Ampalavanar Nanthakumar
State University of New York-Oswego
For distinguished contributions to the Sigma Xi State University of New York at Oswego Chapter and remarkable research results in statistics and astrophysics
Quote
“This membership allowed me to see what others in the other disciplines are doing in their research. This membership helped me to get to know the faculty members in the other disciplines. This experience helped me to grow my self-confidence and to get involved in serious academic research.”
Biography
Ampalavanar Nanthakumar was born and brought up in Sri Lanka. He attended an American Mission Educational Institution, Jaffna College, for his secondary school education in Sri Lanka. After that he attended the University of Jaffna for his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics. In 1983, he moved to the United States to attend Bowling Green State University for his master’s degree in statistics and later the University of Kentucky for a PhD in statistics.
He has published or co-published 47 articles so far in the peer reviewed journals in statistics and astrophysics. In addition, he has six conference proceeding papers. He has presented papers at conferences in the U.S., Australia, Greece, India, and Sri Lanka. Recently, he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2018, he received the SUNY-Oswego President’s Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activity. He served as the president of the Sigma Xi State University of New York at Oswego Chapter between 2008 and 2011. Before that, he served as the vice president and treasurer of the Sigma Xi chapter at Oswego.