David Harold Blackwell (April 24, 1919 – July 8, 2010) was a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, who made seminal contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory, and Bayesian statistics. He was the first African American inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, the first Black tenured faculty member at UC Berkeley, and the seventh African American to receive a PhD in Mathematics.

This panel discussion brings together colleagues, students, and friends of Professor Blackwell. They will discuss his invaluable and lasting contributions to the field of Statistics, the role he played in their careers and lives as a colleague, teacher, or mentor, and life in the early days of the Berkeley Department of Statistics. 

The three panelists are: 

• Peter Bickel, Professor Emeritus, Department of Statistics, UC Berkeley (https://bickel.stat.berkeley.edu) 
• Richard Lockhart, Professor and Chair, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University (https://www.sfu.ca/~lockhart/)
• Jelani Nelson, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley (http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~minilek/).

The event is aimed at anyone (current and prospective student, faculty, staff, or friend of Berkeley) interested in learning more about the extraordinary career and life of a pioneering scientist.