Paul Cabilio first studied at McGill University, in Montréal. He completed a B.Sc. in Mathematics in 1966 and obtained an M.Sc. in Statistics in 1969, after gaining work experience as a statistician for the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa. He then studied under the direction of Herbert Robbins at Columbia University in New York and received his Ph.D. in Statistics in 1973. Except for sabbaticals in Haifa (1979–80), Rome (1986–87) and Ottawa (1994–5, 2001), he spent his academic career at Acadia, retiring in 2007.

 

An expert in nonparametric statistics and rank-based methods, Paul published in some of the best journals, including the Journal of the American Statistical Association, The Annals of Statistics, and The Canadian Journal of Statistics. He was a strong promoter of the discipline and served the SSC is many capacities throughout his career.

 

Within the SSC, Paul was particularly active in the organization of meetings. After serving as Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 1993 Annual Meeting in Wolfville, he remained as a member of the Program Committee until 1996 and Chair from then on. He served as Program Secretary until 2002, while simultaneously being a Regional Representative for the Atlantic Provinces on the Board of Directors for four years (1994–8). In 2003, he was elected for a third term. He was then Executive Secretary of the Society from 2006 to 2009. He further served on the Editorial Board of Liaison and was a long-time SSC local representative at Acadia.

 

Paul also had a distinguished service career within his home university. He was a member of the Senate for four separate terms and a member of the Board of Governors from 1996 to 1998. He served on various committees at the university level and in the Faculty Association; he was President of the latter in 1980–1. He was also Head of his own department for three terms (1988–94, 2002–3, 2004–6) and Acting Dean in 2003–4.

 

Paul has been married to Juta for 41 years. They met at McGill. Their son Adrian is working as a computer scientist in Toronto, while their daughter Nora is presently doing her medical residency in Charlottetown. Paul enjoys canoeing, hiking and wilderness camping. He is also an avid gardener; he owns a greenhouse in which he grows exotic orchids.

 

Those among us who had a chance to work with Paul know that he is a dedicated team player. He researches carefully the issues at hand and presents his arguments in a cogent, concise and insightful manner. More often than not, he is quite right and he will quietly and effectively convince you of his case. His sense of humor is particularly enjoyable.