During today's Dies Natalis celebrations at the University of Twente, the Overijssel PhD Award for best doctoral thesis of the last year was presented to Dr Mark Timmer of the CTIT Research Institute.
Dr Mark Timmer carried out his doctoral research as part of the Formal Methods and Tools department, under the supervision of Jaco van de Pol, Joost-Pieter Katoen and Mariëlle Stoelinga. It was for his doctoral thesis, which led to him obtaining his doctorate with distinction in 2013, that Timmer received this year's Overijssel PhD Award during the Dies Natalis celebrations. He was presented the prize by Eddy van Hijum, who recently became a member of the Overijssel Provincial Executive.
In his research, Timmer focused on Quantitative Model Checking, a field of study involved in analysing the performance and reliability of computer systems. His thesis addresses the prevention of software errors through the use of a new mathematical probability model.
Thirty articles
The jury praised the excellent scientific quality of Timmer’s work, as evidenced by the fact that his research resulted in no fewer than thirty scientific articles. Apart from the theoretical scientific contribution made, the jury also commended the applicability of Timmer's work. "By way of his work, Timmer allows for the development of fundamental knowledge and new technology for the IT sector, all such with the aim of taking on the social challenge to improve the continuity of systems for our vital infrastructure."
Timmer's doctoral thesis was recently also lauded when it won the IPA Dissertation Award for best Dutch doctoral thesis in the field of theoretical computer science.
Overijssel PhD Award
The Overijssel PhD Award is a prize for a doctoral thesis of outstanding scientific quality, which can be regarded as the start of a promising scientific career. The prize, partially facilitated by the Province of Overijssel, consists of 5,000 euros of prize money and a certificate. Every faculty and every research institute of the University of Twente can hand in one doctoral thesis they believe to be worthy of winning the prize.
