Will Dmitri's Thesis Defence Be a Success Tonight?

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Discussion Overview

The thread revolves around Dmitri's thesis defense, discussing the anticipation leading up to the event, the defense itself, and the subsequent reactions and reflections from participants. The scope includes personal experiences, emotional support, and academic achievements.

Discussion Character

  • Meta-discussion
  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Dmitri announces his thesis defense and shares a link to his presentation, noting it is in Dutch.
  • Several participants express their support and encouragement for Dmitri ahead of his defense.
  • Dmitri recounts technical difficulties with his laptop and projector but manages to resolve them just before the defense.
  • He describes the defense as going well, with positive feedback from the jury, despite facing challenging questions.
  • Dmitri reflects on his advisor's supportive comments regarding his work and involvement in university administration.
  • He mentions the potential for PhD funding and expresses optimism about future opportunities.
  • Participants celebrate Dmitri's success, offering congratulations and expressing excitement for his achievements.
  • There are side discussions about connections between participants and shared acquaintances in the academic community.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on expressing support for Dmitri and celebrating his success. There are no significant disagreements noted in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants share personal anecdotes and experiences related to academic pressures and achievements, which may reflect varying perspectives on balancing academic and extracurricular responsibilities.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in academic milestones, thesis defenses, and the experiences of students in STEM fields may find this discussion relevant.

Kalimaa23
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Good luck!
 
I'm sure you'll do fine.
 
Succes!

Tho' you don't have many pictures in your talk :frown: :wink:

I see you're in tena - I know a lot of people in tona :smile:
 
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I wish you the best!
 
Dimitri, Best wishes for much success on your thesis defense.
 
Good luck!
 
Best Wishes!

Have fun up there too.
 
Good luck, you will do great :smile:
 
  • #10
good luck man

marlon
 
  • #11
I know you'll do great! Can't wait for your follow up post. :smile:
 
  • #12
Best wishes! You'll do great! We'll have to have a big party tonight for you and Clausius, who just passed his candidacy exams.
 
  • #13
Good luck, Dimitri! :smile: You'll do GREAT!
 
  • #14
Thanks for all the support!

Short version : it went great!

Long version : it began well when my advisor let me know that another member of the jury was "impressed" by the thesis. Especially considering that my advisor had never seen any of it before I handed it in, I did most of my writing when he was on a (well deserved) holiday.

Naturally I had laptop problems. My advisor had been kind enough te lend my his beamer. I have two laptops at home, and naturally neither of them wanted to work with it. So I quickly called up a friend to give me the Student government laptop for the day. I got the beamer to work 10 minutes before the defense.

The defense itself went great. I can safely say that I'm a decent public speaker, and I always seem to go into a sort of "trance" when speaking to an audience. My mouth connects to my brain without my higher brain functions interfering. After the 20min presentation, each member of the five man jury got to ask questions. Then something wonderful happenend. EACH ONE of them started the questioning with congratulating my on writing a great thesis. Some of the questions were tough, dealing with stuff I had not even had the time to look at that were only sideways related to the topic. It was really humbling to stand before people that have such a grasp of these things. I did my best and it went ok.

Another thing that really touched me was a small speech by my advisor saying how he was really impressed with the work done, considering that most of my time is spent on university administration. To give you an idea, I'm a student representative in the physics department council, the science faculty council, the science faculty executive committee, the university board, the university research counsil and the university executive council. Besides that I'm also vice-president of the Student Government. I know I've let my advisor down a few times this year, with me not being able to spent enough time on research, but he was always very understanding.

Best of all, I think there's a very good chance of finding funding for a PhD next year, and my advisor was very enthousiastic about it. I'll let you know how it turns out :biggrin:

Today, life is good.
 
  • #15
That's great news, Dimitri. CONGRATULATIONS!
 
  • #16
Way to go! :approve:

Where is the high-five smiley? What do you mean we don't have one?? [/size]
 
  • #17
Good job! And best of luck while you work towards that PhD! :smile:
 
  • #18
Congrats! Always great to hear another success story here! :biggrin:
 
  • #19
Nice work Sir, as always of course. :wink:
 
  • #20
CONGRATULATIONS! Dimitri. Cheers! :approve:

We need a toasting smiley or a bottoms-up smiley. :-p
 
  • #21
Congratulations Dimitri! Well done.
 
  • #22
Sweet! Congrats!
 
  • #23
J77 said:
I see you're in tena - I know a lot of people in tona :smile:

Do you? Interesting, what's your link with them?

I've had a class from Jan Danckaert, a great guy. I also get along well with Irina Verentenicoff. As for the students there, Lendert Gelens was in my year, he's starting a PhD with Danckaert next year.
 
  • #24
Dimitri Terryn said:
Do you? Interesting, what's your link with them?
I'm a laser guy - theory side tho'

I wouldn't class Jan as someone that I know - tho' we have met and we share a few coauthors :biggrin:
 
  • #25
Dimitri Terryn said:
Thanks for all the support!

Short version : it went great!
Absolutely fantastic! :approve: You're going places, I can just feel it. I'll be looking for those celebratory chocolates. :smile:
 
  • #26
Evo said:
Absolutely fantastic! :approve: You're going places, I can just feel it. I'll be looking for those celebratory chocolates. :smile:
Hey! You're supposed to dip into your hoard and send Dmitri the celebratory chocolates! You sisters...always running the scam. :devil:

Good job, Dmitri! And may I add that you are one busy guy. I did all the clubs, student government, honor society stuff in HS, but I buckled down and spent that time studying when I went to college. I wouldn't have been able to carry >12 credits in engineering courses and do what you've been doing, too. Congratulations.
 
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