The Warlord of Hydrogeology

a professor takes advantage of the system and breaks the laws, probably

"Take care of number one".  I can hear Noble Aphoni, PhD's father advising him. Noble eventually escaped from his oil-rich, war-torn country and resurfaced as my professor in the United States. I was in Nobles office seeking direction on my thesis. "Dr. Aphoni what is...", Nobles phone rang. He smiled warmly, gave me one of his trademark low energy gestures, a polite wave, 'please hold your thought'. Long distance, it was Africa calling.

            Noble was like a different person on the Africa calls. He became animated and bantered in a foreign tongue.  I waited. His conversation was going and going. He gave me a warm high five sign, meaning 'come back later'. Damn! 'old graduate students get no respect ' I thought.  Another student Stanley Surly, was even older, a record-smashing 75 years old. Professor Aphoni loved Stanley.

            Stanley, at age 73 became uncontrollably interested in  groundwater. While Noble would often say in lectures 'I am no mathematician', Stanley Surely was a PhD mathematician, a retired actuary, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (an FSA).  Unlike Professor Aphoni, who by all accounts was a warm, humble person, Stanley Surly was cold and would hammer his life's accomplishments into you.  He acted like the master of all trades. Stanley was Noble's opposite.

            One November Noble made another urgent trip to Africa.  Before flying out, he placed trusty old grad student Stanley Surly  in charge of his undergraduate class. While Noble was in Africa, Stanley Surly died. Apparently he had liver cancer and never told anyone. Noble would remain in Africa.  His students got incompletes. They had to repeat the class the following semester upon Nobles return.  This is what like is like when your professor is a warlord.