Grace Wahba

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Grace Wahba

| image = Grace Wahba 1986.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Grace Wahba in 1986

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|08|03|mf=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| fields = Mathematics, statistics, machine learning

| workplaces = University of Wisconsin–Madison

| alma_mater = Stanford University
University of Maryland, College Park
Cornell University

| thesis_title = Cross Spectral Distribution Theory for Mixed Spectra and Estimation of Prediction Filter Coefficients

| doctoral_advisor = Emanuel Parzen

| doctoral_students = {{plainlist|1=

}}

| known_for = generalized cross validation, smoothing splines

| awards =

| website = http://www.stat.wisc.edu/~wahba/

}}

Grace Goldsmith Wahba (born August 3, 1934) is an American statistician and retired I. J. Schoenberg-Hilldale Professor of Statistics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.{{Cite web|url=https://news.wisc.edu/breaking-ground-with-grace/|title=Breaking ground with Grace|website=news.wisc.edu|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-16}} She is a pioneer in methods for smoothing noisy data. Best known for the development of generalized cross-validation{{Cite journal|last1=Craven|first1=Peter|last2=Wahba|first2=Grace|date=1978-12-01|title=Smoothing noisy data with spline functions|journal=Numerische Mathematik|language=en|volume=31|issue=4|pages=377–403|doi=10.1007/BF01404567|s2cid=14094416|issn=0945-3245}} and "Wahba's problem", she has developed methods with applications in demographic studies, machine learning, DNA microarrays, risk modeling, medical imaging, and climate prediction.

Biography

Wahba had an interest in science from an early age, when she was in junior high she was given a chemistry set. At this time she was also interested in becoming an engineer.

Wahba studied at Cornell University for her undergraduate degree; in 1952, Cornell and Brown University were the only Ivy League universities that admitted women. When she was there women were severely restricted in their privileges, for example she was required to live in a dorm and had a curfew. She received her bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1956 and a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1962. She worked in industry for several years before receiving her doctorate from Stanford University in 1966 and settling in Madison in 1967.

She is the author of Spline Models for Observational Data.{{Cite book|title=Spline Models for Observational Data|last=Wahba|first=G.|date=1990-01-01|publisher=Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics|isbn=9780898712445|series=CBMS-NSF Regional Conference Series in Applied Mathematics|doi=10.1137/1.9781611970128|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/splinemodelsforo0000wahb}} She retired in August 2018 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.{{Cite web|url=https://statistics.stanford.edu/people/grace-goldsmith-wahba|title=Grace Goldsmith Wahba {{!}} Department of Statistics|website=statistics.stanford.edu|access-date=2019-10-06}}

Her life and career are discussed in a 2020 interview.{{Cite journal|url=https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.ss/1591171233|last1=Douglas Nychka, Ping Ma, and Douglas Bates|title=A Conversation with Grace Wahba|journal=Statistical Science|language=en|volume=35|issue=2|date=2020|pages=308–320|doi=10.1214/19-STS734|doi-access=free}}

Honors and awards

File:Grace Wahba 2010.jpg

Wahba was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1997{{cite web|title=Grace Wahba|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/grace-wahba|website=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=24 June 2021}} and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2000.{{cite web|title=National Academy of Sciences|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/59761.html|website=|access-date=22 February 2016}} She is also a fellow of several academic societies including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association, and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.wisc.edu/~wahba/hons.txt|website=|access-date=22 February 2016|title=Grace Wahba: Honors}}

Over the years she has received a selection of notable awards in the statistics community:

International Prize in Statistics, 2025{{cite web|url=https://www.statprize.org/2025-International-Prize-in-Statistics-Awarded-to-Grace-Wahba.cfm|title=Grace Wahba Honored with International Prize for Work on Smoothing Splines|publisher=International Prize in Statistics|last=Va|first=Alexandria|date=April 14, 2025|access-date=April 29, 2025}}
R. A. Fisher Lectureship, COPSS, August 2014{{cite web|title=Institute of Mathematical Statistics|url=http://www.imstat.org/awards/copss_recipients.htm|website=|access-date=22 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312212858/http://imstat.org/awards/copss_recipients.htm|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
Gottfried E. Noether Senior Researcher Award, Joint Statistics Meetings, August 2009
Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies Elizabeth Scott Award, 1996
First Emanuel and Carol Parzen Prize for Statistical Innovation, 1994

She received honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the University of Chicago in 2007 and The Ohio State University in 2022.

The Institute of Mathematical Statistics announced the IMS Grace Wahba Award and Lecture in 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://stat.wisc.edu/2021/05/27/ims-grace-wahba-award-and-lecture//|title=ims-grace-wahba-award-and-lecture|date=27 May 2021 |access-date=24 June 2021}}