Richard J. Cook, professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences at the University of Waterloo, has been named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). The prestigious RSC award accentuates Cook’s storied academic career and voluminous research portfolio.

Cook’s primary research is in the development and application of statistical methods for public health. His specific areas of interest include the analysis of life history data, longitudinal data, incomplete data, sequential methods, multivariate analysis, clinical trial design, and the assessment of diagnostic tests.

Among his many accolades, Cook holds a Faculty of Mathematics Research Chair, was appointed University Professor and held a Canada Research Chair on two separate occasions. Cook tirelessly served the university and the academy more broadly as an editor for several journals and on numerous professional committees. He was recently a committee member for the Convalescent Plasma Trial for COVID-19 Respiratory Illness (CONCOR-1).

Cook has published two academic books and more than 300 articles in scholarly journals. His 2007 book, The Statistical Analysis of Recurrent Events, coauthored with Jerry Lawless, is the standard reference in its field. He has supervised some 70 postdoctoral, doctoral, master’s and undergraduate research projects.

Read more about Cook's RSC fellowship in the news story on Math News.