For spatial statistician Matthew Heaton, each day is a new chance to make the world a better place.
Heaton’s research focuses on analyzing and learning from data in various fields that is collected over space and time. He is currently analyzing statistics for several different projects, including the location and severity of car crashes for the Federal Highway administration; energy signals in the upper atmosphere for the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and RSV epidemics for professors in the BYU Department of Health Science.
“I have seen firsthand how statistics can be used to answer questions that lead to an improved society,” he said.
Heaton has been an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics since 2013. For his outstanding research efforts in such a short period of time, he was honored with the Young Scholar Award at the college’s annual awards banquet on February 6.
Having attended BYU for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Heaton is a proud Cougar fan and is happy to be back as a faculty member. He received his PhD from Duke University in 2011 and then worked as a post-doctoral scientist for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
He loves his research, but Heaton’s favorite part of his job is working with the people at BYU.
“I have found BYU to be an amazing place where professors and students work side-by-side to learn and progress,” he said. “This collaborative, unified attitude makes BYU an amazing place to be.”
Regarding this award, Heaton said he is humbled and honored and feels indebted to his colleagues, professors, friends, and family who have constantly supported him.
“I could not do what I do nor be who I am without the influence of wonderful people in my life,” he said. “I owe a great deal of gratitude to all the many people who have helped me reach this point in my career.”