall term.
David Dalpiaz – Teaching Assistant Professor – Returning after a year away at THE Ohio State University where he was an Associated Assistant Professor and Data Analytics Program Specialist for the Statistics program, Professor Dalpiaz will continue his legacy where it all began. After completing his Bachelors in Mathematics at Illinois, David earned his PhD in Statistics before starting his career in education as a Visiting Assistant Professor, then Lecturer and the Academic Advisor for the MS program. David brings an exciting sense of enthusiasm to the course materials and lectures that he conducts, which is part of the reason that both the department and the student body that have interacted with David in the past are excited to have him return. David will be teaching STAT 432 this fall.
Daniel Eck – Assistant Professor – After recently completing a postdoctoral associate in the Crawford Lab at Yale School of Public Health in the Department of Biostatistics, Daniel Eck, will be joining the Department of Statistics this fall. Daniel received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Minnesota in 2017 after graduating from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale with Bachelors in Mathematics and a minor in economics. Daniel will be teaching a section of STAT 385 this fall.
Kelly Findley – Teaching Assistant Professor – Kelly Findley is a recent graduate from Florida State University where he received his PhD in Mathematics Education. His specialty is statistics education with a focus on teaching assistant and instructor professional development. With Kelly’s teaching perspective and approach to education with developing the skills and learning methods of primarily undergraduate students, he is poised to bring a sense of excitement to the curriculum that will be both engaging and fulfilling for students. In addition to teaching, Kelly will be working with several of the Statistics TA’s this fall to help further develop their skillset for classroom education. The addition of Kelly to an already strong introductory statistics group will only further strengthen the foundation of the program. Kelly will be teaching STAT 212 this fall as well as overseeing the STAT 200 TA’s.
Andrea Franklin – Career Services Advisor – Andrea Franklin has joined the Department of Statistics beginning in July 2019 as its new Career Advisor. Previously, Andrea was part of the Grainger College of Engineering as the Career Services Coordinator. Andrea will be working with students in the Statistics programs on building their resumes and developing the necessary skills to navigate the post-graduation world and prepare students for employment opportunities. Andrea completed her Bachelors in Political Science from Lee University in 2006. Since then she has worked as a Project Manager, Practice Administrator, and Operations Manager for various organizations throughout the Georgia area before joining the University of Illinois in January of 2018.
Xinran Li – Assistant Professor – Xinran Li has most recently completed a postdoctoral at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and will be officially joining the Statistics program this fall. Xinran Li received his Bachelors in Mathematics and a Bachelors in Economics from Peking University in 2013. After completing his undergraduate studies at Peking University, Xinran was accepted to Harvard University's PhD Statistics program, which he completed in 2018. Xinran will be teaching a section of STAT 420 this fall.
Albert Yu – Instructor – Albert Yu has recently accepted the position of Instructor with the Department of Statistics effective for Fall 2019. Albert has been a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the department, primarily working the last couple of semesters with the undergraduate introductory statistics courses. Albert will continue working towards his PhD while taking on this new role with the department. Before joining the PhD program in 2014, Albert was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher at Chelsea Academy in Front Royal, Virginia and Gallup Catholic School in Gallup, New Mexico. Albert received his Bachelors in Nuclear Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology before joining Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Albert will be receiving his MS in Statistics this fall. Albert will be overseeing the online section of STAT 100 as he has the previous couple of terms and will be teaching both sections of STAT 425.