Rate Professor Persi Diaconis

Academic Profile

Academic Background: Ph.D. in Statistics, Harvard University, 1974; B.S. in Mathematics, City College of New York, 1968.

Research Interests: Probability theory, Bayesian statistics, and applications in card shuffling and randomness. Known for mathematical analysis of randomization processes.

Appointments: Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University; Previously faculty at Harvard University.

Awards: MacArthur Fellowship (1982); Rollo Davidson Prize (1984); Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Publications: Co-author of Group Representations in Probability and Statistics (Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 1988); Articles in Annals of Probability and Journal of the American Statistical Association.

Additional Contributions: Noted for public talks on the mathematics of magic and card tricks.