Obituary

The Department of Statistics is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Robin Evans on 3 November 2026, following an illness. A distinguished scholar of statistical theory and causal inference, Robin had been a member of the University of Oxford since 2013. At the time of his death, he held the University's Professorship in Statistics, was Deputy Head of the Department of Statistics and a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College. Our thoughts are with his wife, Alex, their two daughters, and everyone who knew and worked with him.

Robin studied mathematics at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, before completing his PhD in Statistics at the University of Washington in 2011, supervised by Thomas Richardson, who became a longstanding collaborator. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Cambridge, he joined Oxford in 2013 as Associate Professor of Statistics and Robert Kay Fellow at Jesus College. He was awarded the title of Professor of Statistical Science in 2023 and appointed to the University's Professorship in Statistics in 2026.

Robin made major contributions to the mathematical foundations of graphical models and causal inference, particularly the challenges posed by unobserved variables and selection bias. Combining ideas from probability, algebra and geometry, his research advanced the understanding of latent-variable models, nested Markov models and the constraints that causal structures impose on observable data. His influential publications appeared in leading journals including the Annals of Statistics, the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B and Bernoulli, and his work attracted interest well beyond statistics, including in quantum physics.

Alongside his theoretical research, Robin was committed to developing methods with practical applications. His recent work included new approaches to parametrising and simulating causal models and combining evidence from randomised trials and observational studies, an ambitious research programme he called 'Many Data'. He also collaborated on applications in biomedical science, epidemiology and mental health. Internationally recognised in his field, he served as Programme Chair of the Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence in 2023 and General Chair in 2024, and held editorial positions with several leading statistical journals.

Robin was a dedicated teacher and supervisor, introducing generations of Oxford students to graphical models and causal inference. He supervised numerous doctoral and master's students, several of whom became research collaborators, and was a longstanding undergraduate tutor at Jesus College. He was immensely popular with his students. He also contributed extensively to academic leadership and service, including as Deputy Head of Department, Co-Director of the StatML Centre for Doctoral Training and Secretary to the Governing Body of Jesus College.

Robin will be remembered not only for the originality and mathematical depth of his scholarship, but also for the warmth and respect with which he treated everyone, and for his wonderful sense of humour. His generosity of spirit, dedication to students and colleagues, and commitment to the academic communities he served will be greatly missed. His death is a profound loss to Oxford and to the international statistics community.

Further tributes
Tributes to Professor Evans have been published by Jesus College and the MPLS Division.