I just had a 3 hours Skype session to southern France, because I turned down a paid-for trip to Aix en Provence, so I to could sit on the island and work on a proposal. This was my first Ph.D thesis committee (although I helped train a student who got a Ph.D, I was not on his committee). It was Celine Grall's thesis on the North Anatolia fault in Marmara Sea, northwest Turkey.

At the end of February I read her 4 first author papers and manuscripts and 1 second author paper, and was one of two "reporters", writing an about 3 page report, stating that she could defend.

But, it was quite difficult to follow the defense by Skype. I understand French relatively fluently, but the sound quality was just "off" enough, and since I moved to a new house on the island my mind has been a bit foggy (fumes/latex paint allergy?). The movers arrived right before the defense and I have anxiety problems and when this happens I cannot absorb information. Fortunately, Celine put her Powerpoint on an FTP site and I downloaded it 5 minutes before the defense. I followed it well enough that I could tell she did an excellent job with the presentation and the questions. She passed with "felicitation" (congratulations), which only 1/4 of French Ph.Ds receive.

I was honored to be on a committee with some rather famous people, including Xavier Le Pichon, who had a 1968 paper on spherical geometry of Plate Tectonics, and Celal Sengor, who works on strike-slip faults. Also, Pierre Henry who works on a lot of things including tectonics/gas/fluid seeps, Louis Geli (gas/fluid seeps), Luca Gasperini (tectonics/structure), and Lies Loncke (submarine landslides, other things).

The committee went to a restaurant after and had a nice meal and no doubt some nice wine. I had left-over lasagna. I thought I should have some French wine so a couple days ago I bought a bottle of Bordeaux: a famous type, Mouton Cadet...not expensive, $10. It was foul. There is a Chilean wine that is bottled in California, named after a 46 pound (20 kilo) rooster: Rex-Goliath. his was over-priced at $4 because it was vinegar. So I think I walk down to one of the island restaurants (5 minute walk!) and get a nice glass of wine.

Chris