Howell Tong
Encyclopedia
Howell Tong is a statistician
, working in the fields of nonlinear time series
analysis and chaos
. From October 1, 2009, he is an Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics
and was twice (2009, 2010) holder of the Saw Swee Hock Professorship of Statistics at National University of Singapore
. He has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Statistics at the University of Hong Kong since 2005.
Tong went to England initially to study in 1961. He got his Bachelor of Science (1966, with first class honours), Master of Science (1969) and Doctor of Philosophy(1972) all from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) where he studied with Maurice Priestley
. Tong remained in UMIST first as a lecturer and then as a senior lecturer. While in Manchester, he started his married life with Mary. In 1982, he moved to the Chinese University of Hong Kong
where he was the founding Chair of Statistics. Four years later, he returned to England to be Chair of Statistics at the University of Kent at Canterbury
until 1999. From 1999 to September 2009, Tong was a Chair of Statistics at the London School of Economics. Between 1997 and 2004, Tong was also Chair of Statistics and sometime Pro-Vice Chancellor and Founding Dean of the Graduate School, University of Hong Kong.
Tong was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics
in 1993, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries
, England in 1999, and a Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
in 2000. He won the State Natural Science Prize, China in 2000. The Royal Statistical Society
awarded him their Guy Medal
in Silver in 2007 in recognition of his "...many important contributions to time series analysis over a distinguished career and in particular for his fundamental and highly influential paper "Threshold autoregression, limit cycles and cyclical data", read to the Society in 1980, which paved the way for a major body of work in non-linear time series modelling."
Tong has two children: Simon and Anna.
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...
, working in the fields of nonlinear time series
Time series
In statistics, signal processing, econometrics and mathematical finance, a time series is a sequence of data points, measured typically at successive times spaced at uniform time intervals. Examples of time series are the daily closing value of the Dow Jones index or the annual flow volume of the...
analysis and chaos
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
. From October 1, 2009, he is an Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and was twice (2009, 2010) holder of the Saw Swee Hock Professorship of Statistics at National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
. He has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Statistics at the University of Hong Kong since 2005.
Tong went to England initially to study in 1961. He got his Bachelor of Science (1966, with first class honours), Master of Science (1969) and Doctor of Philosophy(1972) all from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) where he studied with Maurice Priestley
Maurice Priestley
Maurice Bertram Priestley is emeritus professor of statistics in the School of Mathematics, University of Manchester. He gained his first degree at the University of Cambridge and went on to gain a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester....
. Tong remained in UMIST first as a lecturer and then as a senior lecturer. While in Manchester, he started his married life with Mary. In 1982, he moved to the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
where he was the founding Chair of Statistics. Four years later, he returned to England to be Chair of Statistics at the University of Kent at Canterbury
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
until 1999. From 1999 to September 2009, Tong was a Chair of Statistics at the London School of Economics. Between 1997 and 2004, Tong was also Chair of Statistics and sometime Pro-Vice Chancellor and Founding Dean of the Graduate School, University of Hong Kong.
Tong was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts of the world...
in 1993, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries
Institute of Actuaries
The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom . The Institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland...
, England in 1999, and a Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...
in 2000. He won the State Natural Science Prize, China in 2000. 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...
awarded him their Guy Medal
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...
in Silver in 2007 in recognition of his "...many important contributions to time series analysis over a distinguished career and in particular for his fundamental and highly influential paper "Threshold autoregression, limit cycles and cyclical data", read to the Society in 1980, which paved the way for a major body of work in non-linear time series modelling."
Tong has two children: Simon and Anna.