Associate Professor from Western Carolina University

visiting Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria

as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar

Peak Musala (2925 m, 9598 ft)

The highest mountain peak in the Balkan Peninsula is Peak Musala in the Rila National Park in Bulgaria, with an altitude (counting from the sea level) of 2,925 meters or 9,598 feet and a topographic prominence (counting from its foothill) of 2,473 meters or 8,114...

Conference in Sozopol

The 10th Automatics conference organized by TU-Sofia was during last weekend in Sozopol, a coastal town by the Black Sea. I left the Fulbright orientation in Sofia early and went to Sozopol to catch the latter part of the conference. Due to COVID, this conference had...

Nestinari (fire dancing)

The Nestinari (fire dancing) ritual is a UNESCO World Heritage legacy of non-material culture in Bulgaria, and many people are wondering how it is done, including me. During the Fulbrighter orientation this week, we had a dinner in a restaurant outdoor and we were...

Eight thousand years of civilization

About eight or nine thousand years ago (6 or 7 millennium BC) , there was already civilization in Bulgaria. The unique patterns on their potteries were distinct from later civilizations (Greek, Roman, or Ottoman, etc.). Bulgaria’s Varna Gold Treasure is...

Layered Sofia

My family arrived in Sofia later on Sat, and we took a stroll around town on Sun. They liked Sofia at once. They think that Sofia is full of layers from various periods, and it is very vibrant with colors. I finally entered the Cathedral Saint Aleksandar Nevski but...