Surrogate Mom

From the first day I joined the Technion, Aya was somehow always looking out for me and my family. For example, prior to our formal arrival in Haifa, Aya, with her amazing connections in the medical community, set my wife up to do a rotation at B'nai Zion Medical Center, and my wife has been there ever since! Once I finally settled down at the Technion, Aya continued to be around to "hold my hand" (not only in statistics!) , and more importantly, to constantly remind me where my priorities should lie. In that sense, Aya has been and will always be far more than a colleague. She's been a mentor, pillar of support, and overall good friend -- kinda like my surrogate mom here at the Technion. While Aya may be retiring from the Technion, there's no way that I'm gonna give up on her amazing fruit cake. In fact, Aya, I'm already thinking of that next statistical question that will justify a discussion over that cake and coffee at your home......

Endless Energy

I remember the huge surprise when I first saw Aya walk into the Industrial Statistics course that I took as a new Masters' student at the Technion: A small, thin lady walked in. Within minutes the walls stood still and the professor caught everyone's attention.

I've known Aya as her Masters and PhD student, as her teaching assistant, student sitting in her classes, mentee, and as a friend. Through all the years I've always been amazed at Aya's endless energy and efficiency. I've watched and learned how true applied statistician academics multitask: they conduct applied and methodological work; they advise students, teach, collaborate with other statisticians and non-statisticians; and they provide service to the profession. Aya is famous for being active and visible in all these respects.

I know that Aya's energy will continue to surround us, retired or not!