C. R. Rao

Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao (September 10, 1920 - August 22, 2023) was an Indian-American mathematician and statistician who profoundly shaped modern statistical theory. His work established the Cramer-Rao bound, which defines limits on estimator precision, and the Rao-Blackwell theorem, concerning the quality of statistical estimators. He also contributed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), Rao's score test for statistical inference, and pioneering work in orthogonal arrays for industrial design. As a long-time director at the Indian Statistical Institute, Rao mentored numerous mathematicians and influenced research across economics, genetics, and medicine. He received the National Medal of Science in 2002, the Padma Vibhushan in 2001, and the International Prize in Statistics in 2023.