John Aston (statistician)
Sir John Alexander David Aston is a British statistician, Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) at the Home Office (2018-2020), and Professor of Statistics, Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge. From 2021 he is the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life.[1] And from July 2021 he has also served as a non-executive director on the board of the UK Statistics Authority.
Aston earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in statistics from Imperial College London and McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.[2]
Aston was an academic at the University of Warwick and at Academia Sinica in Taiwan, before becoming a professor at the University of Cambridge.[3]
Aston was one of the 23 attendees of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) during the early stage of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic owing to his CSA role at the time.[4]
Aston is married to Karri, and they have three children.[2]
He was knighted in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to statistics and public policymaking.[5]
References
- "Elections" (PDF). Cambridge University Reporter.
- "John Aston". National Institute of Statistical Sciences. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- "Professor John Aston". Centre for Science and Policy. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- Sample, Ian (24 April 2020). "Who's who on secret scientific group advising UK government?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B2.