Faculty Spotlight: Qingcong Yuan

photo of Qingcong Yuan

  • assistant professor of statistics
  • attended Shandong University in China for her undergraduate degree in statistics
  • received her PhD from the University of Kentucky

What kind of education and experience did you have before joining the faculty at Miami?

"I had my undergraduate study in statistics from Shandong University, China and my doctorate degree from the University of Kentucky. During the time when I was in graduate school, I worked as a teaching assistant. I had the experience of teaching both labs and statistical courses."

What attracted you to join Miami's Department of Statistics?

"When I was in graduate school, I had taught undergraduate students. I think my position at Miami is attractive since I love to teach as well as do research. When I came for my interview here at Miami, I thought this place was a perfect fit for me. Miami provides a very good atmosphere for faculty members to work with students on different projects and has a very strong reputation in undergraduate teaching. I like the opportunities to interact with students in different aspects of their academic study.

"My colleagues in the Department of Statistics were some of the most important considerations that attracted me to join Miami. They work together on different tasks, and everyone contributes to make the curriculum, research experience, career development, and life in general better for our students. My colleagues are very friendly, and they love to help each other. Whenever I have some questions, I can always find someone to ask, and they are willing to share their experience and suggestions with me. I feel everyone loves our department and Miami.

"The students are very good in terms of their learning attitude, their interest to do research projects, and their plans for their future career. They bring new ideas and suggestions to the class and to the program. I really enjoy working with students and helping them prepare for their future. Miami has also provided many resources to help new faculty members start their job, and I find those to be very helpful."

What have you learned about the university, your department, and overall community since arriving?

"Since arriving, I learned the history, tradition, and the beliefs of Miami much better. Through participating in different activities on campus, I gained a more concrete idea of all the things Miami and our department provide for students and faculty members to develop their own skills and spend their time here.

"I've been able to participate in person in many of the things that originally attracted me to Miami. And I was able to discover more reasons that will make people stay here. Our department and university holds many events that involve the community, such as CIQS Day. On top of that, the campus is beautiful, and there many interesting cultural events going on in Oxford. All of those convinced me that joining Miami was a very good choice!"

How do you describe what you do to people who don't know anything about statistics?

"My job consists of research, teaching, and service. My research involves using data and statistics tools to figure out the relationship and connections between different things and to predict what will happen in the future.

"I teach statistical courses to undergraduate as well as graduate students. I hope those courses will not only provide them statistical knowledge but also the way to think critically in statistics. I hope to arouse their interest to learn other statistical courses and work on a job related with statistics. I also participate in activities that includes student mentoring and student development."

What do you like to do outside of work?

"As a hobby I like to do handcrafts like soft clay, as well as cooking, jigsaw puzzles, and hiking."

[January 2019]