Jerry Celebrates Son’s Ph.D.

Last week Louise and I drove to Pittsburgh, Penn., for Steve's dissertation and Ph.D. defense. Yes, Steve was getting his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh! The dissertation was a presentation by Steve on his published research in High Performance Liquid Chromatography, or HPLC.

The dissertation was open to other graduate students, professors, along with family and friends. In addition, the six professors on Steve's advisory committee were also present. After the dissertation everyone left the room except the six professors. Then they asked questions to determine whether Steve was qualified or knew enough to be granted a doctorate in analytical chemistry.

During the defense, the custom was for the candidate's family to host a reception for everyone who attended the dissertation. It was a little over an hour before Steve and the professors came out of the room for some snacks  They were all smiling! Yes, all six advisors said they would sign the diploma for Steve's doctorate in analytical chemistry.

When you begin graduate school, advisors are chosen to guide you to your Ph.D. The requirement is that three of them can be at your university, the other three need to be from another institution. In the picture on Steve's right is graduate advisor and Professor Gert Desmet from the University of Brussels, Belgium, on the left is Professor Dwight Stoll from Gustavus and graduate advisor and Professor Steve Weber from the University of Pittsburgh.

In case you are wondering about HPLC, it is a way of identifying different chemical compounds and their concentration in a liquid. The liquid could be water, blood, urine, cough syrup, spinal fluid or any other liquid. HPLC has applications in pharmaceutical development, blood and urine testing, drug analysis and chemical research.