The not too distant
· I am on sabbatical Winter and Spring 2010. Until September 27, my time will be split between the Research and Development Group at the New York Times and my humble abode in Los Angeles. I am working on a text on exploratory data analysis (for the non-professional) and finishing some chapters for a book on information theory with Bin Yu.
· I was invited to give a talk at the R meetup in NYC. I spoke on a 6-week program in data analysis I created with teachers from LAUSD. It is part of a year-long program in computer science and the curriculum is organized around participatory sensing. Students learn computational methods for working with time, location, images and text. My slides (55Mb, ugh)
·
The (previous) O'Reilly Where 2.0 Conference took place May 19-21, 2009. I was asked to give a presentation on R and spatial analysis.
· I was asked to give a talk in our Seminar on the Teaching of Statsitics. Here is my attempt at describing how computational ideas fit into a lower-division course. [PDF of slides]
· November 21 2008 saw the opening of Terre Natale, Ailleurs Commence Ici, at the Cartier Foundation in Paris. It is the culmination of a summer-long collaboration with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Laura Kurgan, and Ben Rubin that evolved under the watchful eye of Paul Virilio and the excellent curatorial staff at Cartier. The work moved to Copenhagen in December of 2009, and Bilbao in Summer of 2010.
· In academic year 08-09, the Center for Statistical Computing sponsored a seminar and a lecture series on non-professional practices of data collection and analysis. It was the second in a "series" of long-running events to understand the use of computing for scientific advancement, for advocacy and for cultural expression.
Projects
· Ben Rubin and I are starting a summer of work on an art installation in the lobby of the new New York Times Building. The piece is called Moveable Type; there was a nice story in The Times, as well some coverage on NPR's On the Media.
· Listening Post is an art istallation, a digital portrait of online communication. The installation opened at the London Science Museum in early February 2008, and then at the Reina Sophia in Madrid in June. Visit the home page of my collaborator, Ben Rubin; watch videos of the installation; read various reviews and media coverage




Mark H. Hansen
Professor of Statistics

Co-PI, Center for Embedded Networked Sensing

Courtesy appointments in the Departments of
Desgin|Media Art and Electrical Engineering, UCLA

8951 Mathematical Sciences Building
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Tel: 310.206.8375
FAX: 310.206.5658

e-mail: cocteau@stat.ucla.edu

Research

I started my career at Bell Laboratories, easily the best private research lab on the planet. Given that background, my work tends to be grounded in applications. I often find myself analyzing large, complex data streams -- The context varies from environmental monitoring to the mechanics of information technologies. My current fascination is with so-called participatory sensing, projects that engage the general public in non-professional practices of data collection and analysis.

CV(5/09) | Patents and Papers | Talks ]

Teaching & Students



Stat 260
Site specifics
Winter 2007

Stat 202a, Fall 2009
Statistical Computing
MW 3:00-4:20, 9413 Boelter

Stat 240, Fall 2009
Smoothing
TR 1:00-2:20, 5203 MS

Stat 13, Winter 2009
Statistics for the Life and Health Sciences
MW 3:00-4:20, Humanities 135

Stat 101c, Spring 2009
Advanced Regression
MW 3:00-4:20, 9413 Boelter Hall

Stat 237, Spring 2007
Database Aesthetics
Tues 9:00-12:30, 5061 Broad

Stat 257, Winter 2007
Design, modeling and analysis
for embedded sensing
MW 3:00-4:20, 2042 Public Policy

· In 2003, I became the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Statistics; students should feel free to drop by any time to talk about our graduate program
· I am currently serving on several thesis/dissertation committees and am eager to work with more students



Spam poetry
A new job, a new spam filter. While the setup at UCLA is effective, I've had a few important emails banished to an inaccessible quarantine area. Paranoid fool that I am, I decided to live life outside the the protective cushion of the Department's spam filters. Mistake. But I did start to appreciate a rhythm to my unsolicited email, a kind of poetry. Here are a few patterns that I've found strangely poignant.

My troubling decline
[12 subject lines, VIC0D1N e-mails, 10/04]

how is my brother hurting
your son hurting
your mother hurting
pain is killing you
assist your brother in pain
assist your brother with his suffering
is his sister in pain treatment
are you in pain
your father needs to cope with the pain
is her father suffering
is my boyfriend hurting
how is my boyfriend hurting


Berlioz's uncle
[15 subject lines, "mo r t gage" ads, 11-12/04]

the splash of waves
by blue night-lights. Out
Thoughts raced, short, incoherent
window-sill with his hand,
up still more...
Well, who knows, who
sang out. His eyes
more. But I pity
the woman meanwhile, without
Drink! said the executioner
water-soaked cloth of his
that the professor was
right out of you!
You see, Poplavsky began
the next door bore


Spam Waugh
[Senders of pornographic spam, ads, 2/15-3/20/05]

Giggler C. Gilgamesh
Axiom M. Isolationism
Insinuations P. Ability
Strowe L. Transmuted
Archaeologist A. Machs
Punched O. Vilification
Sedatest Q. Sushing
Forced Q. Sadness
Unimpressive U. Counterfeited
Generalities S. Gnaw
Chastity J. Misleads
Insemination D. Solitaries
Fortyfying F. Shipwright
Muddiest E. Ladybird
Detected I. Pitchmen
Unknowable S. Easiness
Dixon D. Gurgles
Demand R. Tautly
Sourpuss I. Translator