Adrian Bejan is an American professor who developed modern thermodynamics and the constructal law of design and evolution in nature. He is J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University.He was born in Galaţi, a port town located on the Danube in Romania.His mother, Marioara Bejan (1914–1998), was a pharmacist. His father, Dr. Anghel Bejan (1910–1976), was a veterinarian. Adrian Bejan showed an early talent in drawing, and his parents enrolled him in art school.