From: Statistical Science Majors Union
Date: November 3, 2025
Subject: SSMU Snapshots: Week of Nov 3, 2025


Happy November! We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our GBM and bookbagging events last week—we hope you found them helpful and enjoyable!

🍵 Upcoming Events

1. eUSR Watch Party 🍿
Join us this Friday for a watch party for the Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference (eUSR) livestream! Drop in and out anytime from 12:00 PM–5:00 PM to enjoy delicious snacks, poster presentations, and discussions moderated by guest hosts in between! (RSVP)
🗓️ 12-5 PM on Friday, November 7th
📍 Old Chem 025

2. Sign up for Group FLUNCH with Dr. Alex Fisher 🍎
FLUNCHes are a great way for faculty and students to connect over lunch, fostering mentorship and informal conversation outside the classroom. There are still spots open for our next group FLUNCH with Dr. Fisher in November, and you can sign up here!
🗓️ 12-1 PM on Friday, November 7th
📍 The Commons (3rd floor of WU)

Please note that by signing up, you’re committing to the FLUNCH and will need to fill out the official FLUNCH request form.

3. SSMU Game Night 🎲
Come out for a fun-filled evening, featuring a variety of card decks, several friendly rounds of poker (no betting), and other statistics-themed games! We'll have delicious donuts to go with the games! (RSVP)
🗓️ 8 PM on Thursday, November 13th
📍 Keohane Atrium

📣 Announcements

1. Register for a new House Course by our very own co-presidents: Statistical Methods in Research! 🔬
Course Code: HCS 59-11
Instructors: Liane Ma, Cooper Ruffing; Advisor: Dr. John Zito
📍 Old Chem 001 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Course Description: In this house course (0.5 cred, S/U), students will explore the statistical fundamentals necessary for understanding and conducting research in a variety of fields. Students will engage with real-world research papers and datasets across disciplines, exploring how statistics are used (and sometimes misused) in published work. Instead of focusing solely on technical skills, this course emphasizes interpretation, critique, and application of basic statistical tools in research. From exploratory data analysis to research bias, Statistical Methods in Research aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of when, why, and how to best utilize statistical methods in their future storytelling. The course culminates in a student analysis and presentation of a research paper and dataset, applying concepts from class. No previous experience is required in statistical science, research, or data science.
We aim to tailor the course to students’ interests, so please consider registering!
🌱 Competitions & Opportunities

1. Register for Data Science Week 2025 hosted by Purdue University Fort Wayne! This remote interdisciplinary conference will bring together researchers, students, industry professionals, and community partners to explore the impact of data science across different fields. The week will feature keynote talks, panel discussions, interactive virtual networking, and opportunities for participants to present posters and short talks. The event will emphasize the accessibility and real-world impact of data science. No experience needed, and the conference is free.

2. The QSIDE Data4Justice Accelerator is a 5-week remote program designed to help individuals learn how to design and execute social justice research and evaluation projects in R. This opportunity is great to solidify your skills from Stat 199 and learn additional skills, such as finding and collecting data using APIs, data scraping, and quantitative analysis of Natural Language Processing (NLP). Throughout the course, each participant will collaborate on a shared research project that advances justice and equity, and leave with a well-developed idea for future research and newfound skills to make it happen. The course will run from January 11 to February 15, 2026; the cost is $1,250 for students, but full financial aid is available. If you have any questions, feel free to contact chelsea.nguyen@duke.edu, who took this course last summer!

3. Applications are open for the UT San Antonio Draper Data Science Business Plan Competition! It will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. The competition is designed to empower student entrepreneurs to advance business ventures that harness the power of data science to create impactful solutions worldwide. Student-led teams will compete for up to $100,000 in cash prizes while receiving invaluable feedback from industry experts. The first info session is on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 1:30 CST.
📅 Stay Connected

Want to keep track of all our events? Add our Google Calendar here (SSMU Events Calendar) and follow us on Instagram @dukessmu!

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you at our events!

Until next week,
SSMU

Got ideas for events or newsletter features? Reply to this email; we’d love to hear from you!

Statistical Science Majors Union. Cover image

EVENT

Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference Watch Party

clock Friday, November 7, 2025
11:30am - 5:00pm
Location pinPrivate Location (sign in to display)
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Watch party for the Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference livestream, with snacks and guest hosts to lead discussions between poster presentations. The event is live from 11:30am-5pm, so people can drop in and out!
REGISTER
Statistical Science Majors Union. Cover image

EVENT

SSMU Game Night!!

clock Thursday, November 13, 2025
8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location pinPrivate Location (sign in to display)
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SSMU's Socials Committee presents game night, featuring several card decks, multiple games of poker (no betting), and a variety of other statistics-related games. For snacks, we will provide donuts! The event will take place at 8pm, open to everyone!
REGISTER