Mentor

As a Ph.D. student, I learned a lot from Aya. I would like to focus
specifically on two aspects that I think are unique to Aya as a mentor.
The first one is the importance of broad statistical education.
Even if you choose to specialize in a narrow statistical area, you may benefit
from knowing even just a little about other areas.

The other aspect that often reminds me of Aya is the importance of being able
to make clear and organized presentations. When I go to a conference,
I often find the presentation quality of many talks quite poor, even
if the content is good. When I see a bad speaker, I think this person
was not fortunate to have an advisor like Aya. As a Ph.D student, Aya
encouraged me to give talks at international conferences.
Before each conference, I would practice my talk, including in front of Aya,
who always had good advice to improve the quality of the presentation.

A memeber of Aya's fan club

I first met Aya when I did my M.Sc in statistics at the Technion. Unfortunately (for me) she taught me only 2 courses.
The first time I walked into her classroom I froze. Literally! I froze to death. It was the middle of the summer, 40 degrees in the shade and minus 10 in the classroom. I’m sure all of Aya’s students and colleagues know what I’m talking about. Turns out Aya has a long term relationship with the very-very-cool side of the air-condition system…
The next lesson, I was prepared! Believe it or not, I took my army coat (yes, yes, in the middle of the s-u-m-m-e-r ) and attended the lesson. Wow – I’ve struck gold this time. Aya was so clear, so fluent and so enthusiastic about teaching she really made everything seem easy… and interesting – from that day on, I am a proud member of Aya’s fan club.
When I gave my thesis presentation, I was soooo stressed. All the professors and colleagues attended and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish the first slide. And then came Aya , holding her famous fruit cake.
Now.. I wasn’t her student, I was never her teaching assistant, but there she was – thinking of me. She said she thought I’d be just a tiny bit pressured and that a cake always helps. Well, it sure did!
So now the queen of ice with the warmest of hearts is retiring. I wish her all the best, really.
And, Aya, I’m just adding a personal note here – You taught me statistics (and did it so well) but you’ve also taught me to become a “mentch” and I believe this is even more important that statistics :) ,

A (no longer) secret admirer,

Sharon Biran

Aya is retiring!!!

How can that be? I think of her as the young visitor to Bell Labs with whom I enjoyed working on several interesting problems, she was the one who nagged me to write our stuff up so it could be published. Still, I have good news for her. Retitrement is not the end. I "retired" in 2000 but since then have been having just as much fun. There are always good problems to work on. I envy the many students she has inspired. Her enthusiam and energy are legendary.

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!