Joshua S Agterberg

Joshua S Agterberg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Johns Hopkins University (2023) and a BBA in Actuarial Science and Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017). His research focuses on statistical network analysis, high-dimensional statistics, spectral methods, and mathematical data science, with notable contributions to tensor analysis, mixed-membership models, and nonparametric hypothesis testing.

Education:

• PhD in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, 2023
• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Actuarial Science and Mathematics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2017

Research Interests:

• Statistical Network Analysis (e.g., community detection, graph clustering)
• High-dimensional statistics (e.g., singular vector estimation, sparse PCA)
• Spectral methods (e.g., tensor perturbation, matrix decomposition)
• Applications in data science, neuroscience, and connectomics

Awards:

• Summer 2022 Acheson J. Duncan Travel Award
• Multiple MINDS Data Science Fellowships
• Best Presentation Award, JSM Student Competition (Nonparametric Statistics, 2021)

Advising & Grants:

• Supervises PhD students at UIUC in statistics and data science
• Collaborator on grants related to statistical network analysis and tensor models
• Member of the Math Alliance to diversify STEM participation

Labs & Teams: Active in collaborative research groups at UIUC, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on statistical theory and applications in networks and structured data.