Biography - Theodore Vassiliadis

Hi, my name is Theodore (Theo) Vassiliades and I will be your instructor for Mathematics for College Students.
I live with my wife and two kids in Chicago, Illinois. I currently work at Whirlpool E-commerce.

Earlier I worked in Walgreens in their Merchandising Strategy and Development unit under the Marketing Services and Research division and before that I worked as a freelance Consultant managing projects related to web based Product Development and Agile Project Management, Search Engine Optimization and software development business processes. I am currently studying to take the PMI certification exam to become a PMP. I am also a Certified SCRUM Master; for the uninitiated, this is an Agile Software Development Project Management Methodology, one of the various flavors in circulation.
Before that I worked for Thomson Media, a Thomson Financial company, as a Director of Software Development, Web Publishing. Two major web sites my team and I were responsible for and built from scratch are: AmericanBanker.com and BondBuyer.com.
Prior to that I was working with BCG (Boston Consulting Group). While with BCG, I was responsible for the valuation models software used by the Corporate Development Practice Area to manage and predict portfolios of stocks behaviors and patterns and for delivering an IT Architecture and Governance study for the IT Practice area as a member of the worldwide applications development managers group.
I have a Bachelor's in Mathematics from a Greek University (University of Patras), a Master's degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Mathematical Computer Science and a Ph.D. - ABD from the same university in Mathematical Computer Science.
During my 6 year tenure at UIC, I was an Instructor for a variety of Mathematics and Computer Science courses ranging from introductory to senior undergraduate and graduate level.
I enjoy engaging in a variety of sports. My most favorite ones are ping-pong and volleyball. I love traveling and discovering different cultures. I used to play the guitar and I am now getting ready to take some Latin American percussion classes starting with Conga. I also love learning foreign languages; I will be taking some Spanish or Italian classes with the first opportunity I get.
Math is an important part of my life because since I remember myself when ever someone was asking me what do I want to be when I grow up, I was replying I wanted to be a Mathematician. Also because I have invested a significant number of years studying Mathematics and because Theoretical Computer Science is very tightly integrated with deep and complex Mathematical concepts and theories.
Math is another language that I speak fluently besides English and Greek!