In my own words.
In a recent interview for the Computational Statistics & Data Analysis journal, Dr. Afifi interviewed me on a variety of topics which I shared some wonderful moments of my youth, studies, music and professional achievements. Here is a favorite passage from the interview:
Afifi: So in high school, I guess you were thinking ahead of what career you wanted, and what you wanted to study in college. Tell me about that.
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Azen: Well at Fairfax, where I was in high school from 1952 to 1956, I met so many people who were creative in terms of understanding different kinds of strategies. They knew how to ask questions and so on, that opened me up to the idea that by going to college, I would hopefully be able to pursue research as a career. So I did go to UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] in 1960, and that’s where I met you.
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Afifi: So as an undergraduate at UCLA, what excited you? I know you majored in math.
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Azen: Yes, mathematics was the one of the key topics. And actually, this is the kind of thing I was trying to figure out. The number was the thing. And then I would say probably also music in those early days — I wanted to be a master of both numbers and notes!
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To read the full interview on the Master and the Notes, click here.