The UW–Madison Department of Statistics is thrilled to celebrate Professor Emerita Grace Wahba, who has been awarded the 2025 International Prize in Statistics — one of the highest honors in the field — for her foundational contributions to smoothing splines, a method to draw smooth curves through messy data, and the transformative impact her ideas have had on on modern data science and machine learning.
Wahba is just the fifth individual to win the international prize, which is offered every two years by a collection of five leading international statistics organizations. The award honors a major achievement by an individual or team in the statistics field, particularly one that has led to breakthroughs in other disciplines, as Wahba’s work has.
Wahba joined the Department of Statistics faculty in 1967 after earning her PhD from Stanford University, becoming the department’s first female faculty member. Over the next 51 years, she built a prolific research and teaching career that helped define the field of statistics, leaving an indelible mark on both theory and practice.
“The Department of Statistics is proud to share in the acknowledgement of Grace Wahba’s extraordinary achievement, for which she is being recognized with this prestigious award,” said Bret Larget, chair and professor of the Department of Statistics. “She has created a lasting legacy in both our department and the field of statistics through her long and distinguished career.”
Known as a pioneer in flexible statistical modeling techniques, Wahba’s early work laid the groundwork for what would become essential methods in today’s data-driven research landscape. Her development of smoothing splines enabled statisticians to extract meaningful patterns from noisy data, an approach which is now a cornerstone of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Often referred to as “the mother of smoothing splines,” Wahba’s influence extends far beyond the classroom and the university. Her methods have powered advances in climate science, and medical imaging, demonstrating the practical importance of statistical theory in contributing solutions to society’s most critical challenges. As Jessica Utts, chair of the International Prize in Statistics Foundation, noted, “Her early insights into regularization and smoothing have become essential tools used daily by statisticians and data scientists working across nearly every scientific field.”
Wahba’s interdisciplinary approach and collaborative spirit helped shape generations of scholars. She advised nearly 40 PhD students, many of whom went on to prominent careers in academia and industry. Even after her retirement in 2018 as I.J. Schoenberg-Hilldale Professor Emerita, Wahba remained actively engaged with students, research, and the wider statistical community.
Her legacy is further honored by the Grace Wahba Award and Lecture, established in 2021 by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and by the Grace Wahba Professorship of Computer Sciences currently held by Professor and CDIS Director Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau. Wahba will receive the International Prize in Statistics, which includes an $80,000 award, at the 2025 World Statistics Congress.
The Department of Statistics is forever grateful for the enduring impact Wahba has made on our department and our field.
Congratulations to Professor Emerita Grace Wahba on this distinguished honor!
Read more about Grace Wahba in a Q&A from the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
Read the full press release announcing Wahba as the winner of the International Prize in Statistics.