His mother was of Syrian Jewish descent, his grandparents emigrating from Aleppo.[76] Yasser Seirawan, chess grandmaster and 4-time US-champion.[77] Seirawan is the 69th best chess player in the world and the 2nd in the United States.[77] Mona Simpson, novelist and essayist;[78] Simpson is also the biological sister of Steve Jobs.[79] Wafa Sultan (born 1958), secular activist and vocal critic of Islam.[80] In 2006, Sultan was chosen by Time magazine to be on the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in 2006.[81] Vic Tayback, actor who won two Golden Globe Awards for his role in the television series Alice.[82] Fawwaz Ulaby, is the R. Jamieson and Betty Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, and the former vice president for research.