Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Statistical mentoring at early training and career stages

Journal Article · · American Statistician
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), statistical scientists develop solutions for a variety of national security challenges through scientific excellence, typically as members of interdisciplinary teams. At LANL, mentoring is actively encouraged and practiced to develop statistical skills and positive career-building behaviors. Mentoring activities targeted at different career phases from student to junior staff are an important catalyst for both short and long term career development. This article discusses mentoring strategies for undergraduate and graduate students through internships as well as for postdoctoral research associates and junior staff. Topics addressed include project selection, progress, and outcome; intellectual and social activities that complement the student internship experience; key skills/knowledge not typically obtained in academic training; and the impact of such internships on students’ careers. Experiences and strategies from a number of successful mentorships are presented. Feedback from former mentees obtained via a questionnaire is incorporated. As a result, these responses address some of the benefits the respondents received from mentoring, helpful contributions and advice from their mentors, key skills learned, and how mentoring impacted their later careers.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOD; USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1312573
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-15-29115
Journal Information:
American Statistician, Journal Name: American Statistician; ISSN 0003-1305
Publisher:
Taylor & FrancisCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (6)

Statistical Intervals book August 1991
Illustrating the Use of Statistical Experimental Design and Analysis for Multiresponse Prediction and Optimization journal July 2011
Statistical Engineering—Forming the Foundations journal April 2012
Statistical Engineering—Roles for Statisticians and the Path Forward journal April 2012
Analysis of interval-censored data with random unknown end points: an application to soft error rate estimation: Soft Error Rate Estimation
  • Michalak, Sarah E.; Hamada, Michael S.; Hengartner, Nicolas W.
  • Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series C (Applied Statistics), Vol. 62, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/rssc.12005
journal January 2013
Statistical Research: Some Advice for Beginners journal May 2004

Similar Records

Postdoctoral insights on mentoring excellence: a framework for best practices at Sandia National labs
Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 20:00:00 EDT 2025 · OSTI ID:3002996
Mentorship: The Education-Research Continuum
Journal Article · Thu May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Journal of Undergraduate Research, VIII, VIII, January 1, 2009, pp. 4-5 · OSTI ID:951513
Mentoring in the USDA Forest Service: A Survey of Aquatic Professionals
Journal Article · Sun Dec 25 23:00:00 EST 2022 · Journal of Forestry · OSTI ID:2425732

Related Subjects

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
applications
applied research
career
interpersonal skills
networking
presenting
publishing
science
service
technical skills