Kantilal Mardia
Encyclopedia
Kantilal Vardichand Mardia (born 1935) is a statistician
specializing in directional statistics, multivariate analysis
, geostatistics
, statistical bioinformatics
and statistical shape analysis
. He was born in Sirohi
, Rajasthan
, India
and now resides and works in Leeds
. He is known for his series of tests of multivariate normality based measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis as well as work on the statistical measures of shape.
at the University of Bombay (1955, 1957), the University of Poona (1961), the University of Rajasthan
(1965) and Newcastle University (1967, 1973), and held positions at the Institute of Science, Mumbai
and the University of Hull
. He currently works at the University of Leeds
, where he was Chair of Applied Statistics and currently is Senior Research Professor of Applied Statistics.
He was instrumental in founding the Centre of Medical Imaging Research (CoMIR) in the University of Leeds
where he held the position of joint director. He was the driving force behind the exchange programs between Leeds and other scholarly centers such as the University of Granada, Spain, and the Indian Statistical Institute
, Calcutta. He has written several scholarly books and edited conference proceedings and other special volumes.
In 1973, Mardia founded the University of Leeds Annual Statistics Research Workshops (LASR) which have run for most years and he has edited all the proceedings. These workshops attract an international audience and focus on applied statistical topics especially those involving shape and images, and more recently, bioinformatics
. Due to his initiative and efforts, the Centre of Statistical Bioinformatics (CoSB), Leeds, has been recently established. Mardia is the centre's Adjunct Director.
In 2003 he was awarded the Guy Medal in Silver
by the Royal Statistical Society
.
He is a practicing Jain
and is strict-vegetarian . His book The Scientific Foundations of Jainismhttp://www.amsta.leeds.ac.uk/%7Esta6kvm/JainismBookCover.jpg is already a classic introducing Four Nobles Truths of Jains. He is Chairman of the Yorkshire Jain
Foundation, and Vice-Chairman and a Trustee of the Jain Academy.
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
specializing in directional statistics, multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis is based on the statistical principle of multivariate statistics, which involves observation and analysis of more than one statistical variable at a time...
, geostatistics
Geostatistics
Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petroleum geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, meteorology,...
, statistical bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
and statistical shape analysis
Statistical shape analysis
Statistical shape analysis is a geometrical analysis from a set of shapes in which statistics are measured to describe geometrical properties from similar shapes or different groups, for instance, the difference between male and female Gorilla skull shapes, normal and pathological bone shapes, etc...
. He was born in Sirohi
Sirohi
Sirohi is a city in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District, and was formerly the capital of the princely state of the same name. Nearest railway station to Sirohi is Sirohi Road station.-Geography:...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and now resides and works in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. He is known for his series of tests of multivariate normality based measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis as well as work on the statistical measures of shape.
Life and career
Mardia obtained degrees from the Ismail Yusuf CollegeIsmail Yusuf College
Ismail Yusuf College, or simply IY College, is the fourth oldest college of Mumbai, India. Established 1924, is one of the oldest colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The college, situated on a hillock in Jogeshwari in the midst of sylvan surroundings...
at the University of Bombay (1955, 1957), the University of Poona (1961), the University of Rajasthan
University of Rajasthan
University of Rajasthan is the oldest university in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was set up on 8 January 1947 as the University of Rajputana and was given its current name in 1956.- Introduction :...
(1965) and Newcastle University (1967, 1973), and held positions at the Institute of Science, Mumbai
Institute of Science
The Institute of Science is an institution of postgraduate education and research located in Mumbai, India. It is managed by the Government of Maharashtra and is currently affiliated to the University of Mumbai.Established in 1920...
and the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
. He currently works at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, where he was Chair of Applied Statistics and currently is Senior Research Professor of Applied Statistics.
He was instrumental in founding the Centre of Medical Imaging Research (CoMIR) in the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
where he held the position of joint director. He was the driving force behind the exchange programs between Leeds and other scholarly centers such as the University of Granada, Spain, and the Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931...
, Calcutta. He has written several scholarly books and edited conference proceedings and other special volumes.
In 1973, Mardia founded the University of Leeds Annual Statistics Research Workshops (LASR) which have run for most years and he has edited all the proceedings. These workshops attract an international audience and focus on applied statistical topics especially those involving shape and images, and more recently, bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
. Due to his initiative and efforts, the Centre of Statistical Bioinformatics (CoSB), Leeds, has been recently established. Mardia is the centre's Adjunct Director.
In 2003 he was awarded the Guy Medal in Silver
Guy Medal
The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold Medal is awarded triennially, the other two are awarded annually...
by the Royal Statistical Society
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
.
He is a practicing Jain
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and is strict-vegetarian . His book The Scientific Foundations of Jainismhttp://www.amsta.leeds.ac.uk/%7Esta6kvm/JainismBookCover.jpg is already a classic introducing Four Nobles Truths of Jains. He is Chairman of the Yorkshire Jain
Foundation, and Vice-Chairman and a Trustee of the Jain Academy.
Books
- Multivariate Analysis (coauthored with John T. Kent and John Bibby)
- Statistics of Directional Data (second edition coauthored with Peter Jupp)
- Statistical Shape Analysis (coauthored with Ian Dryden)
External links
- Home page at Leeds University
- Review of the LASR on the occasion of Mardias 65th Birthday by Fred Bookstein.
- Yorkshire Jain Foundation
- In Conversation with Prof. Kanti V. Mardia . . . in Research Newsletter of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. February 2009.