Education

Ph.D., Statistics, University of Groningen, 1999
M.A., Mathematics, Oregon State University, 1994
M.S., Statistics, Mathematical Research Institute, 1993
B.S., Mathematics, University of Groningen, 1992

Biography

I am a Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). After receiving my PhD degree in 1999 at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, I was a faculty member for five years at Boise State University and for three years at Idaho State University. I started working at UAA in 2007 and I teach undergraduate and graduate statistics courses. I supervise the research of undergraduate and graduate students and I am a statistical consultant for faculty members in various academic disciplines at UAA. I have collaborated in research projects with faculty members in the UAA Resilience and Adaptive Management Group, UAA Center for Human Development, UAA Alaska Justice Information Center, and in the UAA Departments of Geography and Environmental Studies, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Health Sciences, Biological Sciences, English, and Anthropology.

My research interests are applied statistics, probability theory, neural networks, stochastic processes, time series prediction, and regression analysis. I currently have over 30 publications in journals, books, and conference proceedings. My most recent publications are in Advances and Applications in Statistics, Regional Environmental Change, Communications in Statistics – Theory and Methods, and Journal of Multivariate Analysis. I serve as an editorial board member for Advances in Probability, Stochastic Processes and Applied Statistics, JP Journal of Biostatistics, American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, International Journal of Management Statistics, Control and Applications, Austin Journal of Mathematics, and J. Sci. Med. - Mathematics and Statistics. Further I am a reviewer of submitted articles to the journals Neural Processing Letters and J. Sci. Med. - Mathematics and Statistics.

I am also a statistical consultant for local companies, institutions, and organizations. I have worked on consulting projects with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Alaska Division of Public Health, International Arctic Research Center, Aleut International Association, Arctic Domain Awareness Center, Alaska Center for Conservation Science, Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Alaska Public Defender Agency, Alaska Native Medical Center, Alaska Bar Association, State of Alaska - Attorney General Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office Anchorage, Alaska Division of Elections, Alaska Native Epidemiology Center, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Crowther Associates, Providence Alaska Medical Center, ConocoPhillips, Wild North Resources LLC, Northern Justice Project, Arc of Anchorage, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, Chancy Croft Law Offices, Goff Law LLC, Mat-Su Borough School District, Law Firm Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt, Alaska Children’s Services Inc., Alaska Dispatch News, Eagle River Nature Center, and United Parcel Service, Inc. I have been a statistics expert witness in several court cases in Alaska.

As a UAA faculty member, I serve or have served on the Faculty Senate, University Technology Council, Library Advisory Committee, Faculty Grants and Leaves Committee, Engineering/Mathematics Undergraduate Research Grant Panel, and various committees within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, such as peer-review committees, scholarships committees, and search committees for new faculty positions. Since 2007 I have been a judge for the annual Fulbright Visiting Scholars Competition in the Russian Federation, and for the annual American Statistical Association Project Competition. I am a reviewer of new textbooks on mathematics and statistics, published by Wiley, McGraw-Hill, and Chapman and Hall/CRC Press. I am a member of the American Statistical Association and the American Mathematical Society. In my free time I enjoy skate skiing with my dogs, running, hiking, bird watching, and ice skating.

Teaching Responsibilities

• STAT A200: Elementary Statistics
• STAT A253: Applied Statistics for the Sciences
• STAT A307: Probability and Statistics
• STAT A308: Intermediate Statistics for the Sciences
• STAT A402: Scientific Sampling
• STAT A403: Regression Analysis
• STAT A404: Analysis of Variance
• STAT A407: Time Series Analysis
• STAT A602: Advanced Scientific Sampling
• STAT A603: Advanced Regression Analysis
• STAT A604: Advanced Analysis of Variance
• STAT A607: Advanced Time Series Analysis

Research Interests

• Applied Statistics
• Probability Theory
• Neural Networks
• Stochastic Processes
• Time Series Prediction
• Regression Analysis

Publications

[1] R.S. Venema. Sufficient conditions for ergodicity of the single-layer perceptron weight sequence in infinite non-separable classification problems. Advances and Applications in Statistics, Vol. 87, No. 2 (pp. 237-254), 2023

[2] H. Jamil, T. Minckley, C. Xu, N. Hassan, R.S. Venema, L. Sheneman, B. Robison, J.T. Abatzoglou, L. Boschetti, A. Smith, A. Kliskey, M. Overton, and K. Lee. Computational modeling of public policy debates over socio-economic implications of wildfires using autonomous big data analytics. Concept paper to apply to the NSF EPSCoR RII Track 2 Grant Program, October 2018

[3] P. Williams, L. Alessa, J.T. Abatzoglou, A. Kliskey, F. Witmer, O. Lee, E.J. Trammell, G. Beaujean, and R.S. Venema. Community-based observing networks and systems in the Arctic: Human perceptions of environmental change and instrument-derived data. Regional Environmental Change, Vol. 18, No. 2 (pp. 547-559), 2018 (https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10113-017-1220-7)

[4] S. Raza, G.H. Bham, and R.S. Venema. The effect of passing lanes on drivers’ choice of speed: A seemingly unrelated regression approach. Road Safety and Simulation International Conference RSS’17. The Hague, The Netherlands, October 2017

[5] P. Williams, E.J. Trammell, F. Witmer, R.S. Venema, A. Kliskey, G. Beaujean, and L. Alessa. Understanding observations of selected environmental changes in communities surrounding the Bering Sea. Third Arctic Observing Summit AOS’16 (White Paper - Theme VI, pp. 1-21). Fairbanks, AK, March 2016

[6] R.S. Venema. Geometric ergodicity of the normalized perceptron algorithm for the classification of non-separable Gaussian input vectors. Advances and Applications in Statistics, Vol. 46, No. 1 (pp. 37-55), 2015

[7] P.M. Lang, A. Gironella, and R.S. Venema. Invariant subspaces and regression. Communications in Statistics – Theory and Methods, Vol. 42, No. 3 (pp. 491-504), 2013

[8] P.M. Lang, A. Gironella, and R.S. Venema. Properties of cyclic subspace regression. Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Vol. 98, No. 3 (pp. 625-637), 2007

[9] R.S. Venema, L. Spaanenburg, C.H. Slump, and B.J. van der Zwaag. Structuring techniques in neural networks for knowledge extraction. Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering ANNIE'03. St.Louis, MO, 2003

[10] R.S. Venema. Perceptron algorithms for the classification of non-separable populations. Hawaii International Conference on Statistics HICS'03 (ISSN # 1539-7211). Honolulu, HI, 2003

[11] R.S. Venema. Statistical techniques for training modular neural networks. Hawaii International Conference on Statistics HICS'03 (ISSN # 1539-7211). Honolulu, HI, 2003

[12] L. Spaanenburg, C.H. Slump, R.S. Venema, and B.J. van der Zwaag. Preparing for knowledge extraction in modular neural networks. 3rd IEEE Signal Processing Symposium SPS'02 (pp. 121-124). Leuven, Belgium, 2002

[13] R.S. Venema and L. Spaanenburg. Learning feed-forward multi-nets. 5th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms ICANNGA'01 (pp. 102-105). Prague, Czech Republic, 2001

[14] R.S. Venema. A time series forecasting methodology for neural networks. V-Annals (pp. 127-146). Shaker Publishing. Stuttgart, Germany, 2001

[15] R.S. Venema. Aspects of an integrated neural prediction system. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Groningen, ISBN 90-367-1082-0 (309 pages), 1999

[16] R.S. Venema, J. Bron, R.M. Zijlstra, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Using neural networks for wastewater purification. Computer Science for Environmental Protection'98: Networked Structures in Information Technology, the Environment and Business (pp. 317-330). Metropolis-Verlag. Marburg, Germany, 1998

[17] M. Diepenhorst, H. ter Haseborg, R.S. Venema, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Flexible core generation for neural signal processing. IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks IJCNN'98 (pp. 603-608). Anchorage, AK, 1998

[18] R.S. Venema, M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Designing ANN forecasting architectures from data conflict plots. IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks IJCNN'98 (pp. 2519-2524). Anchorage, AK, 1998

[19] R.M. Burton, H.G. Dehling, and R.S. Venema. Perceptron algorithms for the classification of non-separable populations. Communications in Statistics - Stochastic Models, Vol. 13, No. 2 (pp. 205-222), 1997

[20] M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, R.S. Venema, and L. Spaanenburg. Growing filters for finite impulse response networks. Applications in Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing Forum 1 (pp. 281-291). Scitec Publications. Zurich, Switzerland, 1996

[21] J.A.G. Nijhuis, M.H. ter Brugge, K.A. Helmholt, J.P.W. Pluim, L. Spaanenburg, R.S. Venema, and M.A. Westenberg. Car license plate recognition with neural networks and fuzzy logic. Applications in Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing Forum 1 (pp. 229-236). Scitec Publications. Zurich, Switzerland, 1996

[22] R.S. Venema, A. Ypma, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Time series prediction using neural networks and its application to artificial human walking. European Symposium on Artificial Neural Networks ESANN'96 (pp. 323-328). Bruges, Belgium, 1996

[23] R.S. Venema, A. Ypma, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Neural control of artificial human walking: a structured approach. International Information Technology Conference Gronics '96 (pp. 55-60). Groningen, The Netherlands, 1996

[24] R.S. Venema, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Designing neural networks for time series prediction with an application to artificial human walking. IEEE Workshop on Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing CSSP'96 (pp. 361-366). Mierlo, The Netherlands, 1996

[25] R.S. Venema, A. Ypma, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. On the use of neural networks in time series prediction with an application to artificial human walking. World Congress on Neural Networks WCNN'96 (pp. 451-454). San Diego, CA, 1996

[26] R.M. Burton, H.G. Dehling, and R.S. Venema. Perceptron algorithms for the classification of non-separable populations. Technical Report W-9608, University of Groningen, 1996

[27] W.J. Jansen, R.S. Venema, M.H. ter Brugge, M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Stability properties of fuzzy controllers. Journal A, Vol. 36, No. 3 (pp. 27-37), 1995

[28] W.J. Jansen, R.S. Venema, M.H. ter Brugge, M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, and L. Spaanenburg. Stabiliteit van fuzzy regelaars. Nieuwsbrief Fuzzy Logic Nederland Vol. 1, No. 4 (pp. 34-40), 1995

[29] M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, R.S. Venema, and L. Spaanenburg. Growing filters for finite impulse response networks. International Conference on Neural Networks ICNN'95 (pp. 854-859). Perth, Australia, 1995

[30] J.A.G. Nijhuis, M.H. ter Brugge, K.A. Helmholt, J.P.W. Pluim, L. Spaanenburg, R.S. Venema, and M.A. Westenberg. Car license plate recognition with neural networks and fuzzy logic. International Conference on Neural Networks ICNN'95 (pp. 2232-2236). Perth, Australia, 1995

[31] M. Diepenhorst, J.A.G. Nijhuis, R.S. Venema, and L. Spaanenburg. Growing filters for finite impulse response networks. 4th Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence EPIA'95 (pp. 89-100). Madeira, Portugal, 1995

[32] J.A.G. Nijhuis, M.H. ter Brugge, K.A. Helmholt, J.P.W. Pluim, L. Spaanenburg, R.S. Venema, and M.A. Westenberg. Car license plate recognition with neural networks and fuzzy logic. 4th Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence EPIA'95 (pp. 25-34). Madeira, Portugal, 1995