Dianne Cook (statistician)

Dianne Cook is an Australian-American statistician known for her research in data visualization, dimension reduction, and data mining. She is a Professor of Statistics at Monash University and an Emeritus Professor at Iowa State University.

Cook's work has significantly contributed to the field of interactive statistical graphics. She is particularly recognized for her contributions to software development, including the GGobi software, a free, open-source visualization system used for exploring high-dimensional data. GGobi allows users to dynamically manipulate and explore data through techniques like brushing, linking, and rotation, enabling them to identify patterns and relationships that might be missed with static visualizations.

Her research interests extend to methods for improving the process of data analysis and communication. This involves investigating how people interact with statistical graphics and developing visual tools that are intuitive and effective for uncovering insights from data. She has also worked on projection pursuit, a dimension reduction technique used to find interesting projections of high-dimensional data.

Cook is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, recognizing her significant contributions to the field. She has authored and co-authored numerous publications, including books and articles, shaping the understanding and application of data visualization in statistics. Her work emphasizes the importance of visual exploration as a crucial component of the data analysis process, empowering analysts to gain deeper understandings from complex datasets.