1972-75 LSU Computer Science, Assistant Professor

The huge challenge for a newly graduated PhD student taking a university position is to publish a first unsupervised original work. Again, I was fortunate because I encountered an interesting unsolved problem that was of interest within the international community. And just as I finished writing the paper and submitted it for publication, a tenure-track position became available in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Toronto.

In my interview visit, I presented the work, and it turns out that one of the senior faculty members (Professor Hal Smith, 1928-1999) had spent time trying to solve that problem. On the basis of this work and my leanings toward practical work, I was awarded that tenure-track position. The review process is slow, so the publication actually appeared after I had moved to Toronto.