The Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) has announced the selection of Professor Yuguo Chen to the 2024 IMS Fellows list. Chen was chosen for his substantive and sustained contributions to Monte Carlo methods, network data analysis and statistical computing, and exceptional and extensive editorial work. Chen is the Director of the Illinois Statistics Consulting Office and holds affiliations with several University of Illinois units, including but not limited to the Coordinated Science Laboratory, Information Trust Institute, Computational Science and Engineering, and the Illinois Informatics Institute.

Chen's dedication to the academic community is further demonstrated by his numerous editorial roles. He currently serves as the Associate Editor for Statistica Sinica (2020 – present), the Journal of American Statistical Association (2014 - present), and the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics (2007 – present). His contributions extend beyond these roles, as he also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Algebraic Statistics (2009 – present) and the ISRN Computational Mathematics (2011 – present).

Professor Chen's career has been marked by a series of prestigious honors. Prior to his selection to the IMS Fellows, Chen was named a Data Science Founder Professorial Scholar in 2019 by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This was preceded by his recognition as an American Statistical Association Fellow in 2018.

The IMS was founded in 1935 and now has an estimated 4,700 members worldwide, with approximately 10 percent of the current IMS membership has been named fellowship recipients. The IMS Fellowship nomination process aims to recognize individuals significantly contributing to statistics or probability. Candidates must demonstrate excellence through independent research or leadership in the field, with consideration for those who have made substantial impacts beyond original research or in the application of statistical principles. Nominees must be active members of IMS for at least two years.