The International Statistical Institute is pleased to announce that Trevor Hastie and Hui Zou have been awarded the 2025 Founders of Statistics Prize for Contemporary Research Contributions. This prestigious award recognises their influential paper, "Regulariation and Variable Selection via the Elastic Net" (Zou & Hastie, 2005), published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B. Trevor Hastie, the John A. Overdeck Professor of Statistics and Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, is a leading figure in statistics and a member of both the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. His work on the elastic net has revolutionised fields such as statistics, biostatistics, data science, and applied mathematics.
Hui Zou, a full professor at the University of Minnesota, earned his Ph.D. in Statistics at Stanford University. His research focuses on statistical learning, flexible modeling, and statistical computing. A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and the IMS Tweedie Award, Hui is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher and ranks among the top 2% of global scientists according to Stanford University. He is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical
Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The elastic net method has addressed key challenges in high-dimensional regression, improving prediction accuracy and stabilizing variable selection. Its impact spans various fields, particularly in biological and medical research, with notable applications in studies such as COVID-19's impact on cancer patients (The Lancet, 2020) and biological age prediction using DNA methylation (Nature Reviews Genetics, 2018).
The Founders of Statistics Prize, sponsored by Elsevier, is awarded biennially at the ISI World Statistics Congress to honor research with a lasting impact on statistical theory, methodology, and applications. The prize includes a €5,000 cash award and travel support for the recipient to deliver the Founders of Statistics Lecture. We extend our warm congratulations to Trevor Hastie and Hui Zou for their exceptional contributions to the field of statistics. We also thank the 2025 prize committee members for their diligent work: Kerrie Mengersen (Australia), Gareth Peters (USA), Elvezio Ronchetti (Switzerland), and Pablo Augusto Ferrari (Argentina). Our sincere appreciation also goes to Elsevier for its continued support of this prestigious award.
Congratulations again to Trevor Hastie and Hui Zou!
