Congratulations to Professor Norma Bargary, Professor of Data Science and Statistical Learning on the Occasion of her Inaugural Lecture

Congratulations to Professor Norma Bargary, Professor of Data Science & Statistical Learning in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at the University of Limerick on the occasion of her Inaugural Lecture on International Women’s Day. Professor Bargary, a Tipperary native, was appointed a Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI) Professor in December 2020.  The goal of the SALI initiative is to accelerate progress in achieving gender balance at the senior academic level in Higher Education Institutions. Professor Bargary’s lecture was entitled “20 years of uncertainty: the life of a statistician.”

Commenting on the occasion on behalf of the University Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President of Research said: “It is fitting that on today International Women’s Day that we host Norma’s Inaugural Lecture. She is one of the first two Higher Education Authority funded Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI) professorships in UL. The SALI is a national call which first launched on 21st June 2019 and aims to help achieve equality of outcome in the higher education sector. UL is leading the way in gender equality in many ways and UL takes great pride in being one of the first institutions in Ireland to achieve (in July 2015) an Athena Swan (AS) Bronze Institution Award.”

Professor Bargary’s research focuses on the development of statistical models for large, high-dimensional data that are measured over time, and has extensive experience working with collaborators in a range of research areas including medicine, biology, sports science, and psychology. She has played a leading role in numerous successful European and national grant applications with a total of €1.6 million awarded to her as PI. She also has a keen interest in engaging with researchers, the media, and the public on the appropriate use of statistics and is the first of two Royal Statistical Society Statistical Ambassadors to be based in Ireland.