By Randy Fiedler

Dr. Michael Gallaugher, assistant professor of statistical science in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences, has won the 2021 Distinguished Dissertation Award presented by the Classification Society for his dissertation “Analysis of Three-Way Data and Other Topics in Clustering and Classification.”

The award is offered each year by the Classification Society for an outstanding PhD dissertation on the theme of “clustering, classification, or related areas of data analysis, encompassing associated theory and/or applications.” Only one winner is named each year, with two additional dissertations being given honorable mention awards.

“I was honored to receive this award for my thesis, which focused on a wide range of clustering methodology for complex data types including three-way, high dimensional and clickstream data,” Gallaugher said.

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Gallaugher earned his PhD in statistics from McMaster University in 2020. He joined the Baylor University faculty in January 2021.

According to its website, the Classification Society “is a nonprofit interdisciplinary and international organization whose purposes are to promote the scientific study of classification and clustering (including systematic methods of creating classifications from data), and to disseminate scientific and educational information related to its fields of interests.”