Rate My Professor Nazim Khan

Dr. Nazim Khan is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at the School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, University of Western Australia. Born in Fiji, he completed his primary and high school education there before coming to UWA in 1976 as a Commonwealth scholar to study Electrical Engineering, earning his BE degree. He then lectured at the Fiji Institute of Technology from 1981 to 1983. In 1986, Khan returned to UWA as a tutor in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, a position he held until 1989 while completing his BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Statistics in 1991. He obtained his PhD in statistics from UWA in 2004. Between 2002 and 2003, he worked as a lecturer at Griffith University and the Graduate School of Business at Queensland University of Technology, research associate for Professor Geoff McLachlan in the School of Mathematics at the University of Queensland, and consultant statistician in UQ's Faculty of Biological and Life Sciences. Joining UWA in 2004 as a consultant and lecturer, he advanced to Senior Lecturer. Khan also served as Deputy Principal of Currie Hall from 1990 to 2002 and 2004 to 2007.

Khan's academic interests include probability and stochastic processes, stochastic modelling, Hidden Markov Models, the EM algorithm, MCMC, computational statistics, experimental design, and applications in engineering and life sciences, with a focus on ion channel data modelling using linear techniques and time series methods. He has 59 research outputs, including the textbook Statistics: Meaning from data (2024, University of Western Australia), aimed at data science and statistics students. Selected publications are A Rasch-model-based hierarchical framework for statistical literacy and learning (2023, co-authored with Danny L'Boy), Identifying Threshold Concepts in First-Year Statistics, Developing and evaluating predictive conveyor belt wear models (2020), Using head mounted display virtual reality simulations in large engineering classes (2021), and Coordinate gradient descent algorithm in adaptive LASSO for pure ARCH and pure GARCH models (2025). For his teaching, he received High Commendations for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2004 and 2022. Khan has held roles including honours co-coordinator (2009), co-chair of the school Outreach Committee, Faculty Board member (2007), and chair of the school Expo committee.