From the Princeton Weekly Bulletin, February 2, 1998
Obituaries
Geoffrey
S. Watson, 76, professor of statistics, emeritus, and senior
research statistician, died on January 3.
A specialist in the application of mathematics and statistics to the natural sciences, he applied statistical methods to topics as varied as continental drift, ozone depletion and the wearing of motorcycle helmets. He wrote or coauthored five books, the most recent of which, Statistics on Spheres (1983), summarized his work on paleomagnetism.
Born in Australia, Watson took a degree in mathematics from Mel-bourne University in 1942. After teaching math there for five years, he moved to the United States and earned his PhD at North Carolina State University in 1951. (He also was awarded a DSc from the University of Melbourne in 1967.) He returned to Australia to a senior lectureship in the Department of Statistics at the University of Mel-bourne, then took a senior lectureship at the Australian National University in 1954. Three years later he left for England and North America, taking positions at the University of Toronto and Johns Hopkins before assuming the chair of Princeton's Department of Statistics in 1970. He transferred to emeritus status in 1992.
Watson is best known for his work on econometrics published in collaboration with James Durbin of the London School of Economics. Although almost 50 years have passed since the Durbin-Watson test for serial correlation was first proposed, it remains the standard approach.
At Princeton Watson was involved with public policy issues, such as estimating the U.S. oil and gas reserves, assessing the effects of air pollution on public health and on the ozone layer, and climate trends. He served on many advisory committees of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Watson's work in probability and statistics was interdisciplinary; the subject "led me into all sorts of interesting corners of science and the world," he wrote. For one project he traveled to Antarctica with biologists to develop a method for estimating the size of the penguin population.
After transferring to emeritus status, Watson was adjunct professor of biology at Duke University from 1993 and 1996. An accomplished landscape painter, he had several one-man shows in Princeton galleries. At the time of his death he was planning a trip to Canberra to receive an honorary degree from the Australian National University.
Watson is survived by his wife of 45 years, Shirley Jennings; four children, Michael, Catharine, Rebecca Caine and Madeleine; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Adirondack Conservancy and Land Trust or the Bendigo Historical Society in Australia.
Alfred Bernard, 64, a painter in the Paint Shop with the University since 1959, died on January 4. He is survived by his son Alfred and daughter Donna.
Edward P. Bullard, III, 34, a master's degree candidate in the Woodrow Wilson School, died on January 5. A native of Bridgeport, Conn., he held a 1988 bachelor's degree in business administration from Howard University. At Princeton, he was a Karl E. Prickett Scholar concentrating in domestic policy. He is survived by his father Edward and sister, Courtney Parks.