Advances in Scalable Bayesian Computation [group photo]

Advances in Scalable Bayesian Computation [14w5125]

Here is the Press release for the workshop:

The Banff International Research Station will host the “Advances in Scalable Bayesian Computation” workshop from March 2nd to March 7th, 2014.

Computational advances are always accompanied by new challenges, due both to the growth in data processing and in the possible exploration of new models. While highly innovative statistical computing methods from the early 1990’s still are at the core of today’s statistical practice, new models, especially in population genetics and statistical signal processing cannot be readily handled by such methods. Solutions at the interface between improved computing algorithms and controlled model approximations are now appearing in several fields and this workshop aims at bringing together experts from those different fields.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta’s Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).

The talks at BIRS are available on video as well.

back to Banff in 2014![14w5125]

A few days ago, we heard from BIRS‘s director the very good news, the great news, that our proposal for a workshop on Advances in Scalable Bayesian Computation had been accepted! The dates of this new workshop in Banff are March 3-7, 2014, which means 2014 will be a terrific year both for Monte Carlo-ing and for mountaineering, as it will follow MCMSki IV by two months! This proposal was led by Luke Bornn, now in Harvard, and Nando de Freitas, Scott Schmidler and myself joined forces with him. (Scott and I having the additional incentive of the prospect of terrific ice-climbing, we did not need too much prodding!) The overwhelming surroundings, the superlative facilities of the Banff Centre, and the quality of the company will undoubtedly make March 3-7, 2014, a great, great week!