YOUDEN ADDRESS - ASQasq.org/teamwork/2007/06/statistics/remembering-jack-youden.pdflectures on Statistical Inference at Columbia University. And, while Jack was now assuming the role

ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2 5

YOUDEN ADDRESS Remembering Jack Youden

by John A. Cornell, University of Florida

During the period 1940 – 1970, Jack Youden, father of

“Youden Squares” and the Youden Diagram,” was

recognized both in the United States and abroad as one of

the truly outstanding applied statisticians. Formally

trained as a chemist and through his experiences in the

laboratory, he acquired a thirst for obtaining greater

precision in the measurement process. His discoveries on

the variation of measurement led him to become later an

expert in various statistical aspects of experimentation.

Youden’s many contributions to the art and science of

statistics in experimentation, has had a tremendous

impact on scientists striving for continuous improvement.

His work in experimental design, in the graphical

diagnosis of inter-laboratory test results, in the

identification and estimation of the effects of sources of

systematic error, and in many other areas, are among the

most frequently cited in the literature.

INTRODUCTION

“Statistics and Quality: 50 Years of Exploration and

Discovery” was the theme of this year’s 50th Annual Fall

Technical Conference (FTC) and that is why I selected the

topic, “Remembering Jack Youden,” for this 33rd

anniversary of the Youden Address. Previously, I

presented “W.J. Youden – The Man and His

Methodology” at the 1992 FTC and I was delighted to be

able to present a shortened version of that address this

year.

Let me begin this expose’ on Jack Youden by asking,

“Who was this person for whom:

an award on the topic of Interlaboratory Testing is

given each year by the American Statistical

Association;

an address is presented at the FTC each year (and has

been since 1973);

an award (prize) is given by the Chemical Process

Industries Division of ASQ each year for best

expository paper on statistical methods or philosophy

that appeared in Technometrics during the previous

year; and,

who was this man for whom the January 1972 issue of

the Journal of Quality Technology was memorialized?”

In what follows, which is the 1992 Youden Address, I

shall try to familiarize you with a brief biographical

sketch of his life; present some examples of his

methodology; give some measures of the impact of Jack

Youden and his methodology on the scientific

community; and finally, share some statements about Jack

Youden made by those who worked/ or interacted with

him. Regrettably, I never had the good fortune of meeting

Jack Youden in person.

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH (1900-1971) OF

JACK YOUDEN’S LIFE

As with so many others who have contributed much to

our profession, Jack Youden began his career, not as a

statistician, but rather in a related discipline, as a physical

chemist. Born in Townsville, Australia, in 1900, Jack’s

family came to America in 1907 and resided in Niagara

Falls, NY, where Jack attended the local public schools.

During Jack’s senior year of high school, the family

moved to Rochester, NY, and the following year Jack

enrolled at the University of Rochester. In 1921, Jack

graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering having

been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Following graduation, Jack served a year as an

instructor in chemistry at the University of Rochester and

then enrolled at Columbia University as a graduate fellow

in chemistry earning an M.A. in 1923 and a Ph.D. in 1924.

Upon graduation, Jack joined the staff of the Boyce

Thompson Institute for Plant Research, located in

Yonkers, NY. Thus, during the first third of his life, Jack

showed an interest in and was formally trained in the

field of chemistry.

The next seven years were a transition period in which

Jack, a physical chemist, was slowly becoming more of a

statistician. In 1931-32, Jack commuted from Younkers to

Morning Heights, NY, to attend Professor H. Hotelling’s

lectures on Statistical Inference at Columbia University.

And, while Jack was now assuming the role of a

statistician more in his work, his laboratory experience

was always to remain a treasured asset enabling him to

communicate with scientists on their own grounds.


7 ASQ STATISTICS DIVISION NEWSLETTER, Vol. 25, No. 2

In a laboratory setting, suppose we have two

instruments (I1 and I2) for measuring soil samples, and two technicians (tand tB) that use the instruments to A



(5)

(Youden 1962a)

(Youden 1962a, 1972).


(1962b), page 12. (See Table 1. BELOW)





Youden, W.J. (1962a) Uncertainties in Calibration. IRE Transactions on Instrumentation, Vol. I-II, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 133-138. (1972). Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 34-39.

Youden, W.J. (1962b). EXPERIMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT. Vistas of Science Series, National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC, 128 pages.

Youden, W.J. (1945a). How to Improve Formation Bombing. Air Forces Manual No. 67 (1945b). Bombing Charts. Air Forces Manual No. 79.

Youden, W.J. (1950). Index for Rating Diagnostic Tests. Cancer, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 32-35.

Youden, W.J. (1953). Sets of Three Measurements. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. LXXVII, No. 3, pp. 143-147. (1972). Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 40-44.

Youden, W.J. and W.S. Connor (1953). The Chain Block Design. Biometrics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 127-140.

YOUDEN ADDRESS - ASQasq.org/teamwork/2007/06/statistics/remembering-jack-youden.pdflectures on Statistical Inference at Columbia University. And, while Jack was now assuming the role

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