The theoretical foundations of statistical science distinguish the  subject from the many fields of research in which statistical thinking is a key intellectual component.  In this talk I will emphasize the ongoing importance and relevance of theoretical advances and theoretical thinking through some illustrative examples from the scientific literature.

Bio: Nancy Margaret Reid is a Canadian theoretical statistician. She is a professor at the University of Toronto where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Statistical Theory. In 2015 Reid became Director of the Canadian Institute for Statistical Sciences. Reid has served as President of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the Statistical Society of Canada. She is co-editor of the Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application. In 1992, Reid received the COPSS Presidents’ Award for outstanding contributions to statistics. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society of Canada; a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences; and an Officer of the Order of Canada.