With great sadness, we announce the passing of our colleague, Professor Henry Wynn, who passed away on Saturday, 2 November 2024.Henry was a full-time member of the Department of Statistics at the LSE from 2003 to 2011 and remained a very active colleague ever since. He served as Head of Department between 2003 and 2006, and also led the Decision Support and Risk Group (DSRG). For many years, Henry was the co-chair of the Research Centre CATS (Centre for the Analysis of Time Series). From 2000 to 2005, he was also part-time Scientific Co-Director of EURANDOM, the international stochastics institute at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. During the last several years, Henry was the Principal Investigator in the EU-funded projects CELSIUS (Combined Efficient Large Scale Integrated Urban Systems) and ReUseHeat (Recovery of Urban Excess Heat) at the LSE.
Henry was elected President of the Royal Statistical Society in 1977. His academic career included roles as Lecturer and Reader at Imperial College and, in 1985, Professor of Mathematical Statistics at City University London, where he became Dean of Mathematics from 1987 to 1995. At City University, he co-founded the Engineering Design Centre and introduced new degrees, including the MSc in Quality Improvement and System Reliability and the MSc in Research Methods and Statistics. In 1995, he moved to the University of Warwick as Founding Director of the Risk Initiative and Statistical Consultancy Unit (RISCU), developing it into a leading centre supported by numerous research grants. He was the founding president of the European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics (ENBIS), which now boasts over a thousand members and a successful annual conference.
In 1982 Henry was awarded the Guy Medal in Silver from the Royal Statistical Society and in 2011 the Box Medal from ENBIS. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and held an Emeritus Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust. Additionally, he was awarded the Exzellenzstipendium des Landes Oberösterreich by the governor of Upper Austria.
Henry was a prolific researcher in statistics, having written over 300 peer-reviewed publications on numerous topics, including experimental design, system reliability, computer experiments, dynamical search, algebraic statistics, and risk. In 2021, he published a societal critique with the book Against Sacrifice: An essay on risk and ethics.
Henry leaves two sons Hamish and Robin by his first wife Sandra and was happily married for over thirty years to his second wife, the distinguished photographer Jan Baldwin
The Department of Statistics will deeply miss his presence and contributions.
Very sad to hear this news. I had the privilege of working with Henry for over ten years, from his arrival as Head of Statistics to his time as co-chair of CATS. He was always warm-hearted and supportive, and a great mentor to so many PhD students and junior research staff for whom he was always so generous with his time. He was also an endless source of fun anecdotes!
I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Professor Henry Wynn, who not only taught me regression during my master’s but also generously accepted me as his PhD student in the following years. I owe Henry a great debt of gratitude, as I gained a wealth of knowledge from him both academically and in life. May Henry rest in peace.
Sad news. I first met Henry when he and I were very junior lecturers at the University of Kent in the early 70s – we often played chess at lunchtime in Darwin College (he always won) – and it was a pleasure to see him again at LSE 30 odd years later. I can’t comment on his scholarship but I can say he was a very engaging companion.
I have many fond memories of Henry, mostly from our involvement with ENBIS of which he was such a valued supporter. He was always good humoured and fun to be with. He was great to talk to with rich knowledge on all sorts of subjects. It is very sad news that he is no longer with us and my sincere condolences go to his family.,
Henry was fun to work with on new projects when I was head of the Research Division- he could be feisty, even obstinate, but always warm, fun and likeable, I know a lot of colleagues from that time will remember him fondly. I do. A one-off!
This is sad news indeed. I also had the privilege of working with Henry in the Department of Statistics, and he was on the interview panel when I first joined LSE in 2006 as a programme administrator in the department. Henry was a great mentor to staff and students alike, and a pleasure to work with. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Devastated to hear this news. Henry was a brilliant mentor to me and countless others who were lucky enough to work with him. But most importantly of all, he was a fantastic friend. He will be sorely missed.
He opened my vision to life as well as statistics. He taught me many things past 24 years. He was my MSc and PhD supervisor. He was my dear friend.He supported me in every step, every critical decision. I was supposed to have the final readings of his last book. He sent me the copy but could never complete. Last time we met, it was in London in January 2024. We had a lovely lunch and chat! I will miss him so much! 😰😰😰
R.I.P!💐
I am deeply saddened to hear of Henry’s passing. I had the privilege of being his student 20 years ago, and our paths continued to cross as colleagues and friends over the years. Henry was an exceptional talent in statistics, and his contributions to the field were matched only by his vibrant personality. He filled any room with his ideas, lively conversation, and humor—always ready with a joke to lighten the atmosphere. His support, guidance, and friendship have meant so much to me and many others. My thoughts are with Jan and the family during this difficult time.
Henry and I were fellow heads of department, and he was very supportive and great fun to work with: very engaging, with lots of good stories. His academic work was very impressive and wide in scope, and he was a very keen and energetic collaborator. A real one-off, who will be much missed.
I was incredibly fortunate to work with Henry right after completing my PhD. Our relationship was unique – sometimes I called him grandpa, other times boss. While he could be stern, he mostly mentored me with fatherly care. During our last meeting at his apartment in October 2023, he was still sharing brilliant ideas and engaging me in discussions about ChatGPT’s capabilities. He opened a new door for me: showing me what excellent research truly means and teaching me that anything is possible in academia. My connection with Henry gave me a genuine sense of family. I will forever cherish those years with Henry in London, and these memories will continue to be my source of strength and inspiration as I move forward
Henry was charismatic, inspiring and always fun. He was engaging as my supervisor and then an energetic coauthor. I am privileged to have been supervised by him at City and to have him as a friend throughout my academic career. LSE was enriched by having his unique qualities and research meetings there were a hoot.
Henry was always a generous and encouraging supporter of junior members of the department. He always had some sage advice or a funny story to recount about his own experiences. I will particularly remember his sense of humour and his human-centred political sensibilities, and I enjoyed seeing his remarks on Twitter (often very caustic!). Sending condolences and sympathies to Jan and the family, and to Henry’s many friends and collaborators around the world.
A great person, a great professor, a great statistician!
May his memory live for ever
Posted on behalf of Shmuel Onn
I am very sad about the passing away of Henry Wynn. I had the pleasure and honor of collaborating with him on two interdisciplinary papers on the interface of nonlinear discrete optimization and experimental design. This collaboration started when Henry visited me at the Technion in Haifa. My wife Ruth and I enjoyed his company here very much, as well as during a visit in London where we were happy to meet his wife Jan. I will deeply miss Henry and his creativity and sense of Humor. Our sincere condolences to Jan and his family.
Henry was simply Fantastic (a word I remember him using a lot!). I was privileged to share the journey with him from City University Engineering Design Centre to Warwick and then to LSE. Over the years I learned so much, and we had such a blast along the way. He was a fantastic boss, mentor and friend. It was an honour to know him and I will miss him so much.