Throughout the year, we want to feature some graduate students on here via student profiles! If you are interested in doing this, please let one of us know; otherwise, we will randomly select some people to be featured. We will go ahead and do the first one, just to give a sense of what we’re going for here.
Sophie Nguyen
Hi everyone, I am Huong (Sophie) Nguyen, a fourth year PhD student in Statistics. I am originally from Ha Noi, Vietnam. Before OSU, I got my BS in Accounting and Business Management – Finance concentration from Truman State University and my MS in Statistics from University of Wyoming.
I have just started to work on my own research after finishing all the required courses. Currently, I am reading with Dr. Craigmile and Dr. Pratola on spatial statistics and design of computer experiments. If you are attending either Spatial and Environmental Statistics or Design of Physical and Computer Experiments reading groups this semester, you will see me there.
In terms of teaching and working, I was a teaching assistant for STAT 1350 and now I am a consultant with the Statistical Consulting Service (SCS). Both positions give me the opportunity to cooperate with people outside of statistics and thus, learn to communicate statistical findings using non-technical language.
Outside of class, I love cooking and can get quite creative with my recipes with which I have a few successes and a few misses. I am also very into sports (badminton and basketball) and outdoor activities (mostly hiking and rock climbing). I have played badminton since I was ten years old and was trained for several years. When I was in Wyoming, I started to do a lot of hiking and some rock climbing and have come to love both. Here are some amazing trails in Wyoming.
My office is 305E in Cockins Hall which is at the other end of the hall from our computer lab. Feel free to stop by my office or email me if you have any question.
Justin Strait
Hey everyone – my name is Justin Strait and I’m a third year PhD student within the department. I was born in South Korea but grew up a “military brat” (as we’re so affectionately called). I’ve lived in 9 different states/countries throughout my life, including England, but claim Colorado Springs, CO as my hometown as that’s where I have lived the longest so far. I went to the University of Utah for my undergrad, getting a dual BS in Mathematics and Atmospheric Science. Unfortunately, my weather knowledge is actually fairly poor, so I would not recommend asking me questions about why you can’t feel your toes in January. When I’m not doing statistics, I love sports (and follow college football and tennis almost obsessively), enjoy skiing (but have never gone to any of the hills in Ohio) and being outdoors…and that’s about it. I’m going to try to one-up Sophie’s Wyoming pics with some pics of Colorado:
In terms of statistics, right now my research interests are: statistics (?). I’m at that point where coursework is starting to wrap up somewhat in favor of research, and so I’m currently trying to figure out what I am interested in. I’m excited to start working/reading this semester with Dr. Kurtek on some topics in statistical shape analysis, as well as participate in the Spatial and Environmental Statistics reading group. In terms of teaching, I’ve been a TA for STAT 1350 every semester since I started here at OSU (5 in total), including 2 semesters as lecturer…I think the class has done leaps and bounds for my ability to explain things to non-technical crowds. My office is now MA 456 (through the door that’s in the stairwell between the third and fourth floor of Cockins), but I’m typically camped out in the 3rd floor computer lab, so feel free to talk to me if you have any questions. Best wishes to everyone this semester!
