The Western Australian Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia invites you to a presentation titled "Penalized Local Likelihood" delivered by Prof. Martin Hazelton, University of Otago.
Date: Tuesday 6 October 2026
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM AWST
Venue: Cheryl Praeger Lecture Room, The University of Western Australia
Format: In person
Abstract: Penalized Local Likelihood
It is often said that nonparametric smoothing methods allow the data to “speak for themselves”. However, in areas of low density their voices are faint and confused. Statisticians have typically reacted to this problem in one of two ways; either (a) using spatially adaptive smoothing, or (b) adopting shrinkage towards a parametric pilot, in both cases with the aim of stabilizing estimates where the data are sparse. In this talk I present penalized local likelihood as a new framework that encompasses both these ideas. I show how this methodology can be applied to regression problems, and also to density and hazard function estimation.
Presenter Bio: Prof. Martin Hazelton, University of Otago
Martin Hazelton is Professor of Statistics at the University of Otago. His research interests are varied, including statistical inverse problems, spatial statistics, and kernel smoothing. Martin lived in Perth between 1997 and 2006, working in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UWA. Martin has also worked previously at the University of Oxford (where he also studied for his undergraduate degree and doctorate), University College London, and Massey University in NZ. Martin was editor-in-chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics, and is a former President both of the New Zealand Statistical Association and the WA Branch of SSA. Outside work, Martin plays chess (well), the violin (badly), and supports Newcastle United Football Club (tragically).
Refreshments and Dinner
Members and visitors are invited to mingle over wine and cheese at the venue from 5:30 PM onwards. Following the meeting, all are invited to dine at a nearby restaurant. Visitors are welcome.
Venue details
The Cheryl Praeger Lecture Room is located on the ground floor of the Mathematics building at The University of Western Australia. Its entrance is on the northern side of the building. See: UWA Maps, Google Maps.
Parking is free on the UWA Crawley campus after 5:00 PM. A convenient place to park is Car Park 51, accessible from Fairway Entry 1.
For further information please contact the WA Branch Secretary: ssa.wa.secretary@gmail.com
@StatSocAus
