I learned how to play chess at the age of 6, playing with people of all ages in the city park. Also at 6, I read my first science fiction book by Jules Verne. My favorite authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clark, Robert Heinlein, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, soon captivated my attention for hours at a time. By the time I was 12 years old, I owned a collection of over 100 sci-fi paperback novels. In 1969, I entered the Bronx High School of Science. In July 1969, I remember seeing the landing of the first man on the moon on a color TV set. In 2035, after a delay of 66 years, we hope to return to the moon with the Artemis program!
In the summer of my junior year of high school, as an aide in the hospital room of a patient, I helped take care of John Coleman Burroughs (1913-1979), the last son of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who was in Columbia Presbyterian Hospital being treated for Parkinson’s with an experimental drug, L-Dopa. Best known for illustrating many of his father’s books, John Burroughs sketched me in 1971, when I was 16 years old, showing the beginnings of a goatee on my chin.
After my senior year in high school, my family moved to Brooklyn, New York, and I enrolled at Brooklyn College in the fall of 1973. When free tuition ended three years later, I left school to become an analytical technician at Lever Brothers Research center in Edgewater, New Jersey. After two years of night school, where I took math classes in advanced Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Abstract Algebra, I returned full time to Brooklyn College and graduated in 1979 with a B.S. in Chemistry. At Brooklyn College I learned to program with BASIC and Fortran, as well as conducted research with Professor Darryl Howery, using a computer to predict missing data points in chemical data. This research, called FACTOR ANALYSIS, was the first use of computers to create models of complex data.
After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1979, I entered graduate school at Stony Brook University and completed an M.S. Degree in 1982. The title of my Master’s thesis is “Electron Transfer Reactions of DicyanobisbipyridylFe(III)/Co(II)EDTA,” where I documented how I solved the crystal structure of two inorganic compounds. I transferred to the University of Virginia in 1982 and worked in Professor James Demas’ laboratory for 6 years. I taught electronics, computer interfacing, and physical chemistry, while also completing my Ph.D. thesis titled “Excited-State Reactions of Transition Metal Complexes with Ru/Os/Ir Polypyridyl Complexes.”
In 1988 I experienced many changes. I graduated from University of Virginia and moved back to Brooklyn. I married my wife, Ines, with whom I have been happily married for 37 years. In addition, I was hired at Westwood Chemical Corporation as a Senior Chemist in Middletown, New York. I worked there for 11 years on antiperspirant raw materials and finished product formulas.
During this time, I first heard about Toastmasters International, an organization for people who want to improve their communication and leadership skills. Since 1990, I have been a member of many Toastmasters clubs; I am a Distinguished Toastmaster and have served as president of multiple clubs. While in Middletown during 1988-1999, I worked on weekends as a tour guide at the Brotherhood Winery, the oldest winery in America. In addition to my hobbies of public speaking and wine tasting, I taught Chemistry in the evenings as an adjunct professor for two years at SUNY Orange, a public community college. I moved in 2001 to work at CB Fleet in Lynchburg, Virginia, where I was employed for 17 years. Not long after moving to Virginia, I worked in Spain for 3 months on a project to develop oral rehydration powder and traveled to Canada to make an oral rehydration solution (ORS) drink. I also traveled to England to make a gummy bear supplement.
While working at CB Fleet, from 2004 – 2008, I completed an MBA at the University of Lynchburg. From 2013 until 2018, I worked as an adjunct in the evenings at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC), where I have taught Chemistry 111/112. I have used my extensive knowledge in Chemistry to help my students gain knowledge and experience that will make them successful in their scientific fields. In 2019, I became a full-time assistant instructor at CVCC. In 2025, I was promoted to the rank of associate professor. Over the past 6 years, I have created and improved the chemistry course on Canvas.
I am also a student here at CVCC, taking classes in microbiology and genetics. In addition, I have learned about Artificial Intelligence (AI) from a fellowship at Lumen Learning and from Professor Corinne Hoisington, a nationally recognized AI expert, who teaches at CVCC. Furthermore, I have learned how to use ChatGPT to create computer programs in Python, a high-level computer language. Using Symposia software, I have learned how to create Avatars— computer simulations of my voice and body that deliver lectures on demand. I have also learned about model rocketry and launch rockets at the beginning of each semester.
From my experience as both a teacher and student here at CVCC, I can attest to the quality of the STEM program and the excellent professors educating our students. My son, Daniel, was a student in my Chemistry class in 2013. He graduated from CVCC in 2016 and transferred to Virginia Tech, where he graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Daniel is now working in Richmond as an Emergency Medical Technician and one day plans to be a Physician Assistant. Daniel would tell you that his time at CVCC gave him a strong background, helping him succeed.
I am a member of the Lynchburg Toastmasters club and the City of Lynchburg Toastmasters club. The Lynchburg Toastmasters club meets 1st and 3rd Thursdays at CVCC in room 5417 of Merritt Hall. All students 18 years and older are welcome to join this club.
I am working to obtain my Ham Radio License in October 2025 and partnering with Dewey Edwards, who teaches electronics, to start a Ham Radio club here at CVCC. All students are welcome to join this club to learn about this ever-evolving technology. Interested students should contact me at ayalan@centralvirginia.edu.
I am serving in 2025 as the Chairman of the Board of Mid-Atlantic Society of Cosmetic Chemists. All college students can join this organization for no charge. Interested students should contact me at ayalan@centralvirginia.edu.
