Adrian W. Bowman, 1955–2026

Adrian W. Bowman was born on 3 January 1955 in Prestwick, (Ayrshire) and died suddenly on 7 July 2026 while cycling on Orkney with his wife Janet. Adrian started at Heathfield Primary School in January 1960. A class mate described him as obviously very clever but not remotely a ‘swot’. He played sport-football, tennis, and other games-cowboys and spent whole summers at Prestwick outdoor swimming pool. He was very musical, learning to play the piano and guitar and music remained a key feature for all his life. After primary school, he moved to Prestwick High School, studying English, Maths, Arithmetic, French, Latin, Physics, Chemistry, and History. Then in the summer of 1971, he transferred to Ayr Academy because Prestwick at that time did not offer Highers, where he focussed on English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, and French. Coming back to the music theme, by this time, a band including Adrian had been formed with 3 other students. They played acoustic folk rock (Dylan, Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Jackson Brown, Incredible String Band, etc.) and called themselves The Great Banana Trucking Company. In 1973, Adrian started at Glasgow University, where he graduated in 1977 with a Mathematics degree. There he met his wife Janet, partly through the Maclaurin Society, which was the student mathematical society. After graduating, he went to Cambridge University where he studied for the diploma in Statistical Science, before coming back to Glasgow University in 1978 to start his PhD on kernel smoothing under Mike Titterington. With his PhD successfully defended, and now married to Janet, they moved to Manchester University to take up his first academic post (and also to take delivery of their first son Richard who is now a physicist also working at Glasgow University). The family returned from Manchester to Glasgow in 1986, where he spent the rest of his career. The subsequent arrivals of Alison and Peter completed their family. During more than 30 years at the University of Glasgow, he played a central role in developing the Department of Statistics—and later the School of Mathematics and Statistics—into a department recognized internationally for excellence in both methodological and applied statistics. He was appointed Professor of Statistics in 1999, and subsequently Head of Statistics and, after the separate Departments of Mathematics and Statistics joined together, he served as Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics from 2014 until 2018. During this time, the School moved from its original bricks and mortar 1960’s home, to a new building and Adrian played an essential part in steering the development, design, and building of the School’s current home. On his retirement in 2020, he became Emeritus Professor. The annual Bowman Lecture series was inaugurated in his honour in 2019 in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the institution and to mathematical sciences. Adrian had been an RSS fellow since 1977 and served on Council, the Research Section Committee (including as Honorary Secretary), Careers Promotion Committee (as Chair) and Obituaries Commissioning Panel. He was also editor of Series C of the journal from 1999 to 2001 and the RSS Guy Lecturer in 2000. He served as Honorary Officer for Membership Services and Recruitment to the Society from 2008 to 2009. Adrian was internationally recognized for his pioneering work in nonparametric smoothing, generalized additive models, statistical graphics, and computational statistics. His 1997 book Applied Smoothing Techniques for Data Analysis (written with Adelchi Azzalini) became a standard reference for statisticians and data scientists, while his software, particularly the sm and rpanel R packages, made sophisticated statistical methods accessible to researchers and students around the world. He was also a significant player in developments in the teaching of statistics, not least through his role in the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI) in the 1980s and 1990s. Adrian authored a number of influential textbooks, more than 90 academic papers, and supervised more than 30 PhD students. He led Statistics at Glasgow into the modern age and set the tone for so much of its collegiality and spirit, which exists to this day. Adrian was an exceptional statistician, one also known for his kindness and generosity. His calmness and kindness was rooted deeply in his family and faith, and in more recent years, he had the joy of seeing his family grow, welcoming three grandchildren. He cared deeply about his colleagues and students, he could always see the potential in every person, and helped nurture it. Indeed, not many people know, that there are at least 5 statistical couples whose partnerships were formed while studying for PhDs under Adrian’s direction! He also had a number of deep and abiding interests beyond academia, which retirement gave him the opportunity to pursue further. One was music (he started taking music grade exams again), with many of the School’s celebrations marked by impromptu band formations, ceilidh dancing, and tartan waistcoats (for special occasions); a second was nature, including hill walking, photography, cycling and kayaking; a third was travel (especially by train) and the final one was faith and service, including volunteering for Christians Against Poverty. Somehow he also managed to weave Statistics into all these roles. After retirement and during COVID times, he learned to make bread, and I was often the recipient of some of his efforts. He brought light-hearted moments in some dark times, as a friend he shone brightly (often helped by his bright cycling jacket). Even though retired, he continued working (both research and teaching) and there are still papers in draft, or in the publishing conveyor belt. There were several projects that he was working on, including Statistics associated with the ill-fated Franklin Arctic expedition. He kept in touch with many collaborators, who over his career became friends, and whom he was always delighted to welcome to Glasgow. He was always ready for a challenge, and there to help. Adrian was an exceptional statistician but also an exceptional human being, with a deep interest in people. His sudden death has shocked everyone who knew him, but he would most likely say live life to the full and seize each opportunity, catch that next train to an adventure. Statisticians count and Adrian counted to so many people in so many ways. Janet and the family have been deeply touched by all the messages and cards they have received since Adrian’s death. Each one means a great deal to them.