Brigham Young University alumnus Brandon Carter joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a summer associate in the Strategy, Forces and Resources Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center.
Carter earned his Master’s degree in statistics from BYU in 2019. He is working towards his doctoral degree in statistics at The University of Texas at Austin and is a member of the American Statistical Association.
IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three Federally Funded Research and Development Centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical, and analytic expertise.
We asked Brandon what he has gained from this opportunity he shared, "This last summer at IDA I have gained a greater appreciation for the necessity of a statistician to be able to communicate statistical concepts to non-statisticians. In regards to obtaining the position, a large part of my interview was focused on my master’s project. Because of the quality research experience I had at BYU, I was able to explain clearly and concisely my project to those unfamiliar with that area of statistics and be hired as a summer associate. Throughout the associate program this past summer, I continued to build upon the ability to explain and justify statistical modeling choices, skills that I had gained from my time in the MS program.”
Congratulations to Brandon Carter!