Surya T Tokdar

Surya T Tokdar is a Professor of Statistical Science at Duke University and a faculty member of the Duke Institute of Brain Sciences. He works at the intersection of Bayesian and frequentist statistical theories, focusing on smoothing, quantile regression, and neuroscience applications.

• Education: BStat and MStat from Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata; PhD (2006) from Purdue University under JK Ghosh.
• Career: Morris H DeGroot Visiting Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon (2006-2009), Duke University since 2009 (promoted to Professor, 2022).

Research Interests span Bayesian smoothing, quantile regression, density estimation, and theoretical neuroscience. His work on posterior consistency bridges Bayesian and frequentist principles through Dirichlet processes and Gaussian process priors.

Recent Publications include advancements in heavy-tailed density estimation (2022), spatial quantile regression (2021), and neural multiplexing analysis (2021), reflecting his dual focus on statistical methodology and neuroscience applications.

Scientific Awards include the Leonard J Savage Award (2006) and Young Statistician Award (2016).

Advising has produced doctoral alumni at institutions like Google, Netflix, and Duke University. He collaborates with Jennifer Groh on NIH-funded neuroscience projects and develops statistical software (sbde, neuromplex, qrjoint).