Significance Explores Lasting Impact
of Professor C. R. Rao

What links a giant teddy bear, a seminal statistics textbook, three discoveries that transformed the field, and India’s entire statistical infrastructure? All were gifts Professor Calyampudi Radhakrishna (C. R.) Rao bestowed throughout his life—and all those gifts still endure (yes, even the teddy bear), as we learn in Cathleen O’Grady’s enjoyable profile of the pioneering and dearly loved late statistician in this issue.

Do you have a personal anecdote about or memory of C. R. Rao? Why not share it with fellow Significance readers by submitting it to our Letters page? We’ll print as many as we can in our March 2024 issue.

In the December issue, we also analyze the flaws in the Australian government’s Robodebt scheme and look through a statistical lens at two phenomena that have rocketed in popularity in recent years: women’s soccer and Korean popular culture.

December Issue Highlights

C. R. Rao: Celebrating the life and achievements of the iconic Indian statistician

C. R. Rao in focus: Why he won the greatest prize in statistics and explainers of his most famous work

Robodebt: The flawed stats behind a disastrous automated decision-making system in Australia

Women’s soccer: Why is it more enjoyable to watch than the men’s game?

Sex trafficking: Disrupting a hidden crime using advanced analytical techniques

Korean wave: A fun statistical analysis of how Hallyu is taking over our TV screens, ears, dinner plates, and bathroom cabinets

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