Imperial College Prof to Serve as RSS President

The UK's Royal Statistical Society (RSS) has confirmed that Professor Guy Nason will serve for two years as its next President, from January 2027 on the conclusion of Sir John Aston's term of office.

The Society was founded in 1834, has more than 12,000 members worldwide and functions as a learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity promoting statistics, data and evidence for the public good. When Aston was appointed two years ago, the body had just named a new CEO, Dr Sarah Cumbers. The RSS President is recommended from a list of nominees put forward by the Society's fellows to a Nominating Committee, and former holders of the title include Labour prime minister Harold Wilson.

Professor Nason is Chair in Statistics at Imperial College London and Honorary Professor at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UCL, and the University of Bristol. His research focuses on time series, forecasting, networks, computational social science, and official statistics. His extensive experience advising government includes current service as co-chair of the Home Office Science Advisory Council, and a seat on the National Statistician's Expert User Advisory Committee. He previously chaired the International Prize in Statistics Foundation, and served as RSS vice-president for academic affairs from 2016 to 2020., playing a key role in the Society's efforts to improve the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Professor Nason says he is 'deeply honoured and truly delighted' to have been elected President, while CEO Cumbers states: 'I'm delighted that Guy will be our next President. He brings a remarkable breadth of experience, spanning both academic research and the practical application of statistics in policymaking. His thoughtful leadership and strong commitment to supporting others in the profession make him exceptionally well placed to guide the RSS into its next chapter.'

The Society's home page is at www.rss.org.uk .