Staff news

Peter Fisk (1929–2009)

Professor Colin Aitken remembers Peter Fisk, the University’s Head of Statistics from 1984-1990.

Peter Fisk

After a long spell of poor health, Peter Fisk died on 2 October 2009, aged 80, only a few days after the death of his wife, Flora.

He had served the University and the statistical profession in many ways.

Academic career

Peter left school at 14 without formal qualifications but, following attendance at evening classes, he graduated from the London School of Economics in 1953 with a BSc in Economics.

He held academic posts at the universities of Aberdeen, New South Wales and Birmingham.

Peter arrived at the University of Edinburgh in 1967 to join its then recently formed Department of Statistics.

In 1984, he became Head of the Department of Statistics, a position he held until his retirement in the summer of 1990.

Statistical research

Peter's research interests ranged from the nature and construction of index numbers to the complexities of econometric theory.

During the 1970s he was a member of the Statistics Committee for the Social Sciences Research Council (now the ESRC).

With Edinburgh colleagues he established the Edinburgh Survey Methodology Group in the early 1980s.

He was a member of the Royal Statistical Society and was awarded its Chambers Medal in 1992 for outstanding services to the Society.

Notes

Colin Aitken is Professor of Forensic Statistics at the University’s School of Mathematics.

A full version of this obituary will be published in the spring edition of Bulletin magazine.