Richard D. De Veaux is a highly esteemed educator and consultant with a global reputation. He has held teaching positions at prestigious institutions such as the Wharton School and the Princeton University School of Engineering, where he was honored with a Lifetime Award for Dedication and Excellence in Teaching. Currently, he holds the C. Carlisle and M. Tippit Professorship in Statistics at Williams College, where he has been teaching since 1994. Dick's contributions to the field have been recognized with both the Wilcoxon and Shewell awards from the American Society for Quality. As a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), Dick is highly regarded in the statistical community. In 2008, he was named Statistician of the Year by the Boston Chapter of the ASA. He has also served as the Vice-President of the ASA from 2018 to 2021. Dick's expertise extends beyond academia, as he has provided consulting services for renowned Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Hewlett-Packard, Alcoa, DuPont, Pillsbury, General Electric, and Chemical Bank. Notably, his collaboration with Mickey Hart on the book Planet Drum has earned him the nickname "Official Statistician for the Grateful Dead." His real-world experiences and anecdotes greatly influence the content of this book. Dick holds degrees from Princeton University in Civil Engineering (B.S.E.) and Mathematics (A.B.), as well as from Stanford University in Dance Education (M.A.) and Statistics (Ph.D.). His research focuses on analyzing large data sets and data mining in both scientific and industrial contexts. In his leisure time, Dick enjoys cycling and swimming. He is the founder of the "Diminished Faculty," an a cappella Doo-Wop quartet at Williams College. He also sings bass in the college concert choir and with the Choeur Vittoria of Paris. Dick takes pride in being a father to four children.