C. R. Rao

C. R. Rao
Rao in 2012
Born
Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao

(1920-09-10)10 September 1920
Died22 August 2023(2023-08-22) (aged 102)
CitizenshipIndian (until 1995)
American (1995–2023)
EducationAndhra University (MA)
University of Calcutta (MA)
King's College, Cambridge (PhD, DSc)
Known forMultivariate statistical theory
Cramér–Rao bound
Rao–Blackwell theorem
Orthogonal arrays
Score test
AwardsPadma Bhushan (1968)
Padma Vibhushan (2001)
National Medal of Science (2001)
S. S. Bhatnagar Prize (1963)
Guy Medal (Silver 1965, Gold 2011)
International Prize in Statistics (2023)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics and Statistics
Institutions
Thesis Statistical Problems of Biological Classifications  (1948)
Doctoral advisorRonald Fisher
Doctoral students

Prof. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao FRS (10 September 1920 – 22 August 2023) was an Indian-American mathematician and statistician. He was professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University and research professor at the University at Buffalo. Rao was honoured by numerous colloquia, honorary degrees, and festschrifts and was awarded the US National Medal of Science in 2002. The American Statistical Association has described him as "a living legend" whose work has influenced not just statistics, but has had far reaching implications for fields as varied as economics, genetics, anthropology, geology, national planning, demography, biometry, and medicine." The Times of India listed Rao as one of the top 10 Indian scientists of all time.

In 2023, Rao was awarded the International Prize in Statistics, an award often touted as the "statistics' equivalent of the Nobel Prize". Rao was also a Senior Policy and Statistics advisor for the Indian Heart Association non-profit focused on raising South Asian cardiovascular disease awareness.