Given that empirical astrophysics is an observational science, the importance of rigorous application of
statistical methods to astrophysical data analysis cannot be overstated. Moreover,
empirical astrophysics research has seen a paradigm shift in recent years in that it
routinely involves data mining of large multiwavelength data sets, requiring complex automated
processes that must invoke a very diverse set of statistical techniques.
The Astrostatistics School was designed to meet this new challenge by providing
a strong conceptual foundation in modern statistics as well as a repertoire of state-of-the-art
statistical tools applicable to astrophysical problems.
The school was designed for all levels of practising astrophysicists and physicists
wishing to enhance their grasp of the application of statistics to their research.
In addition to lectures, there was a heavy emphasis on hands-on
tutorials using software tools implemented in the public-domain
multi-platform R computing
environment, which, besides being open-source, is the current standard in research-level statistical computation.