C. R. Rao: The Living Legend

In an exemplary announcement, The International Prize in Statistics Foundation has declared that Prof. C. R. Rao has been awarded the prestigious 2023 International Prize in Statistics. It is considered an equivalent to a Nobel in terms of the contribution and impact required to deserve it. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of Statistics. The prize is awarded every two years by the International Prize in Statistics Foundation to a single individual or team for their contributions to the development and application of statistical methods. 

About Prof. Rao: 

Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, popularly known as C.R. Rao, is an Indo-American Mathematician and Statistician who has gained prominence with his significant contributions to the field of Statistics. He was born on September 10, 1920, in  Hadagali, Bellary, Madras Presidency (now in Karnataka), India. Rao received his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Andhra University and his Master's degree in Statistics from Calcutta University. He earned a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Cambridge in England, where he worked under the supervision of Ronald A. Fisher, who is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern statistics. He has received 31 Honorary Doctoral degrees from universities in 18 countries.   Rao has made phenomenal contributions to many areas of statistics, including experimental design, multivariate analysis, and biostatistics. He has also developed several statistical methods and techniques that are widely used in many fields, including engineering, economics, and the social sciences. It was under Rao’s recommendations that, the ASI (The Asian Statistical Institute) now known as Statistical Institute for Asia and Pacific was established in Tokyo to provide training to statisticians working in government and industrial organizations.

Recognition:

In recognition of his ground-breaking work, Rao has received numerous awards and honours, including the National Medal of Science from the United States and the Order of Merit from the Indian government. He has also been elected to numerous scientific academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, and the Indian National Science Academy. Rao has written several influential books on statistics, including "Linear Statistical Inference and Its Applications" and "Multivariate Statistical Analysis." He continues to be an active researcher and is considered one of the most influential statisticians of the 20th century. He has been awarded both the national prizes of Padma Bhushan (1968) and Padma Vibhushan (2001). Recognizing his contributions, the Government of India has also instituted a biennial national award in Statistics known as the ‘The Professor C.R. Rao’ Award. Moreover, Pennsylvania State University has also established a C.R. and Bhargavi Rao Prize in Statistics. In India, CR Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science and a ‘Prof. C.R. Rao Road’ in Hyderabad is named after him.

Important contributions of Prof. Rao to academics:

Prof. Rao is the author of over 14 books and has published over 400 journal publications to his credit. Amongst his most seminal contributions are Cramer-Rao lower-bound and Rao- Blackwell theorem which plays an instrumental role in furthering research in Statistics and other applied fields. His other pivotal contributions include the Fisher–Rao theorem, Rao distance, and orthogonal arrays, yet his research has broadly expanded over the reins of mathematical and applied statistics and sciences in general. His contribution to Cramér–Rao inequality has been credited to be the right exercise at the right time by many statisticians. This deserves an explanation for the fact that it presented a sense of optimality of what should the lower bound is, which frames standards for comparing different statistical procedures. Moreover, the application of his work has broadly ranged from estimation theory, statistical inference and linear models, multivariate analysis, combinatorial design, orthogonal arrays, biometry, statistical genetics, generalized matrix inverses, and functional equations. 

Important contributions of Prof. Rao to policy:

Apart from his pioneering work in the field of academics, he also played several important roles in Indian policy-making in the Post-independence period. Under the supervision of P.C. Mahalanobis, he helped in establishing statistical bureaus across different states in India and district-level organizations to help in collecting district-level data. He also has significant contributions towards the formation of the Central Statistical Organisation and National Sample Survey, which form the basis of the Indian Statistical System. He is also a founding member of the Indian Econometric Society (TIES) along with P.C. Mahalanobis, K. Nagabhushanam, N.S.R. Sastry, and The Indian Society for Medical Statistics (ISMS). For these contributions, he got felicitatedon his 100th birthday on September 10th, 2020. 

Rao is an inspiration to generations of researchers across the globe for his unwavering dedication to research as he continued his research pursuit into his 90s, demonstrating a lifelong passion for his subject. Particularly for statisticians, his work has been highly influential in shaping the way statisticians approach their work. Lastly, C.R. Rao's dedication, contributions, mentorship, leadership, humility, and humanity make him an inspiration to all who aspire to make significant contributions to their field while also being kind and compassionate human beings.