Bradley Efron was educated at California Institute of Technology and Stanford University.
Since 1974 he has been professor in the Department of Statistics at Stanford University.
Efron is one of the most significant statisticians of our time.
His work ranges over a large area, from statistical methods within medicine and astrophysics
to studies of the conceptual foundations of the field of statistics.
Of the greatest importance is his work on the bootstrap method.
Bootstrap denotes a special method for computer simulation that is more flexible and often
gives more certain conclusions than classical statistical methods.
Efron’s first paper on the bootstrap method was published in 1979, and it inspired a
development where simulation with a computer is an increasingly important methodological
tool for statisticians.
Several Norwegian researchers and doctoral students have, during the last 25 years,
spent time at the Department of Statistics at Stanford University,
and they have experienced Efron as an open and forthcoming scientific advisor.
Efron has also twice given courses for Norwegian researchers and doctoral students.
