DOHA: Sheikh Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani (pictured), acting President of Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) was elected Chair of the Al Khawarizmi, an affiliate of The International Statistical Institute (ISI).
The election was held on the sidelines of the 57th session of ISI held recently in Durban, South Africa.
The ISI is composed of more than 2,000 individual elected members who are internationally recognised as the definitive leaders in the field of statistics. The Institute's membership crosses all borders, representing more than 133 countries worldwide.
The objectives of the Al Khawarizmi Committee include increasing the number of Arab statisticians in the ISI (and broader ISI family), to help them be more active in ISI roles, to support the discipline of statistics in the region with a particular focus on the establishment of national societies, to improve the world wide understanding of the priorities of statistics as developed and applied in the Arab region and to increase the involvement of young statisticians in the region in international statistics.
It is expected that a work team that has members from various Arab states will be formed soon to develop an action plan to help achieving the objectives of the committee and help Arab statisticians be more active in ISI roles including sitting on committees.
The Al Khawarizmi Committee is named after Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa Al Khawarizmi, also called Muhammad ibn-Musa Al Khawarizmi, Muhammad ibn-Musa Al Khwarizmi, and Mohammad Bin Musa Al Khawarizmi.
He developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics (which is a reason for his being called the grandfather of computer science by some people), and the words "algorithm" and "algorism" come from Latin and English corruptions of his name. He also made major contributions to the fields of algebra, trigonometry, astronomy, geography and cartography.
© The Peninsula 2009
