Cover Page
The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/44286 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation.
Author: Bethuelsen, S.A.
Title: Random walks and the contact process Issue Date: 2016-11-22
Acknowledgements
The completion of my Ph.D. could not have been accomplished without the support of many people. First, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Markus Heydenreich for allowing me to experience an exciting and enriching Ph.D.. His constant support, encour- agement and guidance throughout these four years were essential for the preparation of this thesis.
I am just as grateful to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Frank den Hollander. I have benefited a lot from his support and guidance. Being part of his group in Leiden has been a wonderful experience. Furthermore, he has been a great role model as the chair of the probability group in Leiden and as a scientist.
A sincere ‘thank you’ also goes to Prof. Dr. Jacob van den Berg, who has been acting as a third supervisor. Our many meetings in Amsterdam and elsewhere have greatly influenced the preparation of this thesis, and he has played an important role in my development as a scientist.
I would also like to thank Dr. Florian Völlering, with whom I have collaborated in the writing of Chapter 3 of this thesis, and from whom I have learned a lot. I further wish to thank Prof. Dr. Roberto Fernandez, who inspired me during my master studies towards research in probability theory and statistical mechanics and with whom, together with Dr. Siamak Taati, I have had many fruitful discussions.
Many thanks to the promotion committee: Prof. Dr. Tom Mountford, Prof. Dr. Matthias Birkner and Dr. Daniel Valesin. They were very kind to take time to read the thesis manuscript and provided many helpful comments.
I further wish to thank all the scientific and support staff at the Mathematical Institute and the Science Faculty at Leiden University. The atmosphere at the Mathematical Institute is in my opinion unique and it has been a privilege to work in such an inspiring international environment with friends as colleagues.
I would also like to thank the staff at CWI Amsterdam, in particular, the Stochastics group, for providing a stimulating environment. Many thanks also to the staff at LMU Munich and the probability group in Munich, for hosting me as a guest during my final year.
Last but not least, an important part of the path towards this Ph.D. took place outside the academic community. Many thanks to all the people who kept me occupied with other things
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Acknowledgements
than mathematics and who have accompanied me during various activities such as rowing, cycling and fishing. A special ‘thank you’ goes to my family for their constant support and their encouragement in times when it was needed the most. Finally, a heartfelt ‘thank you’
goes to my dear Hedda, who has been immensely supportive and has always been there for me. Your belief in me means more than anything.
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Curriculum Vitae
Stein Andreas Bethuelsen was born in Stavanger, Norway, on October 3, 1987. He completed his high-school studies at St. Olav videregående skole in Stavanger in June 2006. After that he carried out one year of military service, working at Fellesoperativt hovedkvarter in Stavanger. In August 2007 he enrolled in the ‘Bachelor’s Degree Program in Mathematics’
at the University of Stavanger, where he graduated in June 2010. The same year he moved to Utrecht, The Netherlands, where he enrolled in the master program ‘Mathematical Sciences’
at Utrecht University, and from which he graduated ‘with distinction’ in July 2012. He wrote his Master’s thesis, entitled “Uniqueness of Gibbs measures”, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. R. Fernandez. In September 2012 he moved to Leiden, The Netherlands, where he started his Ph.D. research at Leiden University. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. M.O.
Heydenreich and Prof. Dr. W.Th.F. den Hollander, his Ph.D. research focused on the subject of random walks in dynamic random environments. During his time as a Ph.D. student he was also part-time affiliated with Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam under the supervision of Prof. Dr. J. van den Berg. In August 2015 he moved to Munich, Germany, where he stayed as a guest researcher at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München until the end of his Ph.D. In September 2016, he started as a post-doctoral researcher at Technische Universität Münchenunder the guidance of Prof. Dr. N. Gantert.
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