Philip Ernst is a Full Professor with tenure at Rice University. He was previously the Dobelman Family Junior Chair as an Assistant Professor of Statistics. Ernst earned his Ph.D. in statistics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2014, and joined the Rice faculty that same year. He is an associate editor for Mathematics of Operations Research, an associate editor for Statistics and Probability Letters, an associate editor for Stochastics, and an editor for Journal of Stochastic Analysis.
In 2022, Ernst received the George R. Brown Award for Excellence in Teaching, Rice University's most prestigious teaching award. In that same year, he was elected to the Leadership Academy of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS).
In 2021, Ernst received Rice University's George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching. In 2020, Ernst was named the inaugural winner of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Don Gaver, Jr. Early Career Award for Excellence in Operations Research, the first institute-wide early-career award. In 2019, Ernst was honored with the Rice Engineering Research and Teaching Excellence Award from the George R. Brown School of Engineering. This award is given annually to only two faculty who demonstrate excellence in both teaching and research .
In 2018, Ernst was honored with the 2018 Tweedie New Researcher Award from the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. The award is widely considered the highest honor for excellence in research for an early-career statistician or applied probabilist. In that same year, Ernst also received the prestigious Army Research (ARO) Young Investigator Award.
In 2017, Ernst was the recipient of the Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award, the oldest award given to faculty members at Rice University. In 2016, Ernst was the recipient of the Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching, given annually to one Rice assistant professor for excellence in teaching. In 2015, he received the Graduate Student Association Teaching/Mentoring Award, given annually to two faculty members.