We are delighted to announce that Neil Spencer, Assistant Professor in Statistics, has been named the new Makuch Faculty Fellow (January 2025-December 2026). This fellowship was instituted through a generous donation from Robert Makuch (’72 CLAS).

Neil Spencer, PhD in Statistics and Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University, specializes in robust Bayesian inference, network science, and efficient statistical computation. Motivated by collaborations in forensic science, anthropology, and medicine, his research focuses on developing statistical methods for complex data structures, including networks, images, and point patterns. By balancing reliable uncertainty quantification with computational feasibility, he aims to create practical, trustworthy tools that support scientific discovery.

A recipient of the award carries the title of Makuch Faculty Fellow for a period of 2 calendar years and receives a stipend of $10,000. The Fellow is chosen in alternate years from the faculty of the Mathematics and Statistics Departments. The fellowship program was launched in 2021 with one award in Mathematics and one in Statistics. In 2022 an award was made in Mathematics, in 2023 the recipient was from Statistics, and in 2024 the recipient was from Mathematics. In 2026, the recipient will be from Mathematics.

Please visit https://clas.uconn.edu/faculty-staff/endowed-chairs/#makuch to see the past recipients.