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James Cochran, Bank of Ruston, Barnes, Thompson, and Thurmon Endowed Professor of Business at Louisiana Tech University, gave the opening plenary presentation at the third International Conference on the Mathematical Sciences held recently in Buea, Cameroon.

The conference was organized by the University of Buea, the Cameroon Academy of Science, African Studies and Mathematics at the University of Michigan, and the National School of Engineering in Cameroon.  It focused on various aspects of mathematical modeling with the goal of generating scientific synergies for the advancement of Africa’s scientific and technological workforce.

“This opportunity is particularly exciting because several undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Business are from Cameroon,” Cochran said about his talk. “Hopefully this will lead to more interest in Louisiana Tech by potential students from western Africa.”

Cochran is an associate professor of quantitative analysis in Louisiana Tech’s College of Business.  He received his doctorate in statistics from the University of Cincinnati in 1997 and joined the College of Business faculty in 2000.  Cochran is considered a leading authority in the areas of sample-based and Bayesian optimization, statistical methods, computational statistics, statistical learning and mathematics education. Written by Reggie Owens – regowens@latech.edu