Steffen Lauritzen is an influential statistician who is distinguished for his significant contributions to the theory and practice of statistical science. He has been a leading proponent in mathematical statistics and graphical models — leading to crucial developments in the application of statistics to real-world problems.

The field of graphical models that he pioneered is now a core part of mainstream statistics. A crucial part of his work involves analysing the structure of statistical models. His contributions to statistics have far-reaching effects; with applications in artificial intelligence, forensics and medical diagnosis.

The book he co-authored, Probabilistic Networks and Expert Systems (1999), received the 2001 DeGroot Prize from the International Society for Bayesian Analysis. He started his life and career in Denmark. From 2004 to 2014, he was Professor of Statistics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. In 2014, he returned to Denmark as Professor of Statistics at the University of Copenhagen.