Born into a modest family in Galați, he graduated first in his class in 1904 from Nicolae Bălcescu High School in Brăila.

Entering the University of Bucharest on a scholarship, he attended its faculty of sciences, where he had as teachers Spiru Haret and Gheorghe Țițeica.

He wrote his thesis under the direction of Ludwig Prandtl and defended it in 1913; the thesis, titled Ueber die diskontinuierliche Flussigkeitsbewegungen mit zwei freien Strahlen (Discontinuous flow of liquids in two free dimensions),[2][3][4] amplified upon the work of Bernhard Riemann.

[5] During his nine years as rector, he worked to place the recently founded university on a solid foundation.

During this time, he introduced a modern road network that featured paved highways.