The Netherlands? How did I end up back here?

Greetings from Delft, Netherlands!

Since my PhD defense, life has been so non-stop that I haven't had the chance to really sit down to do a blog.  Those of you who have been following via twit-book and the like know that a couple of days after defending, I immediately took off for a month-long stay in the Netherlands.  Now a week in,  you remind me that some are curious as to why.

I have been working on an EU-funded mobile application project with TNO (In English: The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research), the grant proposal for which I helped write.  So, with it having gotten through, I am overseeing the qualitative research portion that I helped structure and design (and is being implemented in Dutch as of this past week).  So, this month, I am onsite for the execution of the field component and data analysis portion.

Getting started and 'installed' in another country is always somewhat jarring, especially given the big events as of late that have had me running on fumes.  However, I feel so lucky to have good friends and colleagues here on the ground who make that transition as smooth as possible, always giving me a relatively soft place to land (and a bike to use!). This time, I landed as a newly-minted PhD.

PhD

I am pleased to report that the defense went well. Lopping letters off of my name (namely, the word "Candidate") has never felt so good.

Above, I am with my examination committee after the announcement.

From left to right: S. Poyntz (Chair), R. Onufrijchuk, Me, A. Travers (Internal), R.Smith (Senior), A. Feenberg, A. Holbrook, and B. Nardi (External, joining in via teleconference)

Thank you, everyone!

As more pictures manifest, they will be added to my flickr set. In the meantime, enjoy some of these from my camera>>

The next time I post will likely be from the Netherlands, where I am heading tomorrow. More on that soon.