Good theory grows out of freedom and fun. Adrian Bejan was born and raised on the Danube, in Galati, Romania, under a dictatorial communist regime. The son of a veterinarian (his father) and a pharmacist (his mother), he quickly showed inclination for analytical work, excelling in school. Freedom was not known to him, until he won one of only six scholarships in a national contest, and got a chance to migrate to the United States of America. He arrived at the MIT, as a shy, 19-year-old, tall boy who seemed more apt for basketball (in fact, he was a very good basketball player in Romania, having been a member of the national select team) than for science.
Freedom. Upon his arrival, and due to a bureaucratic mistake, Adrian was enrolled in the graduate program in Mechanical Engineering at the MIT, even though he was a beginning undergraduate in Romania. The mistake was quickly corrected by Prof. Rohsenow, and Adrian soon demonstrated that his skills in science were at least as good as in basketball. He went through to get all degrees (B.Sc. with Honors, M.Sc. with Honors, and Ph.D.) from the MIT in Mechanical Engineering, with specialization in cryogenics and heat transfer, being mentored by people of the caliber of Profs.