The final lecture

I gave the last of my graduate lectures today. It was quite a bit of work, but it was fun.

A colleague from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster learned about this lecture series, and invited me to give a condensed version for the graduate students at his institution. We have decided on a week in mid-May (during the Ascension break at the kids' school) when I can bring the whole family there. Münster has a rich history. The Treaty of Münster, part of the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War, was signed in the city. With the independence of the Netherlands (from Spain) and Switzerland (from the Holy Roman Empire) guaranteed in the accord, Europe was never the same afterwards.

Coincidentally another acquaintance invited me to give a seminar on my research at Paul Scherrer Institut, an accelerator facility located half way between Basel and Zürick in Switzerland (and about 3 hours from Karlsruhe). A date has been set for mid-June when I will go for a day trip.