#  Samuel Kou 

Abbott Lawrence Lowell Professor of Statistics

 

 

 



   ![Kou](/sites/g/files/omnuum10116/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/statistics-2/files/rsz_kou.jpg?itok=BQh4DO2P) 

 



 

 location\_on Maxwell Dworkin 251 

 smartphone [(617) 496-8423](<tel:(617) 496-8423>) 

 email <kou@stat.harvard.edu> 

 



 

**Research Interests:**

- Stochastic inference in single molecule biophysics, chemistry and biology,
- Bayesian inference of stochastic models,
- Nonparametric methods, model selection and empirical Bayes,
- Monte Carlo methods,
- Economic and financial modeling,

**Education**

- Ph.D. in Statistics, Stanford University, June 2001.
- M.S. in Statistics, Stanford University, March 2000.
- B. S. in Computational Mathematics, Peking University, July 1997.

**Experience**

- July 2008 -- now, Professor of Statistics, Harvard University
- July 2005 -- June 2008, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences, Harvard University
- July 2001 -- June 2005, Assistant Professor of Statistics, Harvard University
- September 1997 -- June 2001, Teaching Assistant and Instructor, Department of Statistics, Stanford University

**Sample Publications**

- Xianchao Xie, Samuel Kou and Lawrence D. Brown (2012). [SURE estimates for a heteroscedastic hierarchical model](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/HeteroSure-JASA.pdf). *J. Amer. Statist. Assoc.*, 107, 1465-1479.
- Samuel Kou, Benjamin Olding, Martin Lysy and Jun Liu (2012). [A multiresolution method for parameter estimation of diffusion processes](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/MultiRes-JASA.pdf). *J. Amer. Statist. Assoc.*, 107, 1558-1574.
- Samuel Kou and Peter McCullagh (2009). [Approximating the α-permanent](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/perm-BIO.pdf). *Biometrika*, 96, 635-644. Supplementary material: [matrices used in the paper](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/perm-mat.pdf).
- Samuel Kou (2008). [Stochastic networks in nanoscale biophysics: modeling enzymatic reaction of a single protein](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/stochnet-JASA.pdf). *J. Amer. Statist. Assoc.*, 103, 961-975.
- Samuel Kou (2008). [Stochastic modeling in nanoscale biophysics: subdiffusion within proteins](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/subdiff-AOAS.pdf). *Ann. Appl. Statist.*, 2, 501-535.
- Samuel Kou, Qing Zhou and Wing Wong (2006). [Equi-energy sampler with applications in statistical inference and statistical mechanics (with discussion)](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/EE-AnnStat.pdf). *Ann. Statist.*, 34, 1581-1652.
- Samuel Kou, Sunney Xie and Jun Liu (2005). [Bayesian analysis of single-molecule experimental data (with discussion)](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/singmolJRSSC.pdf). *J. Roy. Statist. Soc.*, C, 54, 469-506.
- Samuel Kou, Binny Cherayil, Wei Min, Brian English and Sunney Xie (2005). [Single-molecule Michaelis-Menten equations ](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/MM-JPC.pdf). *Journal of Physical Chemistry*, B, 109, 19068-19081.
- Samuel Kou (2004). [From finite sample to asymptotics: a geometric bridge for selection criteria in spline regression](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/bridge-AnnStat.pdf). *Ann. Statist.*, 32, 2444-2468.
- Samuel Kou and Sunney Xie (2004). [Generalized Langevin equation with fractional Gaussian noise: subdiffusion within a single protein molecule](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/FGN-PRL.pdf). *Physical Review Letters*, 93, 180603(1)-180603(4).
- Samuel Kou and Steve Kou (2003). [Modeling growth stocks via birth-death processes](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/aap.pdf). *Advances in Applied Probability*, 35, 641-664.
- Samuel Kou and Bradley Efron (2002). [Smoothers and the *Cp*, GML and EE criteria: a geometric approach](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/papers/smooth-JASA.pdf). *J. Amer. Statist. Assoc.*, 97, 766-782.

[**Personal Website**](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~skou/)

**Administrative Coordinator:**  
Emily Palmer  
[emily\_palmer@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:emily_palmer@fas.harvard.edu)  
Science Center 400b  
One Oxford Street   
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA  
(617) 495-5496



 

 

 





 

 

- ## People
    
     [Department Faculty](/people/department-faculty)