Dear Sir / Madame, The COMPSTAT 2000 conference of the ISI International Association for Statistical Computing will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands from 21 - 25 August 2000. Statistical computing provides the link between statistical theory and applied statistics. As at previous Compstats, the scientific programme will cover all aspects of this link, from the development and implementation of new statistical ideas through to user experiences and software evaluation. The programme should appeal to anyone working in statistics and using computers, whether in universities, industrial companies, government agencies, research institutes or as software developers. The conference will be jointly organised by the Department of Methodology and Statistics of Utrecht University and the Department of Statistical Methods of Statistics Netherlands. Papers may be submitted in any of the following categories: - Statistical research - Development of statistical methodology, especially topics that rely on computers and computing environments. - Computing - Contributions of computer algorithms, tools and environments to the practice of statistics. - Applied statistics - Innovative applications of statistical computing in any area of current interest. Th deadline for submitting abstracts is 8 November 1999. For more information about COMPSTAT 2000, you can consult the attached Word-document, or visit or web site. The address is http://neon.vb.cbs.nl/rsm/compstat. Jelke Bethlehem (Statistics Netherlands) Peter van der Heijden (Utrecht University) Compstat 2000 Local arrangements The Compstat 2000 conference of the ISI International Association for Statistical Computing will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands from 21 - 25 August 2000. The conference will be jointly organised by the Department of Methodology and Statistics of Utrecht University and the Department of Statistical Methods of Statistics Netherlands. The Department of Methodology and Statistics of Utrecht University has a strong involvement in statistical computing and applied statistics. Statistics Netherlands is also known for its expertise in applied statistics, and for its innovative approach in the application of recent developments of information technology to survey data collection and processing. Approximately 35 kilometres south of Amsterdam Utrecht stands in the heart of the Netherlands. It was founded in 48 by the Romans, who built a military settlement along the shore of the Rhine. In 695 the English Benedictine monk Willibrord came to christianise Francks and Frisians and made Utrecht to a centre of religion, which is still noticeable in present times. For centuries, Utrecht was the largest and only city of importance in the northern part of the Netherlands. Today, Utrecht is an attractive city. With 230,000 inhabitants Utrecht is the fourth largest city in The Netherlands, only Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague having greater populations. With its magnificient cathedral, churches, canals museums and historic buildings dating from the 16th century onwards Utrecht is a city of outstanding culture. As host to the largest University in The Netherlands Utrecht also offers a lively and varied social scene with busy restaurants, cafes, pubs and nightspots. Utrecht is easy reached by road and rail. Delegates flying into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport can take the train from the airport directly to the centre of the city. If you would like to find out more about Utrecht and how to reach it please visit the website. There will be a full programme of social events including a Buffet Reception, Concert, Dinner and excursions, to allow participants to exchange ideas, meet friends and see many of the local attractions. Scientific Programme Statistical computing provides the link between statistical theory and applied statistics. As at previous Compstats, the scientific programme will cover all aspects of this link, from the development and implementation of new statistical ideas through to user experiences and software evaluation. The programme should appeal to anyone working in statistics and using computers, whether in universities, industrial companies, government agencies, research institutes or as software developers. Papers may be submitted in any of the following categories: * Statistical research - Development of statistical methodology, especially topics that rely on computers and computing environments. * Computing - Contributions of computer algorithms, tools and environments to the practice of statistics. * Applied statistics - Innovative applications of statistical computing in any area of current interest. The scientific programme will consist of a variety of sessions, such as parallel and plenary presentations, invited and contributed papers, poster sessions, one or two tutorials, and software demonstrations. The Scientific Programme Committee seeks papers touching on all aspects of computational statistics. This includes theory, applications, and implementations. The Scientific Programme Committee also welcomes papers in the field of Official Statistics, i.e. papers in the field of data collection, data editing, data analysis, and data publications. Papers may be selected by the Scientific Programme Committee as full contributions, short contributions or posters. Selection is based on submitted abstracts of up to two pages. These should include the main results and references, highlighting novel aspects and indicating their relevance to the above mentioned three categories. Further details and sample abstract formats can be found on the website. Full contributions will be refereed and published, with the invited papers, in a volume of Proceedings by Physica Verlag. Short communications and posters will be published in a 2nd volume by Statistics Netherlands and Utrecht university. At the conference, several prices will be awarded: * Three prices, each worth 1000 Dutch Guilders, will be awarded for the best three contributions submitted and presented by young participants (upper age limit 35 years for all authors on August 31, 2000). * A price will be awarded for the best poster presentation. Invited speakers Keynote speakers * Donald Rubin (The broad role for multiple imputation in statistical science), and * Peter Kooiman (Mass imputation versus sequential weighting of a virtual census) At the moment invited speakers include * Noel Cressie (Space-time Kalman filtering and MCMC), * Antoine de Falguerolles (generalized linear models with bilinear terms), * David Draper (Computational issues in MCMC fitting of multilevel models), * David Hand (Methodological issues in data mining) * Georges Hebrail (Practical data mining in a large utility company), * Youngjo Lee (Analysis of correlated non-Gaussian data via hierarchical generalized linear models), * Helmut Luetkepohl (Bootstrapping impulse responses in VAR analyses), * Agustin Maravall (Some applications of the signal extraction technique to socioeconomic time series), * Erich Neuwirth (Spreadsheets in statistical education), * Walter Racugno (Bayes factors for model selection and prediction) * Hans van Houwelingen (Nonproportional hazards models in survival analysis), * Ari Verbyla (Spatio-temporal modelling), Please check our home page for the latest and more detailed information. Software demonstration and book exhibition There will be demonstration stands for software producers to present their products, and book exhibitions. Important deadlines Abstracts received (post or e-mail): 8 November 1999 Notification to authors: 15 December 1999 Contributed paper for refereeing: 11 March 2000 Final versions of contributed papers 1 May 2000 Short communications and posters: 1 May 2000 Local Organising Committee Wim Jansen , Chair (Utrecht University) Douwe van der Sluis (Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operation research) Gerrit Stemerdink (ISI) Leonieke Wijngaards (Utrecht University) Scientific Programme Committee Peter van der Heijden, Netherlands, Chair Jelke Bethlehem, Netherlands Andrej Blejec, Slovenia Wolfgang Haerdle, Germany Roger Payne, United Kingdom Christian Robert, France Roberta Siciliano, Italy Registration fees Early Registration; deadline = 1 April 2000, IASC/ISI/Other Approved NLG 650,00 Others NLG 750,00 Standard Registration; deadline = 21 June 2000, IASC/ISI/Other Approved NLG 750,00 Others NLG 850,00 Late Registration; after 21 June 2000 NLG 950,00 Students (send in document of University Registration) NLG 150,00 Address for correspondence FBU Congress Bureau Utrecht University Attn: Mrs. Marcelle Buma P.O. Box 80125 3508 TC Utrecht The Netherlands Phone: +31 30 253 2728 Fax: +31 30 253 5851 E-mail: [log in to unmask] For more information and for registration see website: http://neon.vb.cbs.nl/rsm/compstat To ensure that you receive further information, please send an email to [log in to unmask], or a letter to the address above. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%