Steven Ross Gibson, PhD (!)

Here was the scene this past Saturday afternoon, as Steve read through his thesis one more time in preparation for his defense on Monday.

Steve spent all day Monday in Christchurch for his defense, and he passed with flying colours. One of the two reviewers flew in from Australia, while the other skyped in from his base at Harvard. They had many positive and encouraging things to say, and also some thoughtful and challenging questions that Steve answered very well. He has some relatively minor corrections to make and then the university will formally issue his degree (although just through the mail since he won't be flying back from California for a graduation ceremony). The next adventure (aka the real job) starts on January 20th in Berkeley.