The path to

Computational statistics

and the tale of how I unexpectedly found it.

Tom Elliott

University of Auckland

Who am I?

  1. PhD Candidate, predicting buses (started mid-2015)
  2. Lead iNZight developer (since ~2014/15)

How did I get here …?

At this point I …

  • wanted to be a vet (until Yr13!)
  • had a natural competency with computers
  • CIE
  • English, AS French, AS
  • Maths, AS+A2 calculus + statistics →
  • Chemistry, AS+A2
  • Biology, AS+A2 "What is the null?" →
  • Bachelor of Science
    Marine Science
    Biological Sciences + Statistics
  • BSc Honours, Masters, and now PhD …
    all in statistics!
  • 2013 (Honours): email from Chris Wild:

The path to

Computational Statistics

and … what exactly is it?

Basically, any statistics that require a lot of computing.

A few examples …


  • Galaxies and blackholes (BSc Hons)


  • Fisheries management (MSc)

  • Public transport (PhD, current)

Predicting bus arrival times

using estimated road network state

Aim …

Use travel times of previous buses travelling along road segments to improve arrival time predictions of upcoming buses