Statistics in the Physical Sciences and Engineering

There is no doubt that much of the progress in statistics in the 1900's can be traced back to statisticians who grappled with solving real problems, many of which have roots in the physical sciences and engineering. George Box developed response surface designs working with chemical engineers. John Tukey developed exploratory data analysis working with telecommunications engineers. Abraham Wald developed sequential testing working with military engineers. These statisticians had a strong sense of what was important in the area of applications as well as what statistics could provide. The beginning of the 2000's is a good time to reflect on some of the current problems facing the physical sciences and engineering and to think about how they might lead to new advances in statistics. Or, at the least, what statisticians can contributed to solving these problems. My hope is that this small set of selected, short vignettes will give readers of JASA some sense of the excitement of about the opportunities for statistics and statisticians that those of us who work with physical scientists and engineers feel.