The C. R. and Bhargavi Rao Prize was established to honor and recognize outstanding and influential innovations in the theory and practice of mathematical statistics, international leadership in directing statistical research, and pioneering contributions by a recognized leader in the field of statistics. The Rao Prize is awarded by the Department of Statistics at Penn State University to a nominee selected by the members of the Rao Prize Committee.

Former Rao Prize recipients are:

2003 - Bradley Efron, the Max H. Stein Professor in the Department of Statistics at Stanford University (See page 4 of StatNews Volume 7)

2005 -  Jayaram Sethuraman, former Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor and current Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor at Florida State University (See page 1 of StatNews Volume 10)

2007 -  Lawrence D. Brown, Miers Busch Professor and Professor of Statistics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (See page 13 of StatNews Volume 12)

Nominations for the 2009 Rao Prize should be submitted by December 1, 2008 to:

Chair, Rao Prize Selection Committee
326 Thomas Building
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802-2111

The Rao prize shall be awarded every two years (odd numbered years) to an individual working in the United States. The award recipient will receive a medal, cash prize and an invitation to visit Penn State and give a talk.

Nominations should include a letter describing the nominee's outstanding contributions to leadership and research in statistics, a current curriculum vita, and two supporting letters.

C.R. Rao held the Eberly Chair in Statistics at Penn State University from 1988-2001. He now serves as Holder Emeritus of the Eberly Chair in Statistics. He was the founding Director of the Center for Multivariate Analysis. A President's National Medal of Science Laureate, Dr. Rao is recognized worldwide as one of the pioneers of modern statistical theory and as one of the world's top five statisticians, with multifaceted distinctions as a mathematician, researcher, scientist, and teacher. His pioneering contributions to mathematics and statistical theory and applications have become part of undergraduate and graduate courses in statistics, econometrics, electrical engineering, and many other disciplines at most universities throughout the world.