Bears in Space:
My first job – teaching statistics – was at Mt Holyoke College. I had been trained as a probabilist, not as a statistician, so George’s mentorship made all the difference for me as I navigated those first two years of my career. I was lucky to have a role model who was so dedicated to education. One of my most treasured memories is of the Bears in Space activity George designed for his Experimental Design course. In this activity, students launched colorful gummy bears from a launcher (which I believe George made in his basement) and measured the distances they traveled under different setups. Twice a semester, the fourth floor of Clapp was filled with students laughing, flipping coins, launching gummy bears… It was such a delight to see the students so excited and George watching over them with a smile!
George W. Cobb Memorial (1947-2020) 