Peter Hall was my MSc supervisor. I was struck by his combination of superhuman industry and great gentleness. May he rest in peace.--Leon Di Stefano[2016-03-15 09:47]

Dear Peter. I cannot believe that you are gone. You helped me tremendously when I was thinking about the way how to improve statistics education in Balkan. I sent you an email asking to give me some definition and at the same you you sent me your reply with much more material than I had expected. Along with CR Rao and David Cox you gave the crucial impetus to the International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. I was always thinking that I would meet you some day but that day never came. You were by all means the most eminent Australian statistician, and the whole statistics community has lost its giant. RIP Dear Peter and join Ronald Fisher, Jerzy Neyman and two Pearsons. You will always live in our hearts.--Miodrag Lovric[2016-03-08 19:03]

I met Peter as a fresh PhD and was impressed that he is exceptionally kind and generous to young researchers. A giant figure in statistics and a great loss to our profession. --Yazhen Wang [2016-03-03 05:18]

Late one afternoon Peter came by for a status update: Peter - "How is the thesis coming along?" Me - "I hope to give you a first draft next week" Peter - "Hmmm. I wonder if I could get it a bit earlier as then I could go over it on the return flight" Me - "I have to finish the introduction and give it a final proof read. When is your flight?" Peter - "I'll have to leave here at 8pm" Current time: 7.30pm. Time it took me to finalize the first draft: 2 days. Peter it was a pleasure to work with you. --Andrew Rieck(Andrew Rieck)[2016-03-03 02:11]

As many of his colleagues, collaborators and friends have mentioned, Peter Hall was a masterful researcher who made wide-ranging contributions to Probability and Statistics in a career that can only be referred to as exceptional. He was also a born teacher, freely sharing his enthusiasm for his discipline and his excitement about newly discovered advances. Peter's career contained so many notable achievements that one could be overwhelmed by their scope and their depth. As admirable as his professional life was, what I liked and admired most about him was his ability to live in the moment, offering friendship, open discussion and thoughtful commentary without hesitation or restraint. This extraordinary human being will be missed both for his powerful mind and for his gentle soul. In his absence, he is still loved, appreciated and fondly remembered. I am grateful for the honor and pleasure of knowing him and for the opportunity to have worked with him. It pains me greatly to think that we will never again break bread together -- Frank Samaniego, UC Davis. --F. J. Samaniego[2016-02-24 07:58]

I miss Peter. He was a true friend. I use to see him late at night in his office. He showed me how to suck eggs Sorry to see you go old friend --Manfred Hosting(?)[2016-02-21 15:48]

I remember a chairman at an international conference joking that during this session Peter Hall wrote two papers. Indeed, Peter was typing on his laptop almost all the time. Yet when a discussion time came Peter was always the first to comment the talk. Soon after my arrival to Macquarie Victor Solo invited Peter to our department. In a discussion I realized I was not familiar with some important Peter's publications. Trying to become more systematic I run a database (which later developed into JSTOR) with a keyword 'Peter Hall' in the author field. I found more than 400 items, and that was more than 20 years ago. There is an Erdos number ranking mathematicians by the shortest number of co-authors linking them with the legendary mathematician Paul Erdos. I have Peter Hall number 2. My former PhD student, Jiying Yin, worked with Peter helping him in programming related with application of innovative statistical methods in decoupling movements of complicated celestial systems. With the range of his achievements Peter earned his place in the history, and not only in the history of Statistics. Peter, rest in peace. Andrzej Kozek 2016-02-18--Andrzej Kozek[2016-02-18 00:11]

Peter, I was so sad when Jeannie told me, close to Christmas, that you were in hospital and that I should keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Very few people are at the same time talented and gentle at such a high level as you were. You never seemed to be aware of your own generosity towards colleagues and friends. Everyone in the statistical community and elsewhere testifies for this. Jeannie, this is a very great loss that you endure now, but you may remember the happy days together with such a wonderful companion. Catherine Huber --Catherine Huber[2016-02-16 04:37]

I visited Peter several times in Canberra and Melbourne. I never chased trains with him, but I did go with him one afternoon to photograph an old church in the countryside near Canberra. Peter had a large view camera -- the kind that requires you to put a black cloth over your head to compose the photo -- with a heavy tripod and a lens he had designed himself. Some sheep were grazing in front of the church when we arrived, but a blast from a nearby mining operation scared them away while Peter was setting up the camera. We waited several hours for the sheep to return and some clouds to clear so Peter could take his picture. Peter was a wonderful friend and coauthor. I will miss him greatly. > --Joel Horowitz[2016-02-15 23:58]

Peter will be forever remembered as an illustrious researcher, an inspiring teacher, an efficient collaborator, a great mentor and a dear friend.--Feng Chen(陈锋)[2016-02-15 14:17]

Peter Hall was a great scientist, a great mentor, and a great friend. His passing is a great loss for the whole world. I have posted a number of personal recollections, including some apsects of his life that I believe most are unaware of, plus photographs (including pics of Peter photographing trains) at: https://marron.web.unc.edu/sample-page/peter-hall-memorial-page/ With best wishes, Steve Marron--J. S. Marron[2016-02-14 08:37]

Professor Hall your influence was extensive, your decency was always gratefully accepted. You made a difference. Shayne Walsh Graduate Schools of Economics, Statistics and Commerce ANU (1989-1995) --Shayne Walsh[2016-02-13 14:25]

I had known Peter since age 13 (1964), lived in the same suburb, attended the same high school and shared his passion for railways and steam trains in particular. He was raised in the southern Sydney suburb of Oatley by parents Bill (technician with the PMG) and Ruby (home duties and later secondary school teacher) and had a younger sister Fiona. Of course, none of Peter's friends knew of Ruby's background until relatively recently, but that's another story. One thing that did strike a young teenager when I visited Peter's home was the absence of a family car - there wasn't even provision for a carport - (both parents being avid bushwalkers) and no television set (but a well-stocked library and the radio permanently tuned to the ABC). Most unusual for a middle class family in the early 1960s! Peter attended Oatley West Public School and later Sydney Technical High School at Bexley. This was a selective high school, with positions offered based on academic performance and IQ testing. Peter thrived in this environment, but did not necessarily stand out, as there were a lot of other gifted students. He was clearly talented in Mathematics and Science, but surprisingly it is my recollection that he was near the top, but never the top of the year in Maths at any stage in a cohort of around 200 students. He did however achieve the best result in the School when it counted - I think 2nd or 3rd in the State in Maths at the 1969 HSC. He went on to study for a BSc degree at Sydney University, with an honours year majoring in Statistics (I think the latter was at ANU) before going to Oxford for his doctorate. He was a deep thinker, not a rote learner like most of us! He could derive algebraic theorems from first principles, and scared the life out of his friends when he advised us that this was required as part of the Maths curriculum - no doubt an interpretation conveyed to him by his mother, who at that time was a secondary school Maths and Science teacher. He often challenged commonly held beliefs, and had a low tolerance for sweeping generalisations, an unfortunate habit I still have to this day in an attempt to prove a point. “How do you know that?” Peter would growl! Peter had a small close knit group of friends at school, several of whom shared his passion in railways. Camping beside the railway line in the Newcastle area to photograph steam trains was a regular school holiday highlight for us both. An early mentor was Robert Booth, his Science teacher at high school for several years, who was also one of Australia's foremost steam train photographers. Peter in general kept a low profile at school and kept out of trouble, and was in fact quite a shy lad. His speech appeared hesitant at times, probably because his brain was working at twice the speed of his mouth! He was an environmentalist and pacifist, opposed the Vietnam war, and never got into physical altercations with anyone, although he had a burly and strong physique. He developed a tactful way of letting the Maths teacher know when a mistake on the blackboard had been made - a strategic low cough! The teacher took it in good heart and came up with the memorable line "If I was as good at Maths as you are son, I wouldn't be out here trying to teach you lot!" Peter also gave credit where it was due, and if the teacher was "on a roll" solving an equation, Peter would be heard to say "Look at him go!" Certainly, I am sure no brighter star has emerged from Peter’s old alma mater! I join all Peter’s colleagues and his dear wife Jeannie in mourning his loss, but also celebrate the memory of a great mind. Roger Renton --Roger Renton[2016-02-12 14:00]

Sol sad to hear Peter died recently. In 1976 I left Uni Melb for Europe and was on the committee appointing a replacement. Peter was chosen as an outstanding prospect despite others having many more publications. In hindsight it was a great choice. I and all those I knew always the greatest respect for Peter and his huge research output. My condolences to his family. --geoffrey yeo[2016-02-07 18:16]

Peter is known to all statisticians for his great research work. Those of us who met him in person also know what a great man he was.--Adelchi Azzalini[2016-02-03 15:31]

Peter was a wonderful friend, mentor, co-author, photographer, and railway enthusiast. I will never forget the discussions we had about historic steam locomotives and the experience of taking photographs together of old trains and trams. Despite the fact that Peter was among the most innovative and eminent statisticians in the world, he was always willing to share his enormous expertise with me and to help shape my research ideas over 25 years. Not only was he an outstanding scholar, who made numerous lasting contributions to statistical methodology and diverse areas of science applications, he was also a truly exceptional, modest, generous, and warm person. His passing is a huge loss to the scientific community. Personally I owe him very much and will miss him a lot. Peter, rest in peace!--Michael G. SCHIMEK[2016-02-01 07:23]

Dear Peter. I am deeply saddened when the news broke to me. The statistics world will never be the same without you. I counted myself fortunate and honoured to have the opportunity working under your supervision as a student, and later as a research associate back at the ANU in the 90's. There are many things that I still have vivid images of - your consistency in reaching office at 7am and leaving at 7pm, how you survived daily lunch with a bag of fruits, the big sack of seeds in your office you used to feed cockatoos flocking to your window, your deep knowledge and interest in planes, your lightning speed in turning an idea into a written paper, your amazing ability in simultaneously co-authoring with so many on different subjects, your great hospitality to visiting scholars, your unassuming and humble attitude towards those around you despite all your achievements... the list goes on and on. You are a perfect example showing how a smart, coupled with hard working person can achieve in life. No words could express how much I respect you, and how grateful I am for the support and guidance you have provided me under your supervision. Peter, you will be forever missed and rest in peace. --Edwin Choi[2016-01-30 11:41]

I'm shocked to hear of the sudden death of him. May his soul rest in peace.--Yoshihiko MAESONO[2016-01-28 14:18]

I first met Professor Hall when I interviewed him in September 2012 on behalf of "Imprints", the newsletter of Institute for Mathematical Sciences of National University of Singapore when he was a visiting professor. I will always remember the beautiful way he answered - frank, gentle, clear and yet forceful. My only regret is that I will not be able to show him the belated transcript of the interview that will appear in July 2016. The memory and impression of that interview will always be with me.His intellectual spirit lives on.--Yukiang Leong[2016-01-28 01:00]

Requiescat in pace --Jason Leung[2016-01-27 21:30]

Peter, I am deeply saddened by your passing away. You are such a giant in our profession, a great mentor, a friend, and so much more. You have influenced so many people. I was fortunate enough to have worked with you in early 90’s, and have benefited so much from your generous support throughout my career. Your passing is a huge loss to the whole community. You will be for ever remembered. Rest in peace. Bing-Yi JING. --Bing-yi JING(荆炳义)[2016-01-27 16:13]

Peter Hall was a legend. He was my greatest mentor and my hero. He will be greatly missed by so many. May he rest in peace.--Spiridon Penev[2016-01-26 18:51]

Peter was helpful, enabling and cheerful. When I once explained a way I thought the bootstrap could be thought of but did not understand why it was not thought of that way, he replied that is was true but not helpful (i.e. did not lead anywhere useful). That was very helpful for me to hear. --Keith O'Rourke[2016-01-25 21:53]

I was fortune to be a PhD student of Professor Hall at ANU. He was truly a brilliant scholar who had made broad scientific contributions to our community. My deepest sympathy to his family and may his soul rest in peace.--Reza Pakyari[2016-01-25 21:46]

Peter was an inspiration to me and to so many, someone so gifted, generous and gentle that one could only marvel at the miracle of him. --Iain Johnstone[2016-01-24 11:32]

Peter, it was an honour to be your colleague and your friend. I shall miss your kindness, wit and energy, and your willingness to help (invariably successfully) whenever I encountered a technical issue beyond my capabilities. To Jeannie and to Fiona, my deepest condolences. --Nick Fisher[2016-01-23 15:55]

Peter, I am deeply saddened by your passing away. Thank you so much for your guidance and continuing help in my carrier. Rest in peace, Peter -- Qiying Wang --QIYING WANG[2016-01-23 14:46]

Brilliant, modest and exceptionally generous colleague and,together with Jeannie, cherished family friend.--Mary and Mike Titterington[2016-01-23 05:09]

Peter, thank you for being so generous with your time and advice. You set a great example for all of us.--Damjan Vukcevic[2016-01-22 20:30]

Peter was the boy from Oatley in Sydney's southern suburbs who conquered the world. He could have worked at most of the high-prestige universities in Europe or North America but chose to stay in Australia. We in Australia are so proud of Peter's achievements and thankful for the prominence that he brought to our corner of the globe. Dozens of international statisticians came to Canberra and Melbourne because of him. Many young Australians benefited enormously from his mentoring. I was one Peter's first PhD students during the 1980s and he continued to provide amazing support, guidance and solutions to my difficult theoretical problems ever since. During Peter's final year Aurore Delaigle and I talked to Peter about his life. In particular, we talked a lot about his family and his earlier years that are not widely known in the statistics community. Peter's story will be published in an upcoming issue of Statistical Science. --Matt Wand[2016-01-22 07:14]

With the passing away of Peter Hall the world of statistics has lost one of its finest. I first met him at Indiana University in Bloomington sometime when he was still in his thirties. He was already a star by then and was on the editorial boards of both the Annals of Probability and the Annals of Statistics. In time his fame grew beyond bounds. But even in the elite group of brilliant scholars to which he belonged, Peter was mostly unmatched in his generosity to others in his field, especially to the young ones still trying to build their careers. I join many whol mourn the loss of a great human being.--Rabi Bhattacharya[2016-01-22 05:22]

If he is still with us, I believe to get some chance to work under his super vision.He suggested me to get back in late 2015. His demise is really painful to believe.Pray him to rest in peace.--Himadri Ghosh[2016-01-20 13:37]

I was in a quite sorrowful mood when I heard Peter's passing. I met Peter many times and could not remember when it was the first meeting. Peter was one of my best respected men in our statistical community. He left me indelible impression of kindness and patience. Peter was not only academically fruitful but also helpful and encouraging for researchers like me.--Jiancheng Jiang[2016-01-20 07:01]

I first met Peter at a workshop 1993 in Berlin and was very fortunate to get an invitation to visit and work with him in Canberra the year after. I still see Peter writing a draft of a paper over the weekend, collecting his students and visitors for discussions over the morning coffee break or inviting them for a barbeque at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. It is very sad to know that this admirable, most generous colleague is no longer among us. --Joerg Polzehl[2016-01-20 06:38]

I was shocked when I heard this bad news, my deep condolences to his family on this sad occassion. I was Peter's Ph.D student 2003-2006. He was a great man,kind and helpful. As my scientific father, I have never forgot him. He is in my heart each and every day. Mohammad Hosseini-Nasab, Tehran, Iran--Mohammad Hosseini-Nasab[2016-01-19 20:10]

We were very saddened to hear the recent news about Peter's death. We came to know Peter in the 1990s when Dave undertook his PhD at ANU under Peter's supervision. During and after graduating with his PhD, Dave continued to interact with Peter into the late 1990s as the School of Mathematical Science's systems administrator. We remember Peter as extremely conscientious, dedicated, focussed, highly motivated by students and others around him, but also incredibly sincere, gentle, thoughtful with a wry sense of humour. We enjoyed partaking in regular BBQ gatherings that Peter often organised out at the Cotter River (typically) to welcome/farewell new students and/or visitors, and to show them some genuine Australian hospitality and cuisine! We liked how Peter generally took time to stop for morning tea or lunch and would encourage his students along too. We also remember how he would regularly attend seminars, paper in hand and would (seemingly) busily work on a completely unrelated topic/problem/idea, but then at the end would raise his head and hand and ask a meaningful question or make an insightful remark - demonstrating his mind could do two things at once. In recent years when I would run into him at statistics conferences from time to time, he would always ask after Dave (who has worked in the IT industry since completing his PhD) and our two children and be genuinely interested in how they were. We marvel at what an amazing mark he has left on the (statistics) world! --Dave Matthews and Melissa Dobbie[2016-01-19 11:41]

I was extremely fortunate to be one (of many) of Professor Hall's students ('91-'92). The sentiments expressed on this tribute page reflect mine. He gave so much so that lesser statisticians (me) could improve. I hold him in awe and am indebted to him. His loyalty to me was all class.--Bob Murison[2016-01-19 07:50]

Peter's death is a terrible loss. A brilliant mind, and a kind, most generous human being, he was a guiding light to many of us. Thank you, Peter. Rest in peace. --Birgit Grund[2016-01-19 03:41]

The Moran family (my mother, Jean, brothers Michael and Hugh, and I) are very sad to hear of Peter Hall's death. He and my father, Pat (PA Moran 1917-1988) were a mutual admiration society. They enjoyed each other's minds, respected each other's work, and loved each other's company. After my father had a debilitating stroke in 1987 Peter would visit him regularly at home in Canberra and it was clear how much the visits brightened my father's life and restored energy to him. Peter was a pall bearer at my father's funeral and stayed in touch with my mother afterwards. We feel for Jeannie and Peter's family, and are very sad for the loss to the international statistical community of such a bright, inspiring and lovely man.--Louise Moran[2016-01-18 08:26]

This is one of the saddest news for our statistics community. I am fortunate to have known such a profound scholar and a kind hearted person. Taps Maiti--Taps Maiti[2016-01-18 04:30]

Strolling in Davis, chatting about random topics, Peter and I heard an aircraft high overhead. I looked up and saw a large airplane. Peter looked up and saw a military cargo plane, identified the model, its possible configurations and cargoes, and noted it was gliding to a landing at the airforce base some distance west of Davis. Then we returned to our previous topic. His breadth, depth, and swiftness of knowledge brought great brilliance to the life of our Department whenever he was in residence. I feel lucky that a shared interest in iterated bootstrapping first led us to meet in 1987, a mere blink of time ago.--Rudolf Beran[2016-01-18 03:02]

I am deeply saddened by Peter Hall’s passing. He was one of the most eminent statisticians. He was also a gentle, warm and generous person. His passing is a huge loss to the statistical community. He will be greatly missed by all of us. --Louis Chen[2016-01-17 17:01]

Peter wrote about Pat Moran that "he judged his own work by the highest of standards, but erred on the side of generosity when assessing the work of colleagues." I have a similar impression of Peter. He was so kind in describing my work and understanding of my many technical and personal weaknesses even though he appeared to have none of his own. I will never forget him.--Simon Walter[2016-01-17 12:58]

I am deeply saddened to learn of Peter's passing. He was such a brilliant scholar, yet so kind and generous to those around him. I will always treasure the time I spent in Canberra at ANU at his invitation. I know I am only one of many who are left indebted to Peter both personally and professionally.--Michael Minnotte[2016-01-17 12:21]

Professor Peter Hall is a close friend of several faculty members here at Florida State University. His passed away is a big loss of our profession. We will miss him a lot.--Xufeng Niu[2016-01-16 23:54]

I had the pleasure of meeting Peter at innumerable conferences in America, Europe and Africa. He was a giant in the field of statistics and his loss will long be felt throughout the statistical world. --David Mason[2016-01-16 22:57]

Peter's 606 publications are astounding, but I truly marvel at his 240 distinct co-authors. A great highlight of my life is being one of them. Thank you Peter for befriending a PhD student long ago, and for your kindness to so many students and early-career statisticians. Your generosity and caring will be forever missed. Sally Morton. --Sally Morton[2016-01-16 21:38]

I am really shocked and saddened by the news that Peter had died. Peter had always been my hero, a helpful friend and an inspiring colleague. His annual visit at Christmas time to my department was really a treat consisting of academic exchanges, renewal of friendship and seasonal celebrations. Peter will be remembered in our hearts and also in the history of statistics. --Wai Keung Li(李偉強)[2016-01-16 14:48]

I am deeply saddened by this news. I only met him once as I drove Prof. Hall to JFK in 2012 summer after a workshop at Yale. He is so kind, humble and supportive to young students. The statistics community lost a giant and legacy. May he rest in peace!--Zhao Ren[2016-01-16 13:17]

Peter was a kind and gentle soul. He was truly a distinguished scholar who had made tremendous contribution to our community. It's a great loss and we will miss him.--Chih-Ling Tsai[2016-01-16 12:53]

What a great loss! Peter always was a source of inspiration: his dedication to our profession, his broad scientific contributions, and his immense kindness. The combination of all this made him very special. It is very sad to see him go. Life and death are so close and so difficulty to understand. We will miss you, Peter. --Wolfgang Polonik[2016-01-16 11:15]

In recent years, Peter Hall got interested in the important topic of small area estimation (SAE) during the visits of Tap Maiti and Gauri Datta to Australia. In no time he wrote at least four joint papers published in Annals of Statistics, JASA and JRSSB providing elegant solutions to practically relevant and technically difficult problems. Peter's untimely death is a great loss for SAE research. I was most impressed by his generous personality when we both attended SAE 2014 International Conference in Bangkok in the summer of 2014 . I also got to know his wonderful and friendly wife in Bangkok. --J.N.K.Rao[2016-01-16 06:21]

I met Peter and collaborated with him briefly when I was a PhD student in the Statistics Department at the University of Glasgow, UK, between 1989 and 1992. He visited Glasgow many times. I was a co-author with him and my PhD supervisor (Mike Titterington) on 3 papers, which were almost entirely his work (I managed to contribute some small sets of simulation results!). He had a prodigious work rate, and would appear in the department announcing that he had drafted something very rough "before breakfast" - what he handed you was usually a handwritten complete draft, containing a complex proof. It was rare to see an issue of JRSS(B) without a contribution from him and an ever-changing cast of co-authors. A lovely man, and a great loss to all who knew him. He was treasured and will be remembered by all who knew him. My deepest condolences to his family.--Niall Anderson[2016-01-16 02:14]

Dear Peter: You came to the Conference of Function Smoothing Research at Taipei, in March 1993, and visited the Taroko Gorge National Park. While we waded at the junction of Leewoo River and Shakahtang River by the Taroko Gorge, you splashed into the water and saved the passport wallet. In 1994, I went to ANU and enjoyed the lovely picnic Jeannie and you hosted in a cute natural park; there, you pulled me away from the kangaroo grabbing the carrot from my hand and cautioned A lucky mild scratch. A faithful friend and talented scholar will forever stay in our mind. --Philip Cheng(程尔覌)[2016-01-15 20:51]

It was and is still a great honor to have a PhD that was jointly supervised by Peter. I will always remember that time of PhD study 1977-80 at the ANU for Peter's enthusiasm for statistics and limit theorems and how he was always positive and understanding.--Brenton Clarke[2016-01-15 14:16]

I first knew Peter when we were students together at the ANU in the early 1970's. His enthusiasm for everything stood out then - including statistics, photography trains. We shared photography as well as statistics and I remember well chasing trains across the NSW countryside and later developing and printing images. Despite how our areas of statistics diverged he always had time and always provided insights. My last memory of Peter was when he attended my giving the Beltz Lecture in late 2014. Peter was obviously unwell so I felt honored that he attended. People were important to him. Peter leaves a legacy in the minds of so many people he has touched. --John Henstridge[2016-01-15 13:09]

My first meeting with Professor Hall was at Canberra airprot in late September 1990, when I started my PhD with Peter at the ANU. We came on a late flight from Wellington via Sydney. Peter met us at Canberra airport. After a brief greeting, I was astonished to see Peter picked up two pieces of rather heavy luggage (one hand each) and walked quickly to his Subaru. We were given an apartment at the third floor of Graduate Courts. When we got there, Peter repeated the same carrying ability upstairs, and left the luggage in the room (He had already picked up the key). I marvel even today on my first meeting with an already very well known professor then, and learned later this is how he treats everyone around him. --Song Xi Chen(陈松蹊)[2016-01-15 09:06]

I worked near and with Peter for several years in the early and mid nineties at the ANU. He was an extremely inspiring and hard working colleague. I remember very well the sharpness of his mind and also the generosity with which he shared ideas and insights. His warm personality and dedication to advance the statistics discipline made him an outstanding figure and leader in the field world-wide. With great sadness I learned about Peter's death.--Eckhard Platen[2016-01-15 08:42]

Vale Prof You were and still is an inspiration to me--Pam Norris[2016-01-15 08:32]

A very sad time. Peter's immense contributions in so many facets of science will always be remembered, as will his dedication, modesty, and generosity of time and wisdom devoted to helping individuals and organizations. Also, given the great esteem in which he was held by the scientific community, he had a unifying presence in his activities across mathematics, statistics, and probability. --Geoff McLachlan[2016-01-15 06:44]

It is with great sadness that I learned of Peter Hall's death. He was a great statistician and research collaborator, but above all, he was a gentleman and a very kind person with everyone. I visited him once in Canberra and once in Melbourne, and he always made me feel very welcomed. I keep very fond memories of his office at ANU with cockatoos knocking on the window for food. We will miss you, Peter.--Marc G. Genton[2016-01-15 00:38]

This is indeed a very sad news. His death is a significant loss to our stat community. I had the chance to meet Peter a few times and I am familiar with some his works. He was an amazing person and a remarkable statistician. His contributions to Statistics and Probability are exemplary. --Mohammad Jafari Jozani[2016-01-15 00:31]

A great scientist with a fine mind and a big heart!--Elvezio Ronchetti[2016-01-15 00:23]

I am extremely sorry that Peter Gavin Hall, a renowned statistician passed away. He made remarkable and extensive contributions to statistics. His untimely death is great loss to the science of statistics. --C.R.Rao[2016-01-14 22:16]

Peter's death is a huge disaster for science, for me and his friends. I knew him personally for many years since 1993 when I visited Australian National University in Canberra by Peter's invitation. He was very kind, friendly and helpful to me and great many people surrounding him. He is a great mathematician, a towering person in science. And he was a great man. I and his friends will always remember Peter Hall. --Valentin Petrov[2016-01-14 18:39]

I was very saddened by the news. Peter was a brilliant statistician, with enormous energy and love for Statistics. He contributed to our field and our profession, in so many ways. And he was a generous and gentle person. --Rob Tibshirani[2016-01-14 17:04]

This is a really sad news. It is a great loss in our statistics. --Ling Shiqing[2016-01-14 16:21]

This is a really sad news. It is a great loss in our statistics. --Ling Shiqing[2016-01-14 16:18]

I attended a talk on "Functional Data Analysis" given by Peter at Peking University 2013. Thank you, Prof.Peter. Rest in PEACE--Dekinywang(王德青)[2016-01-14 10:01]

I had the very good fortune of listening to a wonderful talk by Prof Hall. Such an inspiring person with warm smile and kindness. Indeed a BIG loss for all. RIP Professor.--Usha Sridhar[2016-01-14 09:50]

I attended a talk on "Bootstrap" given by Peter at Peking University. This is my wealth of life. Thank you, Peter. Rest in PEACE.--WeWu Wang(王文武)[2016-01-14 09:25]

I attended a couple of talks Peter gave in Australia in his last few years. He impressed me with his profound knowledge, his enthusiasm despite the illness, his kindness and support for the junior researchers. I wish we could have more of him for the research community world wide. Peter will be dearly missed by all.--Huaxin Xu(徐华昕)[2016-01-14 06:04]

This is very sad news. Not only a warm kind person, and a giant of the discipline, and an outstanding leader in Australia, but a friend and powerful supporter of statistics the world over, enormously influential. A man whose shoes will be hard to fill.--Peter Green[2016-01-14 03:05]

I first met Peter Hall when I joined the staff of the UC Davis Department of Statistics in 2006, when he first joined as a member of our faculty. Peter was one of the kindest men you could ever meet, very humble and friendly, and we spoke many times over the years about art and memories of life back in the UK. He was always very encouraging to me with my sketching, and shared his own love of photography with me. He was a top bloke, and I'll miss him. Rest in peace, Peter.--Pete Scully[2016-01-14 02:51]

I had first met Peter almost 30 years when I was visiting ANU at the kind invitation from Ted Hannan. Even then, his reputation had preceded him. I have since had several different occasions to meet him at various international conferences, the last one being at Renmin University, Beijing in 2010. He was of course a kind and genial person, and apart from scientifically advancing Statistics through personal research, Peter also took much interest in ensuring its long term vitality by serving on various influential committees; his commitment on this front was truly admirable. His passing away at a relatively young age is a significant loss to Statistics as an academic discipline. May he rest in peace. Rajendra Bhansali.--R.J. Bhansali[2016-01-14 00:27]

Thank you very much for your help in my statistical career and may you rest in peace !--Wei Liu[2016-01-13 17:53]

I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear the news, which was completely unexpected to me. I was fortunate enough to be one of the many to whom Peter so generously gave his time when I was a young researcher. That was first in the heyday of bandwidth selection in kernel density estimation around 1990 and again later in the 90s. I recall two long and extremely pleasant visits to Canberra. I also recall the immense amount of work he got through and the extremely high quality of the work produced at high speed: we always thought he just had to sit down, write out a proof, first time, in perfect form, and a few hours later send it to the Annals! My several papers with Peter undoubtedly helped my career considerably and, of course, influenced much of what I did for many years. It was always very nice to bump into Peter at conferences etc over the intervening years. But beyond all his immense achievements, brilliance and influence the thing that always came first to my mind about Peter is that he was such a very nice man. RIP, Peter.--Chris jones[2016-01-13 16:03]

I wish I'd had the chance to work more closely with Peter. He was everything an academic ought to be, not just brilliant in his field, but an amazing person. We had discussions about how difficult it was to combine a career in science and have children as a female scientists and it really surprised me that he was genuinely interested. He wanted to help everyone. Thank you! --Melanie Bahlo[2016-01-13 15:12]

I had privilege of working with him as a research fellow in Melbourne Uni. A person that departs from this earth never truly leaves, for they are still alive in our hearts and minds, through us, they live on. May his soul rest in peace, I firmly believe that God will accept Peter with open arms for all the good he has done while he was on this earth. His great contribution to statistics and mathematics communities will always be remembered and admired.--Hassan Doosti[2016-01-13 13:48]

Our modern statistical world has been deprived of a genius, a fact so painful to accept. Peter, what you leave us is a treasure... rest in peace.--Stephen Lee(李文昇)[2016-01-13 13:13]

I've really only gotten to know Peter personally in the last few years as we have worked together on the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. I of course knew about him and his prodigious talent for many years before that. but working together, albeit all too briefly, on the Centre gave me surprising new insights about Peter the person. What a kind, generous spirit, with an enthusiasm not only for statistical science and mathematics, but life in general. I cherish our many conversations, ranging from the care of aging parents to coal trains in the Hunter Valley. Rest in peace Peter .... You are sorely missed. --Louise Ryan [2016-01-13 12:43]

I owe so much to Peter.--Heping He(何和平)[2016-01-13 12:38]

Peter and I worked in different areas and did not meet much until his last move to Melbourne. But I was deeply impressed by a seminar contribution he made when I visited ANU for a semester and gave a talk on the difficulties of estimating n in the binomial b(n,p) model, when only the numbers of successes at each trial are known. Bayesians had been busy with this problem and had produced posterior distributions for n of varying precision, depending on the prior beta parameters for p. The problem for the frequentist analysis was that the MLE of n was very unstable, while the maximizer of the integrated (over p) likelihood (the MILE), with a prior independent in n and p, was very stable. Peter was never much interested in Bayesian analysis, but he listened intently to the talk though he said nothing. The next morning he came to me with a complete analysis of the asymptotics of both the MLE and the MILE, which explained the instability of the first and the stability of the second. He said "Of course, this has nothing to say about Bayesian analysis!" Peter was generous in welcoming new arrivals, and held a barbecue for people visiting CMA when I arrived in Canberra. He was very helpful in arranging at short notice my Honorary position in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at Melbourne. Peter was one of the most outstanding mathematicians to have worked in our field. We have been privileged to know him. Murray Aitkin--Murray Aitkin[2016-01-13 12:24]

I am extremely shocked by his passing away, because he was very healthy and strong several years ago. I was his postdoc from 2005-2008 in Australia National University and The University of Melbourne. He worked so (too) much. He was very nice, kind, brilliant, humble, helping. There was only one Peter Galvin Hall in this world. He will be remembered and missed forever by many people. --Heping He(何和平)[2016-01-13 12:21]

我有数行泪，不落十余年，今日为君尽，并洒秋风前. (梁, 陶弘景). --Jiashun Jin[2016-01-13 12:15]

The Statistical Consulting Centre mourns the death of Peter Hall, an exceptional thinker and an innovative contributor to the disciplines of statistics and probability theory. Peter was a warm and generous collaborator, advisor and friend of staff in the Statistical Consulting Centre, and Sandy Clarke's PhD supervisor. We marvelled at Peter's capacity to think (sometimes simultaneously) across a broad range of theoretical and applied problems, and at his willingness to share his insights with us. --Statistical Consulting Centre, The University of Melbourne[2016-01-13 11:23]

Peter was a wonderful friend and colleague who has made phenomenal contributions to statistics and mentored a large number of mathematicians and scientists. He has given his time and energy generously to Australian science and international community and entities. He will be dearly missed and remembered fondly. Our deepest condolences to Jeannie, family and friends of Peter. --Chennupati Jagadish[2016-01-13 11:12]

I first Met Peter in 2006 in a bootstrap workshop then I had a privilege of being his PhD student. The first things I noticed encountering him was his generosity and willing to help other people. I had a chance of working in an office next to his room for a couple of years. Even he catching a cold was heartbreaking for me because I knew how difficult would it be for him to be sick and still working. Now it’s easy to imagine how devastated I was hearing about his illness. And now that he is gone I am deeply saddened and will greatly miss him knowing that I can never meet him again. I love you Peter, rest in peace.--Farshid Jamshidi[2016-01-13 10:20]

As many others have paid tribute, Peter's kindness and support rank right up alongside his brilliance and sustained contributions to the statistics community. Peter's encouragement and support during the earliest stages of my PhD when I dramatically switched research topics ensured that I successfully (and happily) completed my thesis and am now pursuing a career that I love. Thank you, Peter, you will be missed.--Peter Hickey[2016-01-13 09:48]

Vale Peter. One could not have wished for a kinder colleague. --Andrew Robinson[2016-01-13 08:53]

I have known Peter Hall for 3 years now, he is my late supervisor. He was kind, generous in his help, and showed me a remarkable path during my continued PhD Studies. Even through his illness, he had afforded some of his time to help me, and to guide me.. and I will never forget that. I regret never having the chance to see him again. He had my complete and utmost respect. I am grateful that you chose me to be your student, and privileged by your continued commitment to me through your hardest times.. Rest in Peace Peter. --Jason Tran[2016-01-13 07:06]

Mine is a simple "thankyou" and "job well done" for Peter. He clearly impacted many individuals through his research excellence, but his enduring impact has been on various professions and the application of his work across so many fields. A gentleman and a scholar. --Bronwyn Harch[2016-01-13 07:05]

Peter's death is a huge loss for mathematical science as well as for his many friends. He was a giant in the statistics/probability community, but also a kind and considerate human being. I had the pleasure of visiting the ANU in Canberra in 1993-94. Peter, who was then at ANU, went out of his way to welcome visitors, including myself. He organized barbecues at a local nature park and was a fixture at the lively discussions during teatime. It was evident that he enjoyed the respect and affection of his colleagues. I offer my deepest sympathy to Peter's loved ones. Sincerely, Bob Smythe --RRRobert Smythe[2016-01-13 06:32]

Peter's most gentle tone and voice, his overwhelming kindness and support, the hours we discussed and laughed together, and his extraordinary knowledge and outstanding scientific mind -- I will always remember! --Peter Bühlmann[2016-01-13 06:10]

I am so sad. Peter was such a kind person. My husband and I will always remember his great hospitality during my postdoc stay at ANU in 2005 (Peter even took the time to take us by car to his favorite places around Canberra). Career-wise I do not know where I would be today without his inspiration and motivation during that period. --Natalie Neumeyer[2016-01-13 04:29]

I am very felt to learn of the passing of Peter. He is a great statistician. When he visited A Coruña University in different times. I had the opportunity to attend his conferences and learnt a lot in A Coruña, Vigo and Santiago de Compostela University. I think Statistics lost a giant figure and great mentor. Wish him rest in peace.--Salvador Naya[2016-01-13 03:04]

I first met Professor Peter Hall eight years ago in Davis. He is such a great a teacher and mentor, gentle, hardworking, kind and full of wisdom. I was deeply inspired by him and decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Statistics. He helped me greatly during the process which I will never forget. I met him several times in my graduate school. To me, he is forever my idol and mentor. I will never forget his encouragements. I was shocked by his sudden death. I was hoping that I can still meet him some time and hopefully at that time I will be excellent at what I am doing. Unfortunately, this will not happen. R.I.P.--Jiening Chen(陈劼宁)[2016-01-13 02:55]

I only met Peter Hall once and I saw a very kind person. He was, of course, an impressive researcher. My condolences to his family.--Helene Massam[2016-01-13 02:42]

A great loss to our profession. Peter was truly amazing. He will be missed. On behalf of the editorial board of Statistica Sinica, I like to express our sincere thanks to Peter for his kindness and help. --Ruey S Tsay[2016-01-13 02:17]

I had the privilege of meeting Peter a few years ago when he was visiting the National University of Singapore. Peter struck me as a truly humble and kind human being. His office was always open. Peter, you will be greatly missed.--Chenlei Leng[2016-01-13 02:08]

Such a big loss to our society! Professor Hall will be remembered by us not only because of his tremendous contribution to the fields of probability and statistics , but also because of his warm personality. --Jun Li[2016-01-13 02:04]

Peter was a wonderful friend, co-author, photographer, and amateur engineer. We had many discussions about the technical details of trains, airplanes, and air traffic control. I was greatly saddened by the news of his death and will miss him.--Joel Horowitz[2016-01-13 00:18]

I still remember I picked up Professor Peter Hall at Beijing airport in a midnight in the summer of 2010. Peter is so nice and humble. He was in very good health then. I Can not believe he passed away. He will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace.--Yumou Qiu[2016-01-13 00:08]

I first met Peter around 1983. At that time, the main research interests we had in common were rates of convergence in extreme value theory, and related problems about the estimation of extreme value tail parameters. Although he was only a year or two older than me, he was already very well known in the statistics and probability communities, whereas I was a comparative newcomer. Nevertheless, it quickly became clear that he was familiar with my papers, and before long he invited me to visit him in Canberra. This visit took place in the Northern Hemisphere summer of 1984 - I was one of many researchers from all over the world whom he found funds to invite to Australia in those years. It was while visiting Canberra that I essentially wrote my paper "Estimating tails of probability distributions" (Annals of Statistics, 1987) which was to become my most highly cited paper - although Peter was not a co-author, we spoke about it many times and his influence on the paper was considerable. We also wrote our only joint paper during that visit, which was a paper about the "unfolding" problem of stereology which was eventually published in Journal of Computational Physics (1988). I have very clear memories about how the central result of that paper came about. We were discussing the problem around 5pm one afternoon - we already had some preliminary results about the rate of convergence of the estimator we were considering, but the question was whether that was the optimal rate of convergence. Peter thought he knew how to do it and promised to look at it. I next saw him at 9am the next morning - in the few hours between our two meetings, he had not only got a result but had fully written it up, complete with regularity conditions and all details of the proof. After that, I was at a bit of loss to know how I could make a contribution to the paper - in the end, I think I contributed enough to justify being listed as second author, but there was no doubt that the main impetus behind the paper was his. I suspect that many of his collaborations were like that, papers with students or more junior colleagues where Peter contributed at least his full share of the work if not the main ideas behind it. We kept in touch after that visit and he invited me to Canberra a second time, in 1992, part of a longer visit when I spent a month at the University of Western Australia. Another time we got together was in 2002, when he gave the Hotelling Lectures at the University of North Carolina and I was able to take him out to dinner with Jeannie and my wife Amy. Probably his best known work was in nonparametric statistics and the bootstrap, but really he made contributions across the full range of mathematical statistics and in several areas of probability as well. Besides that, he was a wonderful person, always ready to give support and advice to the most junior of colleagues and students. We have truly lost a giant of our field. --Richard Smith[2016-01-12 23:31]

In my mind Prof Peter Hall was the symbol of Statistics in Australia. As an academic having worked in Australia for more than 7 years, it's really sad to learn that he passed away. May Peter rest in peace in the heaven of Statistics. --Zudi Lu(卢祖帝)[2016-01-12 23:19]

Peter was one of the most influential researchers in our field. Truly amazing. I only had the honor of meeting Peter a few times. He was always kind and humble. He will be missed. --Larry Wasserman[2016-01-12 22:11]

This is very sad news. Peter was not only an enormously impressive research worker but, as I know from direct experience, a deeply thoughtful and helpful person.--David Cox[2016-01-12 22:05]

This is very sad news, and a huge loss to the statistics community. Though have never met Dr. Hall in person, I have learned so much about him through his work and from Dr. Jiashun Jin. May Dr. Hall rest in peace!--Qi Zhang(张启)[2016-01-12 22:03]

Although I had been aware of Peter's illness almost from the beginning and its deterioration, his untimely demise has left me speechless. Peter was a person of genuine kindness and exceptional ability. Above all, he was a real GENTLEMAN. Statistics is so much the poorer without him. I can still remember his presence at my 65th birthday party. Now that I have been deprived the opportunity of attending his, I can only express my feelings below and may he rest in peace. 七載難忘祝壽時 風華正茂共推之 上天嫉妒何其忍 奪罷英年竟不遲--Howell Tong(湯家豪)[2016-01-12 21:24]

It is remarkable to see us all joined together here expressing our sadness about this untimely loss - and our admiration and gratitude for what Peter has given us during his rich life - scientifically and beyond. We will never forget him. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.--Rainer von Sachs[2016-01-12 20:55]

Deeply saddened I would like to express my sympathy to his family. We have lost a great statistician and friend. My eternal gratitude to Peter, especially for his postdoc supervision at the ANU in 2004-2005; I was having a great time.--Alexander Meister[2016-01-12 19:33]

A huge loss in statistics. Though I never had a chance to talk with him, I learned quite a lot from his papers in semi-parametric regressions and dimension reduction. --Liping ZHU(朱利平)[2016-01-12 19:28]

I met Peter, for the first time, in Santiago de Compostela ( Galicia, Spain) when he took part in our workshop in Nonparametric Inference in 1993. He went back to Galicia for several times. Which was, for us , always a pleasure. Peter was a top statistician in the world and a scientific reference person for all statisticians of Galicia. He was an extraordinary person. I will have him in my mind for the rest of my life. --Wenceslao González-Manteiga[2016-01-12 18:26]

I was so sorry to hear this news -- even though I knew he'd been unwell, it still came as a terrible shock. Peter was a remarkable intellectual leader with unlimited energy, and an extremely warm-hearted person who gave so much to so many (including me). --Richard Samworth[2016-01-12 17:53]

I met Peter, for the first time, about 25 years ago. He came to Galicia (NW Spain) several times. We are always proud of that. Peter was an outstanding statistician and an academic example for all of us but, more than that, he was an extraordinary person. His colleagues and friends will always have him in our thoughts and memories. My warmest regards. --riCArdO[2016-01-12 17:34]

I met Professor Peter Hall only a few times. Enough to see he is an exceptional person. God will be in love with nonparametrics now Peter you are up there.--Jacobo de Uña-Álvarez[2016-01-12 16:54]

I will always remember Peter as an exceptional scientist, who was in addition a great person, modest, kind, and always helping others and in particular young people.--Ingrid Van Keilegom[2016-01-12 16:37]

The Editors of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B would like to pay tribute to Professor Peter Hall, a wonderful person, a true leader of the discipline and a frequent contributor to the Journal. We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family. --David Dunson and Piotr Fryzlewicz[2016-01-12 16:13]

So sad about this news. Peter was an outstanding person, as a researcher and as a friend. I owe him so much over the last 30 years. My sincere condolences to his family.--Enno Mammen[2016-01-12 16:05]

May Prof. Peter Hall, such a nice person, rest in peace!--Zhi Liu[2016-01-12 13:05]

Deeply impressed and influenced by Prof. Hall's insights. Immeasurable loss of statistics. May he rest in peace!--Da Huang(黄达)[2016-01-12 11:48]

This is very sad news when I read his wife email. How sad for a great man. I still do not want to believe this is true now. Although I never had a chance to collaborate with Peter, I have been very luck working with Peter closely as co-editor of Annals of Statistics. We had communicated each other by more than hundreds of emails. Below is our last communication: On 1 Jan 2016, at 10:49 am, Runze Li - AOS wrote: > Dear Peter and Jeannie, > > Happy new year! EJMS's clock has turned to Jan 1, 2016 at 5pm ET, USA. Thus, we officially completed our term as the editors of the AoS. It is my great pleasure working with you closely during the last three years. I have learnt a lot from you. Thank you very much for giving me suggestions and sharing me your opinions. > > Wish you have a healthy, fruitful and prosperous year in 2016! > > Runze ---- Within two hours, Peter replied to me by himself: ----- Dear Runze Thank you for your new year message. All of your kind comments should have come from me to you. You have been a staunch friend and you have supported me unstintingly over the last twelve months and more. My treatment is still ongoing. I am spending a lot of time getting over infections and trying to get my strength back. It is proving extremely slow and uphill. Jeannie joins me in sending you all best wishes for a happy and successful new year! Kind regards Peter ---------- I really though Peter would his strength back, and recover back to normal. God took one of the best ever. May his soul rest in peace. --Runze Li[2016-01-12 11:28]

I first met with Prof. Hall two years ago in my department, where he held a joint appointment. He actually caught the illness at here. When our colleague visited him at hospital, he was still working on bed, even at such a bad physical condition. His smile is still in my mind. Cann't believe it happened! The whole department were still under the impression that he was slowly recovering at Australia. What a shock! What a great loss to the whole world!--Haoran Li(李浩然)[2016-01-12 10:39]

I first met Prof. Hall in 2010 in the IMS annual meeting in Gothenburg when he was the president of IMS. We took the same train to visit the downtown of Gothenburg. At that time, I learned that he loved photography. These things are still vivid in my mind. It is hard for me to believe such a kind and generous man's leaving. May his soul rest in peace.--Ping-Shou Zhong[2016-01-12 10:16]

I was really shocked, when learned from various sources of the sad news of Peter's passing away. Although having known he has been battling with illness in the past years, I am always inclined to think positively and thought he will appear in some ocassion one day after recovery from illness. I still remember his voice and smile vividly during some lunch conversations, not mentioning how everyone working with him has been impressed by his super energy level of working out some of the most challenging problems in unbelievably short time periods. I have learned a great deal from reading his numerous seminal papers and the fortunate opportunities of working with him. Peter's support has been a big part of my academic career, which I cannot appreciate more. A truly great loss to the family and the whole statistical society - Peter, rest in peace.--Fang Yao[2016-01-12 07:58]

This is very sad news. What a great loss! Peter was such a wonderful person. I first met him in Montreal JSM, when I was a graduate student. He was very nice to me. We once exchanged notes for a project, and he was careful in every detail and generous in sharing his thoughts. I also heard many stories about how hard-working Peter was! He made giant contribution to statistics, but never had any time for rest. He will be greatly missed. --Tracy Ke[2016-01-12 07:46]

Professor Hall will forever be remembered and respected. Deepest condolences to his family and friends. Still remember the conversation with him after one of his seminars. He was so kind and offered his insightful thoughts on some research topics. Wish Professor Hall rest in peace. --YINGLI QIN [2016-01-12 07:25]

A true gentleman and a very nice and humble person. I was lucky enough to visit him for a short time and know him. He was always willing to help young researchers. I will always remember that wonderful experience. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace.--Arindam Chatterjee[2016-01-12 04:21]

Deep sorrow for the untimely passing of a dear friend and great statistician. George Tiao 1/9/2016--George Tiao[2016-01-12 03:57]

I haven't seen Prof. Hall but got to know him via Prof. Chen, a prominent scholar at Guanghua. God bless Prof. Hall, a super star in statistics and econometrics.--Kunyuan Qiao(乔坤元)[2016-01-12 03:25]

I have a lot of respect for his legacy. In my exchanges with him, I have always found him generous, wise, and humble. My sincere condolences to his family. --Ery Arias-Castro[2016-01-12 03:08]

Always mature and always selfless, Peter was often the "adult" in the room. He will be greatly missed as a friend and as a scientist.--J. Michael Steele[2016-01-12 03:08]

Professor Peter Hall was a giant scholar and true gentleman of modern time. he had helped so many people. He will be greatly missed. --Hui Zou(邹晖)[2016-01-12 03:01]

I heard from Professor Chen about Professor Hall's unwell. It is really shocking to learn Professor Hall's passing away. I attended his short course in the spring of 2013 in Peking University. I was so impressed by his humorous lectures and his kind smile was still alive in my mind. He is so patient and always be ready to help us young guys. May him rest in peace.--Ying Wang[2016-01-12 02:46]

Peter, you were a scientist among the bests and such a nice person. I remember you working so hard and stopping to feed the cockatoos. I remember also your love for cats and the wonderful pictures you took. I remember the nice messages you sent when Marc died and your last message after the Paris terrorists attacks. I learned a lot from you, I owe you so much, I regret never telling you. We will now honor your memory but miss you so much.--Dominique Picard[2016-01-12 02:05]

It is such a saddening loss. His lectures, words, kind face were just like appearing in the last minute. May him rest in peace. We will miss you and love you always in our heart.--Cheng Yong Tang[2016-01-12 01:50]

This is extremely sad news. Quite apart from his brilliance as a scholar, Peter was warm, friendly, helpful and dedicated to helping others. His death has left a void for me and for so many others which I fear can never be filled.--Warren Ewens[2016-01-12 01:48]

So sorry to hear this sad news. Statistics lost a giant figure and great mentor. --Hongtu Zhu[2016-01-12 01:47]

The sad loss of Peter Hall will resonate around the world many times over. I still marvel at how such an insightful and prolific scholar could also be at the fingertips of the statistics and probability communities whenever the need for help arose. --Ed Waymire[2016-01-12 01:29]

I met Peter the first time in 1993 at a meeting at ANU. I was young but he was very kind, proposed topics of research and discussed them with me. I will never forget his kindness through all the years. He has done a lot for the communities of probabilists and statisticians. We have lost one of the great people in the field. Thomas Mikosch (University of Copenhagen) --Thomas Mikosch[2016-01-12 00:57]

Not from his academic family, Peter Hall stayed as an abstract figure, the legendary "Paper Machine", until I finally saw him in person when I took his short course at PKU in 2012. The way he introduced himself, explained his teaching materials, had the group picture with us...all showed his kindness. That Prof. Songxi Chen joked about being our TA for him, that we sung "Happy Birthday" to him...Every piece of memory rushed back and made it hard to believe that now he's gone... May he rest in peace. His work lives, being the valuable legacy that the world appreciates always. Thank you, Peter, our role model, you never left us.--Zaiying Zhou(周在莹)[2016-01-11 23:56]

Peter is a so nice people. I am very lucky to have a chance to learn his classes when I was studying in Peking University. When we finished the class, we went to Old Summer Palace, we talked research, life, photography....I can not image I can not see him any more. --Bin Guo[2016-01-11 22:19]

We will miss terribly. He was a great scientist and such a nice person. I owe him so much. My deepest sympathy to his family.--Sara van de Geer[2016-01-11 22:15]

I ever took Peter's course when I was a fresh phd student. I was impressed by and have learnt a lot from his passion and dedication. Wish Peter rest in peace.--Shuo Li[2016-01-11 22:13]

Peter was a tireless researcher, and a generous mentor, who was never too busy to share his thoughts with colleagues or students. His life, service, and work have had a profound impact on statistics and the statistical community, and will continue to do so in the future. He will be missed. --Andrew Nobel[2016-01-11 22:03]

Peter was a legend and a giant in our field and his achievements in statistics, probability, and applied mathematics are paramount: very deep, very broad, very innovative and transformative, and he is one of a kind. I came to know Peter in 2004, and since then he has been a great mentor and friend. He is very hard working, generous, and he has influenced my research and life in a positive and significant way. I can not say how sad I was when I heard Peter has passed away the day before yesterday. --Jiashun[2016-01-11 20:51]

Peter Hall was a giant in our field. Not only was he an outstanding scholar, who made numerous deep and lasting contributions to probability and statistics over a very wide range of topics, he was also a wonderful person. His wisdom, warmth, generosity, modesty and dedication shone through in his mentoring, editorial and committee work. He was well known throughout the world, and his service to the disciplines of probability and statistics on the world stage was truly exceptional. Our loss is great. We will miss him enormously, but never forget him. --Terry Speed[2016-01-11 19:48]

Peter Hall was essentially a unique combination of unlimited scientific energy and extraordinary human generosity. An arbitrary person could walk up to him at a meeting or send him his work, and Peter would give him time and would care for him. Peter had the heart of a saint and the brains of a gifted mathematician. I came to know Peter well around 2006. In the 10 years since then, Peter has influenced my thoughts, my life, my work, and my character in ways that hardly anyone else has. A famous quotation says "In any man who passes, there does with him, His first snow, his first kiss, and fight; But not people die, but worlds die with them." In Peter's case, I agree.--Anirban DasGupta[2016-01-11 19:43]

I attended two short courses of Prof Hall in Peking University. One was Bootstrap and the other was functional data analysis. Really appreciate his lectures. May his soul rest in peace.--Tao Zou[2016-01-11 19:38]

The snow photo in the header was taken by Peter in his 2013 visit to PKU. Beijing rarely snowed, only one or twice per winter/spring. However, in his 2012 and 2013 visits, it all snowed. --Song X Chen[2016-01-11 18:44]

A giant with a warm heart, exceptional generosity, keen to help young and early career statisticians. A huge loss for statistics, will be thoroughly missed.--Qiwei Yao[2016-01-11 18:08]

Although I nerver see him and never take his class, words from others had left an impressive impression of him. Hard working, interlligent and funny etc. I feel very sad to heard this message. Wish him rest in peace. --Arno[2016-01-11 17:29]

I have just cited Prof. Hall's work about single-index models in my master thesis the day before yesterday. Then I heard the sad news in yesterday morning. I heard lots of anecdotes about Prof. Hall, such as his talents and diligence, from my teachers and friends. Prof. Hall was really a fan of science, and he kept working even though he was sick. Wish him rest in peace.--Xi Liu[2016-01-11 16:54]

I feel sorry to hear this .Wish him rest in peace.--Rainnie[2016-01-11 16:42]

I was so sad to hear the news about Professor Hall. It was in the Bootstrap short course at Peking University in 2012 when I met Professor Hall for the first time. In his lectures, I have learned a lot. Professor Hall is a very kind person and he is willing to help anyone in need. Wish him rest in peace.--Jing He[2016-01-11 16:18]

Yesterday morning, I was very shocked to learn of the passing of Peter Hall and felt so sad. He is a great statistician. When he visited Peking University in the spring, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend his course and learnt a lot. It was my first time and also the last time to see him. Wish him rest in peace.--Xuan Liang[2016-01-11 13:32]

Even I know Peter has been unwell for some time, it is still very shocking and dis-belief to learn his passing away. Peter visited the Center for Statistical Science at the Peking University in the springs of 2012 and 2013. In March 2012, Peter gave a short course of sixteen lectures on the Bootstrap Method. He returned in March 2013 with six lectures on the functional data analysis. More than 120 graduate students and faculties from all over China attended his two short courses. These lectures have had long lasting impacts on the participants not only on the scientific content but also on scholarship and professionalism transmitted during the course of his very dedicated teaching. Wish him rest in peace. --Song X Chen[2016-01-11 13:05]

I heared a lecture from Peter in PKU, which left me deep impression and taught me a lot. Hope this distinct statistician live peace in the heaven.--Zhenzhong Wang(王振中)[2016-01-11 12:58]