The Mathematics Colloquium Series, hosted by the Department of Mathematics in Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography is back for the 2015 fall semester. Just in time for the start of the 2015/16 National Football League season, the next presentation will be from Dennis Lock, director of analytics for the Miami Dolphins football team.
The presentation is scheduled from noon – 1 p.m. Thursday, September 24 in the Mailman-Hollywood Building Auditorium, 3300 S. University Drive., Fort Lauderdale (main campus.) The event is free and open to the public.
Over the last few years, the fields of statistics and mathematics have become more prevalent and popular in professional sports (with the help of mainstream books and movies like Moneyball). The use of advanced (and non-advanced) statistical methods is growing across the sporting landscape from the front office to the media, and even into business and ticket sales. This talk will discuss Lock’s experiences building an analytics department with the Miami Dolphins as well as the general role of statistics in sports today. It will also including the recent analytics boom in the front office framework, the coinciding need for statistically and computationally strong individuals, and the next frontiers in sports statistics.
Lock joined the Miami Dolphins as head analyst, now director of analytics, in July 2014 to implement and head an analytics department under general manager Dennis Hickey. In his role, Lock supports football operations through research and statistical analyses. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in statistics from Iowa State University with a dissertation on utilizing statistics in sports. While at Iowa State, Lock worked as a consultant for many academic departments as well as the Iowa State University men’s basketball team. During this time, he also served as a co-author on a prominent statistics textbook. Originally from Canton, N.Y., Lock received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Lawrence University in 2008.
About the Series
Hosted by NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Department of Mathematics, the Mathematics Colloquium Series aims to increase awareness of mathematics’ importance and applications in daily life. The series also gives mathematics faculty members and students the opportunity to discuss independent research and share their passion for the subject.
For more information, interested parties can contact Jeffrey W. Lyons Ph.D., assistant professor, via e-mail (jlyons@nova.edu) or at 954-262-7931, or Iuliana Stanculescu, Ph.D., associate professor, via e-mail (iu162@nova.edu) or at 954-262-7994.