Zaman Online, Turkey
July 10 2008
Turkish-Armenian professor arranges international conference in Kayseri
The BozdoÄ?an siblings are pictured here with their mother
(center), who lived in Ä°stanbul until she passed away at the
age of 94.
Hamparsum BozdoÄ?an, a Turkish-Armenian doyen in the science of
statistics, has arranged an international conference in Kayseri as a
way of showing his gratitude to the city he left when he was 8 years
old. What follows is his extraordinary life.
"I still see Turkey as my actual country. I have expressed my love for
my country on every platform and have helped Turkish students in the
US. Additionally, I arranged the Kayseri conference as a way of
showing thanks."
Professor BozdoÄ?an often volunteers as an educational envoy and
frequently visits Turkey, the country he left 50 years ago to go to
the US and get an education. He lectures on statistics at the
University of Tennessee. Professor BozdoÄ?an, the fifth child of
a middle class family, is a professor famous for formulas he
developed, formulas now named after him.
His love for Turkey has led him to arrange international conferences
in Turkey, to never turn down invitations from Turkish universities
and to help students who have come from Turkey to the US to study. The
"International Data Mining Conference," held on June 19 in Kayseri,
was the latest conference he organized. We spoke with Professor
BozdoÄ?an about his childhood memories, the US and
Turkish-Armenian relations, about which he is hopeful.
Father served in army
BozdoÄ?an was born in a one-room apartment in Kayseri’s
Atpazarı district in 1945. His family is originally from
Felahiye, another district of Kayseri. Meline, his sister, taught him
how to read and write when he was only 3 years old. He was to receive
a good education, his whole family agreed; however, his father, Bedros
BozdoÄ?an, known as "Brick Maker Sgt. Ahmet" was keen on taking
his son to the brick kiln during the summer when school was out in
order to show his son the hardships of working and to gain
self-confidence. His mother, Heyna (also known as Henna), reluctantly
agreed. "My father used to make bricks for the army to be used in
train stations during World War II. During the time I lived in
Kayseri, he used to wake me up early in the morning and take me to the
kiln. He showed me the difficulties of working and encouraged me to
study. He asked me to keep track of accounts and gave me a small
amount of money when there was a famine in the country and we had
ration books. I developed self-confidence in that brick kiln. This
confidence brought me success in academia. That is why I have always
been grateful to my father, who died in 1981 at the age of 74." Two of
BozdoÄ?an’s siblings now live in the US and three in
Ä°stanbul’s Bakırköy district.
`Patriarch’s deputy changed my life’
BozdoÄ?an did not disappoint his family when he began classes at
Kayseri Ä°stiklal Elementary School. He became the brightest
student as he already knew how to read and write. A visit by a deputy
of the patriarch to Kayseri when BozdoÄ?an was in third grade
changed the course of his life. "My teachers often came and told my
parents to send me to school for more education since I was quite
successful at school. One day I heard that one of the assistants of
Armenian Patriarch Karekin Khachadourian was in Kayseri. Successful
Armenian children were in those times being taken to Ä°stanbul
for further schooling. I went to the Armenian Church with my brother,
Kirkor [Å?ahin], who was a student at the Talas American College
then, to see the patriarch’s deputy. Upon seeing my report card he
immediately registered me for İstanbul Karagözyan
Armenian Elementary School without asking a single question. However,
at the beginning my family did not want me to go to I°stanbul alone
as I was just 8 years old. I cried for a week when I heard that some
of my friends were also going to Ä°stanbul. In the end, I
persuaded them with my brother and then left for Ä°stanbul."
Professor BozdoÄ?an continued his education at Karagözyan
Armenian Elementary School from fourth grade on. He learned Armenian
as a second language and French thanks to his teacher Mari Sarafyan, a
graduate of the Sorbonne, during this period. Then he went to
Feriköy Secondary School and the Atatürk High School for
boys. He successfully completed these schools and received
scholarships. During this period, the BozdoÄ?an family, with
four girls and two boys, moved to Ä°stanbul. Their longing for
their son was at this point unbearable. "I left Kayseri with grief
just like a soldier when I was 8. Then my family came to
Ä°stanbul to end this bitter grief," BozdoÄ?an says.
Having completed his high school education in 1964, BozdoÄ?an
looked for ways of going to the US to pursue a higher education where
his brother, seven years older than him, was studying. He found a way
and soon began his education at the University of Wisconsin’s
department of mathematics. He received his undergraduate degree in
1970, supported by the Kalust GüÅ?benkyan fund. Having
completed his university education, he started his graduate studies at
the University of Illinois’s department of mathematics. He was
nominated for the Scientific and Technological Research Council of
Turkey (TÃ`BÄ°TAK) NATO Science Scholarship, but accepted the
assistantship his department offered.
Turkish-American student association chair
After receiving his Ph.D. in multivariate statistical modeling,
Professor BozdoÄ?an continued his career in statistics at the
University of Virginia. While an associate professor he decided to
move to Tokyo with his family to work with Japanese Professor Hirotugu
Akaike and lived there for a year. "Actually, I wanted to study
medicine; however, medical school was too costly for me since I
completed my education with scholarships. Now, I engage in statistics
and the problems I handle reach out to the field of medicine. For
instances, the formulas we have put forward are being used in the
calculation of cancerous cells," BozdoÄ?an says. During his
years at the University of Wisconsin, he saw students coming from
Turkey experienced problems adapting — not unlike himself. To help
with this, he took on the presidency of the Turkish Students
Association at the university, whose main purpose was to help students
coming from Turkey, following the completion of his graduate studies
in 1970. He held the presidency of this association for two years and
took on roles in similar projects in the following years. Professor
BozdoÄ?an always supports Turkish students studying in the US in
addition to helping those who study in the same field in Turkey. Eylem
Deniz Akıncı, an assistant professor at the Mimar Sinan
University of Fine Arts, is one of the academics he helped complete
her doctorate. Akıncı says: "He contributed
significantly to my doctorate thesis. I am also going to have the
chance to continue my post-doctoral studies at the University of
Tennessee with the scholarship I won thanks to the letter of
invitation Professor BozdoÄ?an sent me. The conference he
organized in Kayseri is also of great importance. A number of
scientists came to Turkey and are working on joint projects."
Two fellow townsmen meet on a train
Professor BozdoÄ?an decided to organize the international
conference after an interesting coincidence. He met Kayseri Mayor
Mehmet Ã-zhaseki while traveling to the Italian city of Brixen for
a conference. After a warm chat about Kayseri, the mayor suggested he
put together an international conference in Kayseri and said that he
would support such an endeavor. BozdoÄ?an then started working
on this project from that time on and his efforts bore fruit three
years later. "I lived in the US for many years but I have never
forgotten Kayseri and Turkey. I have always wanted to work on projects
that would be beneficial for my country. That is why this conference
is meaningful for me. It is an opportunity for me to show my gratitude
to my hometown. Who would have guessed that such a conference would be
held upon the meeting of two fellow townsmen on a train?"
BozdoÄ?an says.
In 2006 BozdoÄ?an visited Kayseri for the first time since
leaving 50 years ago. He went to the neighborhood and house where he
spent his childhood and found his childhood friend Å?adan
DoÄ?an. "It was a great pleasure for me to find my childhood
friend after 50 years. We spoke about the days we spent together
during the three days we met. I look forward to seeing him again this
summer." Professor BozdoÄ?an also had the opportunity to visit
his high school in Ä°stanbul. "I entered my classroom, sat on my
chair 45 years since last sitting on it¦ It took me back to those
days."
Apart from his life story and academic field, we also asked Professor
BozdoÄ?an about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations. He
begins by noting that neither he nor his family were exposed to
ill-treatment during the time they lived in Turkey. "We never faced
any problems. On the contrary, we were well liked at school and in the
neighborhood. I am hopeful about Turkish-Armenian relations. Although
the two countries have completely dissimilar ideas, a way for peace
can be found. The leaders should come together and work to find a
solution. New generations should grow up with seeds of peace. I am
longing for those days. Otherwise, history will never forgive either
side."
Professor BozdoÄ?an has published nine books and over 50
articles. He continues to lecture at the University of Tennessee. He
is planning on starting up M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the field of
statistics and data mining in Turkey. He says he will continue to
support Turkish students, though he does not plan to return to Turkey.
—————————————– ——————————-
Kayseri Mayor Mehmet Ã-zhaseki: We will continue cooperating with
our professor "I met Professor BozdoÄ?an while traveling on a
train. My friends and I were reading books and seeing the books, his
wife understood that we were Turks. She then came to our compartment
with her husband. ‘Merhaba,’ he said to us. We chatted for a while and
I told him I was the mayor of Kayseri. He spoke warmly about Turkey
and Kayseri. His family is a well-known family in Kayseri. We kept in
contact since our meeting on that train, and I introduced him to
several academics from Kayseri as he is also a well-known academic. We
will continue to cooperate with Professor BozdoÄ?an. I am glad
to have met one of my friendly fellow townsmen," Ã-zhaseki says.
09 July 2008, Wednesday
MESUT Ã?EVÄ°KALP Ä°STANBUL