Research and Teaching Interests
Research Interests
experimental design, foundations of statistics, statistical decision theory, computer experimentation
Recent Publications
- Bo Wang, Robert G. McLeod and John F. Brewster (2010). A Note on the Selection of Optimal Foldover Plans for 16- and 32-run Fractional Factorial Designs. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 140 (6), 1497–1500. DOI: 10.1016/j.jspi.2009.12.011, published online December 17, 2009.
- Robert G. McLeod and John F. Brewster (2008). Optimal Foldover Plans for Two-Level Fractional Factorial Split-Plot Designs. Journal of Quality Technology 5 (2), 227–240.
- Robert G. McLeod and John F. Brewster (2006). Blocked Fractional Factorial Split-Plot Experiments for Robust Parameter Design. Journal of Quality Technology 38 (3), 267–279.
- Robert G. McLeod; John F. Brewster; Abba B. Gumel and Dean A. Slonowsky (2006). Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analyses for a SARS Model with Time-Varying Inputs and Outputs. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 3 (3), 527–544.
- John F. Brewster; M. Ruth Graham and W. Alan C. Mutch (2005). Convexity, Jensen’s Inequality and Benefits of Noisy Mechanical Ventilation. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 2 (4), 393–396. DOI:10.1098/rsif.2005.0043, published online June 7, 2005.
Biography
John obtained B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from the University of British Columbia and an M.Sc. degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto. His main research interests are in experimental design, foundations of statistics, statistical decision theory and computer experimentation, and he has supervised a number of graduate students working in diverse areas of statistics. His research has been funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. John has consulted and collaborated extensively with companies and organizations in Manitoba, and has given a number of workshops on experimental design in the aerospace, agri-food, mining and semiconductor sectors. John is a former Director of the Institute of Industrial Mathematical Sciences in the Faculty of Science and a former Director of the Statistical Advisory Service in the Department of Statistics. He has been actively involved in professional organizations, having served as President of the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC), President of the Statistical Association of Manitoba, Secretary of SSC, President of the Business and Industrial Statistics Section of SSC and Chair of the Publications Committee of SSC. He is a past recipient of the Dr. & Mrs. H.H. Saunderson Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Manitoba. John retired as Professor and Head of the Department on December 31, 2011; he is now a Professor Emeritus. In June 2018, at the Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada, John was presented with the SSC Distinguished Service Award.
Recent Conference Presentations and Seminars
John F. Brewster (June 2017), “Reflections on Interactions with Industry — in the BISS Session Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Department of Statistics at The University of Manitoba”, invited talk, Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting (SSC 2017), Winnipeg, Manitoba.
John F. Brewster and Shaun S. Wulff* (October 2011), “Objective Bayesian Inference of Fixed Effects and Variance Components in Industrial Split-Plot Experiments”, invited talk, 55th Annual Fall Technical Conference (FTC 2011), Kansas City, Missouri.
John F. Brewster* and Shaun S. Wulff (July 2011), “Objective Bayesian Inference of Fixed Effects and Variance Components in Split-Plot Experiments”, invited talk, Statistics 2011 Canada: 5th Canadian Conference in Applied Statistics (Concordia 2011),Montréal, Québec.
John F. Brewster* and Shaun S. Wulff (June 2011), “Objective Bayesian Inference of Fixed Effects and Variance Components in Split-Plot Experiments”, seminar, Départment de mathématiques, Université de Sherbrooke.
John F. Brewster and Shaun S. Wulff* (June 2011), “Objective Bayesian Inference of Fixed Effects in Industrial Split-Plot Experiments”, contributed talk, Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting (SSC 2011), Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
John F. Brewster (August 2010), “Some Issues in the Design and Analysis of Industrial Split-Plot Experiments”, invited talk, International Symposium on Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS 2010), Portoroz, Slovenia.
John F. Brewster (May 2010), “Some Issues in the Design and Analysis of Industrial Split-Plot Experiments”, invited talk, Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting (SSC 2010), Québec, PQ.
John F. Brewster (May 2008), “Analysis of Data Arising from Industrial Split-Plot Screening Experiments”, invited talk, Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting (SSC 2008), Ottawa, Ontario.
John F. Brewster (August 2007), “On Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches to Inference in Industrial Split-Plot Screening Experiments”, invited talk, International Symposium on Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS 2007), Ponta Delgada, Azores.
John F. Brewster (June 2007), “On Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches to Inference in Industrial Split-Plot Screening Experiments”, invited talk, Quality and Productivity Research Conference (QPRC 2007), Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Robert G. McLeod and John F. Brewster* (June 2005), “Blocked Fractional Factorial Split-Plot Experiments for Robust Parameter Design”, invited talk, Spring Research Conference on Statistics in Industry and Technology (SRC 2005), Park City, Utah.
John F. Brewster (May 2005), “Bayesian Statistics vs. Classical (Frequentist) Statistics: Impacts on the Biological Sciences”, seminar, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii.
John F. Brewster (May 2005), “Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis for Complex Systems, with Applications to Models for Infectious Diseases and Genomics”, seminar, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii.
John F. Brewster* and Robert G. McLeod (April 2005), “Computer Experiments with Functional Output: Applications and Issues”, invited talk, Fourth International Conference on Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS4), Palm Cove, Australia.
John F. Brewster* and Dennis J. Murphy (November 2004), “Post-Data Pivotal Inference in Balanced One-Way Random Effects Models”, seminar, Department of Statistics, University of Auckland.
John F. Brewster* and Dennis J. Murphy (September 2004), “Post-Data Pivotal Inference in Balanced One-Way Random Effects Models”, seminar, Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia.
Robert G. McLeod, John F. Brewster*, Abba B. Gumel, and Dean A. Slonowsky (August 2004), “Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of a Mathematical Model for the Transmission of SARS”, invited talk, Fourth University of Manitoba Statistics Research Workskhop (2004).
John F. Brewster* and Robert G. McLeod* (July 2004), “Applications of Computer Experiments Involving Functional Data — Parts I and II, invited talks, NPCDS/SAMSI Workshop on the Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments for Complex Systems, Banff International Research Station.
Brewster, John F., Abba B. Gumel, Robert G. McLeod* and Dean A. Slonowsky (July 2004), “Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of a Mathematical Model for the Transmission of SARS”, invited presentation, PIMS-MITACS-NSRI Special Program on Infectious Diseases Workshop, Banff International Research Station.
Current and Recent Students
Jenna Tichon, Ph.D. thesis successfully defended June 21, 2018, Ph.D to be formally awarded October 2018, “Response Surface Methodology for Split-Plot Designs With Categorical Factors”.
Monica Sirski, Ph.D. awarded May 2012, “On the Statistical Analysis of Functional Data Arising from Designed Experiments”.
Alan Forbes, Faculty of Science Undergraduate Student Research Project, summer 2011.
Jenna Tichon, M.Sc. awarded October 2010, “Design Issues in Nonregular and Follow-Up Split-Plot Designs”.
Alan Forbes, NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Project, summer 2010.
Miao Zhang, M.Sc. awarded February 2009, “Optimal Semi-Foldover Plans for Two-Level Fractional Factorial Designs”.
Bo Wang, M.Sc. awarded October 2008, “Optimal Foldover Plans for Two-Level Fractional Factorial Designs”.
Ben Chen, NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Project, summer 2007.
Ian Sturdy, M.Sc. awarded October 2004, “Statistical Issues in Fitting a Four-Parameter Logistic Model to the Pressure-Volume Relationship in the Lung”.
Robert McLeod, Ph.D. awarded October 2003, “The Design and Analysis of Blocked Fractional Factorial Split-Plot Experiments”.
Leo Wang-Kit Cheung, Ph.D. awarded May 2002, “Statistical Pattern Recognition in Genomic DNA Sequences”.
Marc Silva, M.Sc. awarded May 2002, “The Use of Piecewise Linear Models to Predict Hydroelectric Load for Manitoba Hydro”.
Catherine Njue, Ph.D. awarded October 2001, “On the Efficiency of Testing Procedures in the Linear Model for Multivariate Longitudinal Data”.
Dennis Murphy, Ph.D. awarded May 2000, “Post-Data Pivotal Inference in Balanced Random Effects Models”.
Recent Research Funding
Discovery Grant, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, 2008-2016, “Design and Analysis of Industrial Experiments”, $70,000.