Upload
others
View
4
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 5
YOUDEN ADDRESS Remembering Jack Youden
by John A. Cornell, University of Florida
During the period 1940 – 1970, Jack Youden, father of
“Youden Squares” and the Youden Diagram,” was
recognized both in the United States and abroad as one of
the truly outstanding applied statisticians. Formally
trained as a chemist and through his experiences in the
laboratory, he acquired a thirst for obtaining greater
precision in the measurement process. His discoveries on
the variation of measurement led him to become later an
expert in various statistical aspects of experimentation.
Youden’s many contributions to the art and science of
statistics in experimentation, has had a tremendous
impact on scientists striving for continuous improvement.
His work in experimental design, in the graphical
diagnosis of inter-laboratory test results, in the
identification and estimation of the effects of sources of
systematic error, and in many other areas, are among the
most frequently cited in the literature.
INTRODUCTION
“Statistics and Quality: 50 Years of Exploration and
Discovery” was the theme of this year’s 50th Annual Fall
Technical Conference (FTC) and that is why I selected the
topic, “Remembering Jack Youden,” for this 33rd
anniversary of the Youden Address. Previously, I
presented “W.J. Youden – The Man and His
Methodology” at the 1992 FTC and I was delighted to be
able to present a shortened version of that address this
year.
Let me begin this expose’ on Jack Youden by asking,
“Who was this person for whom:
an award on the topic of Interlaboratory Testing is
given each year by the American Statistical
Association;
an address is presented at the FTC each year (and has
been since 1973);
an award (prize) is given by the Chemical Process
Industries Division of ASQ each year for best
expository paper on statistical methods or philosophy
that appeared in Technometrics during the previous
year; and,
who was this man for whom the January 1972 issue of
the Journal of Quality Technology was memorialized?”
In what follows, which is the 1992 Youden Address, I
shall try to familiarize you with a brief biographical
sketch of his life; present some examples of his
methodology; give some measures of the impact of Jack
Youden and his methodology on the scientific
community; and finally, share some statements about Jack
Youden made by those who worked/ or interacted with
him. Regrettably, I never had the good fortune of meeting
Jack Youden in person.
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH (1900-1971) OF
JACK YOUDEN’S LIFE
As with so many others who have contributed much to
our profession, Jack Youden began his career, not as a
statistician, but rather in a related discipline, as a physical
chemist. Born in Townsville, Australia, in 1900, Jack’s
family came to America in 1907 and resided in Niagara
Falls, NY, where Jack attended the local public schools.
During Jack’s senior year of high school, the family
moved to Rochester, NY, and the following year Jack
enrolled at the University of Rochester. In 1921, Jack
graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering having
been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Following graduation, Jack served a year as an
instructor in chemistry at the University of Rochester and
then enrolled at Columbia University as a graduate fellow
in chemistry earning an M.A. in 1923 and a Ph.D. in 1924.
Upon graduation, Jack joined the staff of the Boyce
Thompson Institute for Plant Research, located in
Yonkers, NY. Thus, during the first third of his life, Jack
showed an interest in and was formally trained in the
field of chemistry.
The next seven years were a transition period in which
Jack, a physical chemist, was slowly becoming more of a
statistician. In 1931-32, Jack commuted from Younkers to
Morning Heights, NY, to attend Professor H. Hotelling’s
lectures on Statistical Inference at Columbia University.
And, while Jack was now assuming the role of a
statistician more in his work, his laboratory experience
was always to remain a treasured asset enabling him to
communicate with scientists on their own grounds.
ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 6
7 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2
In a laboratory setting, suppose we have two
instruments (I1 and I2) for measuring soil samples, and two technicians (tand tB) that use the instruments to A
ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 8
9 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2
(5)
(Youden 1962a)
(Youden 1962a, 1972).
ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 10
(1962b), page 12. (See Table 1. BELOW)
11 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2
ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 12
13 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2
14 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2
Youden, W.J. (1962a) Uncertainties in Calibration. IRE Transactions on Instrumentation, Vol. I-II, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 133-138. (1972). Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 34-39.
Youden, W.J. (1962b). EXPERIMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT. Vistas of Science Series, National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC, 128 pages.
Youden, W.J. (1945a). How to Improve Formation Bombing. Air Forces Manual No. 67 (1945b). Bombing Charts. Air Forces Manual No. 79.
Youden, W.J. (1950). Index for Rating Diagnostic Tests. Cancer, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 32-35.
Youden, W.J. (1953). Sets of Three Measurements. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. LXXVII, No. 3, pp. 143-147. (1972). Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 40-44.
Youden, W.J. and W.S. Connor (1953). The Chain Block Design. Biometrics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 127-140.