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George Box has been described as the greatest statistical mind of the 20th century. Now, Professor Jianjun Shi forever has his name attached to the celebrated scholar.

Shi, the Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), was awarded the George Box Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Industrial Statistics by the European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics (ENBIS). He is the second ISyE faculty member in the past five years to earn the honor, joining Professor Jeff Wu, who received it in 2017.

“I am extremely honored to receive this recognition named after a pioneer and leading scholar in quality science and industrial statistics,” Shi said. “This achievement could not have been reached without the tireless efforts of my students and collaborators, and persistent support from industrial sponsors.”

Each year, the medal recognizes an extraordinary statistician whose work has contributed to the development and application of statistical methods in European business and industry. Shi’s efforts in developing the “in-process quality improvement” methodologies has had broad impact in manufacturing quality and engineering statistics. His breakthroughs have gained widespread attention in the manufacturing and automotive communities, being implemented in over 40 steel mills worldwide and numerous major auto companies.

“The impacts of his work on industrial practice and financial savings are enormous,” Wu wrote in a recommendation letter for the award.

Shi is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, and the Institute of Operations Research and the Management Science, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has published over 180 papers on projects funded by the National Science Foundation, NIST Advanced Technology Program, Department of Energy, General Motors, Ford, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and more.

As an educator, he has advised 38 Ph.D. graduates, seven of home have received NSF CAREER Awards and one the NSF PECASE Award.