WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — C.R. Rao is known internationally for his work in the field of statistics. The UB professor will be awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics — the equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the field — later this year.
Rao was born in India. He studied and worked there for many years and moved to the U.S. after he retired. Currently, he lives with his daughter in Williamsville. Rao is still mentally sharp, but the 102-year-old man’s body is weaker now, so while Spectrum News 1 didn’t get a chance to catch up with him, his daughter spoke to us about his achievements.
“I don’t know if he fully comprehended how wonderful this honor was. So he read it a couple of times and he told me ‘file it,' " Teja Rao, C.R. Rao’s daughter, said.
"I was absolutely thrilled. I knew it a little before they actually announced it, and it’s such a special moment, because my mother used to always say ‘if there was a Nobel Prize, your dad would have gotten it.' "
Teja says C.R. is being awarded the International Prize in Statistics award for a paper he published in 1945 when he was 25 years old.
"What happened was a student asked a question and my father said 'let me get back to you tomorrow.' He worked on that question overnight and answered him the next morning, and that resulted in a paper that had three of his most famous theorems, which became the foundation of modern statistics, and which until today impacts mathematics, statistics, engineering, sociology, all the medical sciences," Rao said.
Teja says this isn’t the only award her father has received.
"He’s gotten the National Medal of Science from the U.S., and President Bush gave it to him. He got the Indian Science Award from Dr. Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India. The Royal [Statistical] Society gave him the [Guy Medal in Gold]," Rao said.
That’s on top of 40 honorary doctorates from all over the world and his 476 publications. C.R.'s daughter says his last publication was when he turned 100. She says she and her family knew he was important in the statistics field while growing up, but didn’t know exactly just how impactful.
"Honestly, I didn’t know until actually we came here and I started working on a gallery which is in the institute which is named after him in Hyderabad, and the more I started reading about him I said 'wow, is that dad?' " Rao said.
Teja says that she is delighted that her father’s work is still recognized after 75 years. C.R. Rao fell into statistics by chance. He was at a job interview and went with a roommate to the Indian Statistical Institute, and his daughter says he became so fascinated that he just stayed there.