Skip to content

Explore Courses | Elder Research | Contact | LMS Login

Statistics.com Logo
  • Courses
    • See All Courses
    • Calendar
    • Intro stats for college credit
    • Faculty
    • Group training
    • Credit & Credentialing
    • Teach With Us
  • Programs/Degrees
    • Certificates
      • Analytics for Data Science
      • Biostatistics
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Novice)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Novice)
      • Social Science
    • Undergraduate Degree Programs
    • Graduate Degree Programs
    • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
  • Partnerships
    • Higher Education
    • Enterprise
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Word Of The Week
    • News and Announcements
    • Newsletter signup
    • Glossary
    • Statistical Symbols
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Testimonials
    • Test Yourself
Menu
  • Courses
    • See All Courses
    • Calendar
    • Intro stats for college credit
    • Faculty
    • Group training
    • Credit & Credentialing
    • Teach With Us
  • Programs/Degrees
    • Certificates
      • Analytics for Data Science
      • Biostatistics
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Novice)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Novice)
      • Social Science
    • Undergraduate Degree Programs
    • Graduate Degree Programs
    • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
  • Partnerships
    • Higher Education
    • Enterprise
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Word Of The Week
    • News and Announcements
    • Newsletter signup
    • Glossary
    • Statistical Symbols
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Testimonials
    • Test Yourself
Student Login

Blog

Home Blog Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics

Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics

95 years ago, Bell Labs was founded as a joint project of AT&T and Western Electric.  Its primary mission was R&D for its parents’ fast-growing telecommunications businesses.  Since that time, Bell Labs became a fabled American research institution, but also suffered the vicissitudes of trying to reconcile its orientation to basic research with the needs of owners that have to make a profit.  Making a profit dictated a focus on more applied research that tied in to commercial products or services. Bell Labs went through various ownership changes starting with the breakup of the U.S. telephone monopolies in the 1980s, and is now owned by Nokia.

No discipline gained more from Bell Labs than statistics.  Among its alumni:

  • Walter Shewhart:  He developed the theory and tools of statistical process control, the foundation of continuous improvement procedures.
  • John Chambers:  He developed the computer language S, the forerunner of R.
  • John Tukey:  Inventor of the jacknife (the foundation of cross-validation), and the author of Exploratory Data Analysis, which gave rise to the sub-field of the same name.
  • Percy Diaconinis:  Noted probabilist and student of randomness, he left home at age 13 to become a magician.
  • Trevor Hastie:  He chaired the Statistics Department at Stanford, and co-authored several influential books in statistics and data science, including The Elements of Statistical Learning.
  • Yann LeCun and Yoahua Bengio:  Pioneers in deep learning, work for which they earned the Turing award (along with Geoffrey Hinton).

Recent Posts

  • Oct 6: Ethical AI: Darth Vader and the Cowardly Lion
    /
    0 Comments
  • Oct 19: Data Literacy – The Chainsaw Case
    /
    0 Comments
  • Data Literacy – The Chainsaw Case
    /
    0 Comments

About Statistics.com

Statistics.com offers academic and professional education in statistics, analytics, and data science at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of instruction. Statistics.com is a part of Elder Research, a data science consultancy with 25 years of experience in data analytics.

 The Institute for Statistics Education is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

Our Links

  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team

Social Networks

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Contact

The Institute for Statistics Education
2107 Wilson Blvd
Suite 850 
Arlington, VA 22201
(571) 281-8817

ourcourses@statistics.com

  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team

© Copyright 2023 - Statistics.com, LLC | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Accept