I was born in Greece, but at eight years old my family emigrated to Montreal, Canada where I grew up. I came to the US to do graduate work, first an MA at the University of Iowa, and then a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. I enjoyed the warm winters so much at Austin that I decided to look for a job in the southern US. I just couldn't take the minus 40 degree temperatures in Montreal any longer. There was an opening in the department of Telecommunication at the University of Florida for the fall of 1993 to which I applied, and to my surprise, I got the job!
The University of Florida has been extremely good to me. It not only gave me a job...it also gave me a wife! This is where I met my better half, Serya, who was a graduate student from Istanbul, Turkey. The fact that I'm Greek and she's Turkish makes this a volatile and passionate relationship!
There are three of us now. Ayla Maria was born on December 2, 2000. And she is – as she puts it – half-Greek, half-Turkish… and all American.
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