P en g Zeng
Mathematics and Statistics Research Update
Advances in science and technology have led to an explosive growth of high and ultrahigh dimensional data across a variety of areas such as bioinformatics, climate research, and
the Internet. Traditional statistical analysis methods often become unstable when facing such a
large number of variables. Associate Professor Peng Zeng of the Department of Mathematics
and Statistics was recently awarded a three-year, $100,000 grant from the National Science
Foundation that will enable him to work toward the development of more sophisticated statistical
methodologies, specifically, the development of effective penalization methods for fitting multiple
index models.
The project, titled “Penalization Methods for Screening, Variable Selection, and Dimension
Reduction in High-Dimensional Regression via Multiple Index Models,” is expected to: make a
significant contribution to the advancement of semiparametric methodology and theory; generate
a group of effective variable selection and dimension reduction methods and variable screening
procedures with understood properties; and extend to accommodate categorical responses and
generalized multiple index models.
“Research is driven by applications,” Zeng said. “Massive data nowadays motivate the
development of novel statistical methods and models. I am attracted to this field by the challenge
and opportunity.”
In addition to his recent grant, Zeng was selected to be a research fellow from January to May
2012 at The Research Triangle Park’s Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute in
North Carolina. He has also been an invited speaker at several national mathematics conferences
and has published numerous papers on statistical theory and methods, as well as specific
mathematical applications and case studies. Zeng has served as a referee for statistical journals
such as The Annals of Statistics, Biometrics, and Journal of the American Statistical Association, among
others. He is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics, and, at Auburn University, Zeng serves on the COSAM Research Advisory Committee
and is a member of the Graduate Study Committee. For more information on Zeng and his
research, visit http://www.auburn.edu/~zengpen/.
About Zeng:
Zeng, who is from a small town in
central China, said he never doubted
he would become a mathematician.
“I was always good at math
when I was a student in middle
school and high school, and I was in
mathematics competitions, so a career
in mathematics was a natural choice
for me,” Zeng said.
Zeng received his bachelor’s
degree in mathematics from Nankai
University in Tianjin, China. He
came to the U.S. in 2001 and attended
Purdue University where he received
his master’s and doctorate in statistics.
Zeng said he chose to live and work
in America because the leading
researchers in his field are located in
the U.S.
A faculty member in the
Department of Mathematics and
Statistics since 2005, Zeng lives in
Auburn with his wife, Pingping Han,
and his son, Orlando.
“I like Auburn because the weather
is very similar to my hometown in
China,” Zeng said. “Auburn is a great
place for us to raise our son.”
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