In the months since the last newsletter New Zealand has been a good place to be, certainly for the statistical community. On more than one occasion I have found myself commenting, "I expected this to be good, and it has turned out better than I expected". Remarkably, this has pertained to the weather, even the weather in Dunedin! And you will already have perceived Murray Jorgensen’s ineffable ability to 'have his cake and eat it, too'.

I add my word of thanks to those whose careful planning, hard work and wide connections have ensured the success of our 'conference season'.

One of the challenges presented to us by Emery Brown was that in our involvement with scientists we should not only collaborate in the science, but even "direct the science". By this he meant that, through our understanding of the stochastic aspects of the processes under investigation, we have the insight to advise on what is the appropriate direction for the experimentation to go. This requires a deep understanding of the subject matter. He expressed the need for students to cross-train in another discipline. This is a lofty vision for us - for many statistical consultants, to be asked about the design of an experiment before it is carried out is a rare delight. I myself am fortunate in working in a culture where consultation at this level is a norm, though I work as a generalist.

This role of mathematically "directing the science" was also illustrated (rather amusingly) by James Sneyd (U. Auckland) in a recent seminar on calcium oscillations, that has been presented at various venues. He had been challenged by an eminent physiologist to say what experiment should be done to distinguish between two competing models, on the basis that mathematical models had contributed little to the field. This was definitely a non-trivial exercise, but the experiments have now been performed (though whether the results are believed is still an open question, it appears).

A warm welcome to 28 new members of the NZSA, 14 of whom are from Statistics New Zealand, and 8 of whom are new student members from NZ or Australia, who receive their first year's membership free.

Regular members: Clinton Hayes, Emma Hooper, Bhaskaran Nair, Rico Namay, Tiri Sullivan, Temaleti Tupou, Sela Xie, Felibel Zabala, Krishna Bhatta, Sue Brown, Vera Costa, Simon Leong, Zoe Wood, Carmel Woods (all SNZ), Philip Schluter, Esther Meenken, Catherine Loader, Dong Wang, Steve Ranford, Rachel Dingle.

Student Members: Debasish Roy, Hayley Knox, Philip Roderick, Anh Vinh Le, Carla Meurk, Jennifer Tsu-Yun Tso, William Probert, Maheswaran Rohan.

To join the NZSA, visit http://nzsa.rsnz.org/form.php.