Research Page for Z.-Q. John Lu

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Research interests

Current projects:
• Quantitative medical imaging: variability, statistical decision, and functional data analysis.
• Computational biology: microscopic imaging and multiplexed assays.
• Bayesian statistics and applications in data assimilation and genomics.

Past work
• Statistics for complex systems: time series analysis.

  Presentations Given Recently.
  On-line library.

  My general interest is in cross-disciplinary statistical research. I have worked on problems involving numerical weather prediction, polymer mass spectrometry, gene expression microarray experiments, and recently in cellular microscopic imaging and medical imaging. My statistical expertise is broad and I basically like to learn and apply any statistical technqiues which are appropriate for a given problem. I have particularly enjoyed applying nonparametric techniques as well as Bayesian methods, and I have found functional data analysis to be very relevant to many problems in my recent work. Currently I am particularly interested in image analysis techniques and related quantitative measurements. Here is my philosophy about what I do every day and why it is fun to work on interdisciplinary research problems.

  • A collection of some interesting reflections from some prominent statisticians.
  • A partial list of who's who of cross-disciplinary mathematical scientists.

Selected publications

• NEWZ.Q. J. Lu, N. Lowhorn, W. Wong-Ng, W. Zhang et al (2009). Statistical analysis of a round-robin measurement survey of two candidate materials for a Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Material. NIST Journal of Research, Vol.114, No.1, 37-55.

• Nonparametric Functional Data Analysis: Theory And Practice (Book Review), Technometrics, Volume 49, Number 2, May 2007, 226.

• N. Machkour-Deshayes, J. Stoup, Z. Q. Lu, J. Soons, U. Griesmann, R. Polvani (2006) Form-profiling of Optics Using the Geometry Measuring Machine and the M-48 CMM at NIST. Journal of Research of NIST, September-October 2006, Vol.111, No.5, pp.373-384.

• Book contribution to Modeling and Forecasting Financial Data (Kluwer, 2002): Chapter 5. Local Polynomial Prediction and Volatility Estimation in Financial Time Series.

• Experimental design for spatial and adaptive observations. Z.Q.Lu, L.M.Berliner, C.Snyder. In Studies in Atmospheric Sciences, Lecture Notes in Statistics, Vol.144, Springer-verlag, 2000.

• Some statistical considerations associated with the data assimilation of precipitation observations. R.M. Errico, L.Fillion, D.Nychka, Z.Q. Lu, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. Vol. 126, no. 562, part A 339-360. January 01, 2000.
• Statistical Design for Adaptive Weather Observations (L. M. Berliner, Z. Q. Lu, C. Snyder). Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences: Vol. 56, No. 15, 2536-2552. August, 1999.
• Markov switching time series models with application to a daily runoff series (Z.Q. Lu, L. M. Berliner). Water Resources Research, Vol. 35, No. 2, 523-534. Feb. 1999.

• Nonparametric Regression with Singular Design. Revised version of the paper:"Nonparametric function estimation for fractal and chaotic data". Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 1999, Vol.70, 177-201. Here it is the ps file, pdf file.

  In this paper, I develop what it is the precise meaning of "intrinsic dimensionality" associated with analyzing multivariate data, dispelling the scare that is usuallly thrown into high-dimensional modeling in the term "curse of dimensionality". Note that the same theory applies to nonparametric functional data analysis, i.e. regression models in which the covariates take on discretely-sampled measurements of curves in some functional space.

• Multivariate local polynomial fitting for martingale nonlinear regression models. Annals of Instititute of Statistical Mathematics , Vol.51, No.4, 691-706. December, 1999.

• Estimating Local Lyapunov Exponents (Z.Q. Lu, R.L. Smith). Invited paper in Nonlinear Dynamics and Time Series , editors Colleen D. Cutler and Daniel T. Kaplan. 135-151. Fields Institute Communications, Volume 11. Published by American Mathematical Society, 1997. ISBN 0-8218-0521-5.

• Statistical Estimation of Local Lyapunov Exponents: Toward Characterizing Predictability in Nonlinear Systems. ps file, pdf file First version 1994, Last revision 1997, unpublished manuscript.

• Multivariate locally weighted polynomial fitting and partial derivative estimation. Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 1996, 59, 187-205.

Some interesting reflections on research