Wednesday 27 May 2015

PhD !

Another long session today – but he got there. Nº 2 son is now a PhD !


Today was similar to how a PhD viva might go in the UK except that, once again, it was a public event, with colleagues, family and friends present. In addition to the university representative, there were two visiting examiners who grilled him for about an hour each. The first one scared us all when, having started by complimenting Chris in general terms, immediately said there was something fundamentally wrong with the thesis. We all sat wondering what it would be. Chris was thinking "OK, bring it on." But then the examiner pointed out that nowhere in the thesis had Chris expressed his thanks to his wife, his parents and his in-laws! Who were all in the third row. That cleared the way for the examination proper.

Well, in the end they were very complimentary about a good, creative and original piece of work. Today's highlight for me was one of the professors noting that Chris was a "clinician scientist", which he regarded as a dying breed. It was a nice tribute to the mix of skills and concerns demonstrated both in the thesis and in the event.

One more event to go – there's a celebratory dinner tonight for colleagues, examiners and faculty, friends and family, to round off a wonderful couple of days.

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