I'm a doctoral candidate in the Harvard University Department of Statistics, and a graduate associate of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and I've lived in Boston for roughly eight and a half years, two World Series, three Super Bowls and an NBA trophy -- not a bad time to be in New England.

My current research interests include:

• Relational Data: The measurement and modelling of observations between individuals, which are generalizations of what we normally think of as networks. I work on improving complete specifications of relational ties in a system. This work makes up the bulk of my dissertation, currently in progress with advisor Joe Blitzstein.
• Models for Two-Party and Multi-Party Elections: Rather than predicting the results of elections, I've worked on methods for determining electoral fairness, in particular the notions of symmetry and responsiveness. Much of this work is with Gary King and Andrew Gelman.
• Perfect Sampling Methods: Broadly speaking, any method by which a stochastic input can be translated to a corresponding stochastic output with no estimation or addition of noise; specifically, when the desired output is the stationary distribution of a Markov chain, the input being observations from the chain. Collaborators include Jose Blanchet and Xiao-Li Meng.
• Quantitative Analysis in Sports: Sports provide a wealth of data and testable hypotheses for many current problems in stochastic modelling, as well as mechanisms for teaching these concepts to a broader audience. Plus, discovering something new about the games I love only enhances my enjoyment.

I have retired from running Team Trivia at the Cambridge Queen's Head pub on the Harvard campus.

For a concise version, please see my Curriculum Vitae.

Email: athomas at stat dot harvard dot edu.