From Ori Rosen

Aya was my PhD advisor. Even though it has been more than 22 years since I received my PhD, Aya and I kept in touch all this time mainly through email but also met once a year at her home while I was on winter break. These meetings would include other former students and colleagues, and Aya's legendary baked goods would be served. She was always curious to hear about my research, and would also tell me about her professional activities and family news.

When I was her student, Aya always encouraged me to broaden my statistical knowledge beyond my immediate interests. From an early stage, she encouraged me to attend conferences, and submit papers for publication. One of the many things I learned from her was to prepare a talk; before going to a conference, I would practice my talk in front of her, and she would critique it. I have adopted this practice and do it with my own students.

Around the time I was finishing my PhD, Aya suggested that I attend a short course on Bayesian computational methods at the Hebrew University that was given by Professor Martin Tanner of Northwestern University. Thus, she is partly to "blame" for my ensuing postdoc at Northwestern and for the fact that my research took a Bayesian turn.

I will miss our email correspondence and the annual meetings.

Ori Rosen
El Paso, Texas