Marc Vidal

Marc Vidal

PhD/MSc in Mathematical and Applied Statistics · PhD in Art Science

Research Associate, Ghent University   •   Guest researcher, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

My research focuses on mathematical and methodological statistics for functional and high-dimensional data, with particular interests in statistical representation, latent structure, and discrimination. I work on operator-based methods, dimensionality reduction, covariance structure models, and discrete functional data analysis. A central theme of my recent research is how finite-dimensional representations retain or alter statistical information present in an underlying infinite-dimensional model. Neurophysiological and neuroimaging data provide a recurring application setting for this work.

Preprints and working papers
An operator-theoretic characterization of Gaussian measure singularity under mean shifts
Vidal, M. (2026) · Preprint arXiv
Noise-resilient penalty operators based on statistical differentiation schemes
Vidal, M., Y. Rosseel (2026) · Preprint (updated) arXiv
Tangent-space projections and finite-sample stability in covariance-structure estimation
Vidal, M., Y. Rosseel (2026) · Preprint available upon request
Selected publications
Multiclass functional classification through aggregated higher-order moments
Vidal, M. (2026) · In Navigating Complexity, eds. P. Brito, F. Denti, F. Greselin, K. Jajuga, and M. Zenga. Studies in Classification, Data Analysis, and Knowledge Organization. Springer, Cham. (IFCS 2026) DOI
Beyond the orthogonal group: A discussion on robust ICA and sphering transformations
Vidal, M. (2026) · Advances in Data Analysis and Classification (Invited Discussion Paper) DOI
A family of moment operators for functional data and its discriminative properties
Vidal, M. (2025) · In New Trends in Functional Statistics and Related Fields, eds. G. Aneiros, E.G. Bongiorno, A. Goia, and M. Hušková. Contributions to Statistics, pp. 557–564. Springer, Cham. (IWFOS 2025) DOI
Functional independent component analysis by choice of norm: A framework for near-perfect classification
Vidal, M., M. Leman, A.M. Aguilera (2025) · Advances in Data Analysis and Classification arXiv DOI Errata
A tutorial for understanding SEM using R: Where do all the numbers come from?
Rosseel, Y., M. Vidal (2025) · British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology 00: 1–38 DOI
Selected further publications (interdisciplinary applications)
Modeling emotional arousal with turbulence measured by EEG
Vidal, M., N. Moura, B. Van Kerrebroeck, A. M. Aguilera, T. H. Fritz, and M. Leman (2025) · Psychophysiology 62(6): e70093 DOI
Mean and covariance estimation of a spatio-temporal process with multivariate B-splines
BIRS-IMAG workshop “Multivariate Splines for Inferential Data Science,” Granada, Spain · 2026 · Invited
Small-sample asymptotics and algebraic estimators in covariance-structure models
European Meeting of Statisticians (EMS), Lugano, Switzerland · 2026
Multiclass functional classification under measure singularity
19th Conference of the International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy · 2026
Beyond reproducing kernels: discrete smoothing via orthogonal difference operators
IMS International Conference on Statistics and Data Science (ICSDS), Sevilla, Spain · 2025 · Invited
Multivariate functional independent component analysis for modelling turbulent flows on the cortical field
65th ISI World Statistics Congress, The Hague, Netherlands · 2025 · Invited
Some properties of ICA in infinite-dimensional settings
18th International Conference on Computational and Financial Econometrics / Computational and Methodological Statistics (CFE-CMStatistics), King’s College London, United Kingdom · 2024 · Invited
Classification of neuroscientific data under the probabilistic principles of near-perfect classification
18th Conference of the International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), University of Costa Rica, San José · 2024 · Invited

A complete list of conference presentations and posters is available in the curriculum vitae.

© Marc Vidal – marc.vidalbadia@ugent.be