Thesis Triumphs and Cinematic Quotes

Last month I wrote about certain not-so-happy circumstances surrounding my thesis (link below). I was honestly in the dumps when I wrote it and you’d know if you’ve been around this site a while that it does happen to me. This blog, along with watercolor art and writing with my fountain pens were my chosen weapons to battle sad moments in my life – like a therapy of some sort. But I digress, I’m writing this post to let my dear readerships know that I have successfully defended my thesis last July 3! The past months leading up to the day were a frenzy of taking images of my rocks under the microscope, image segmenting using ImageJ and Fiji, creating machine learning models to automate the segmentation process, and learning about Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and the convolution of my photomicrographs. I can’t even remember now how many online articles and journals I had to read through word-per-word so that I could understand how CNNs work. After all, I’m just a geologist, standing in front of a computer, waiting for CNNs to love me (haha), adapted and revised from the famous line in Notting Hill.

Overcoming Adversity: How I Completed My Manuscript Against All Odds

Before defending my thesis, I had to make multiple hospital visits due to stomach aches and slightly elevated blood pressure. My doctors attributed these symptoms to the stress of doing my research, which they admitted they couldn’t fully understand despite my best efforts to explain it. Their reactions served as a testament to how high stress levels can weaken the immune system. I became uncharacteristically sickly in the months leading up to my defense, which was unusual for me. I was already “one stomach flu away” from death (of course I’m being overly dramatic, did you read the title?) still I plodded on like Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Waterloo. It was at the moment when I thought I would never finish my thesis that the machine learning models worked and I could correlate them with certain degree of confidence to my geologic data. Carpe diem!

Thesis Defense Week

The week before my thesis defense was another kind of frenzy – like a Diner Dash game. If you were a graduate student, you’d know this. The days leading up to the defense is nerve-wracking. See it’s one thing to write the manuscript and try to be coherent with your story. The telling of the story is totally another thing that as a scientist takes time to develop as a skill. I had to assess my audience, ask around for feedbacks, revisit my motivations for the study, and revise my thesis defense deck several times to make it short enough for the 40-minute time limit.

The best aspect of having reliable thesis advisers and readers, along with a strong working relationship with them, was the ability to receive constructive feedback whenever I needed it. I never hesitated to seek their comments and advice. In the days leading up to my thesis defense, I practiced my presentation both at our institute and online with experts from my industry partner. I even rehearsed with my kids and husband. I incorporated all the comments and suggestions into my presentation, ensuring it was as polished as possible. Just like in the High School Musical movie, my thesis defense was a product of teamwork and collaboration with the great minds of the National Institute of Physics (NIP), National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS), and my industry partner’s experts. For geology-related stuff, I consult the energy experts and fellow geologists in the institute. For physics-related stuff I consult my teammates at the NIP. It was like passing a ball from one court to another!

Thesis Defense Day

And so the day finally arrived—July 3, my scheduled thesis defense. Leading up to this day required extensive preparation and, to be honest, more than a few tears of frustration. There were moments when I thought this day would never come. I initially planned to bring my kids but decided against it, fearing I might embarrass myself during the defense and wanting to spare them that. Below is the announcement for my thesis defense:

My defense lasted for exactly 40-minutes, the time limit. Afterwards, I got several questions. I did my best to answer them all. I also prepared hidden slides about possible questions and the answers. I got to use some of them during my defense. The audience were then asked to leave the room and I was grilled for a more minutes (close to an hour) by my thesis panel. They asked tough questions and I did my best to answer them all. Afterwards, I was asked to leave the room for the deliberation which took less than 15 minutes. I remember getting a hug from one of our admin staff and chatting with a geology prof while I waited. I also took the time to answer the messages sent to me via Messenger congratulating me for the defense. Some of the messages were from my former students, while the rest were from fellow geologists and faculty members. I was then asked to return to the seminar room and I was told by the head of the thesis panel that I passed the defense. Yay! Later that night my thesis co-adviser told me that I did a great job and that the number of questions asked meant the audience understood my presentation.

Sharing this collage of photos taken after my successful thesis defense! Seeing our happy faces fills me with joy because all the hard work and struggles for this research have finally paid off. I’ve said this many times before but I’m saying it again: I wasn’t alone in this journey. The success of my thesis defense is a testament to the incredible support I received from the people around me.

I am forever grateful to my mentors, thesis advisers, thesis examiners, friends, and family who were my pillars of strength when the going got too tough. I also dedicate my thesis to my first adviser, Ma’am Sanna, who sadly passed away before my thesis proposal colloquium, and to my father, who left us in 2019. Their memories inspired me to persevere and achieve this milestone.

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” – The Emperor, Mulan (1998)

That’s all for now, my dear readerships. Thank you for being this blog’s regular through the years. Your brave girl nailed it!

Cheers,