صفحه تقدیر و تشکر پایاننامهها به قول روحی پرخوانندهترین بخش هر پایاننامهایست. این هم صفحه تشکر پایاننامه بابای آیدا. ایرادات انگلیسی دارد البته که دلیلش ویرایش نشدن است. متن را شبانه و یکنفس نوشتم و نخواستم عوضش کنم. حس و حال ترجمه ندارم. شاید هم اگر گشادزدگی اجازه داد ترجمهاش کردم.
There are many people involved directly or indirectly in this book, and in my life while writing it, that inevitably and against my will I have to divide them into the categories of friends, colleagues, etc to pretend that I have remembered and appreciated every single person who expects (or not), one way or another, to be mentioned in these words.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my promoter and supervisor, Professor Hans Bruining. Your curiosity, persistence, dedication, and sense of humor have always been inspiring to me. There are so many lessons to be learned in the way you approach new challenges and never give up. Thanks a lot for never giving up on me. I will never forget our long discussions about energy, life, the Universe, and everything. I am very happy that we are still working on our mutual interest, “energy conversion”.
I also would like to thank my co-promoter, Dr. Karl Heinz Wolf. His impeccable sense of practicality and his direct tone, have always been proven to be necessary and helpful.
I would like to specifically thank three persons whose contribution vastly improved the content of this thesis.
Dr. Hedzer van der Kooi is one of the few owners of a yet to be discovered “teaching gene”. He was so nice to travel from Rijswijk to Delft every Monday during a horrible Dutch winter, to teach us how to write about exergy. I’m so glad that we are going to work on another project in the coming years. During our fruitful discussions, I benefited from his vast knowledge of classic thermodynamics and was fortunate to see the world from his humane stand.
The first time I received Professor Dan Marchesin’s comments on a draft, I asked myself what I have done to him that he is taking such a terrifying revenge? After amending the paper and comparing it to the first version, I realized what a torture it might have been for him to comment on that horrible draft. Working with Dan is not easy, but it is extremely productive. He has a good sense of humor that appears in a serious manner in the middle of exhausting scientific discussions, that I specifically adore.
Dr. Rouhi Farajzadeh is always full of new ideas and ready for collaboration. The experiments of Chapter 5 was designed and performed mostly based on his previous precious experiences. Our collaboration on his project nano-particle stabilized foam was a life-saver for me.
Hedzer, Dan, and Rouhi: I truly appreciate your invaluable assistance.
Amazing technicians of Dietz Lab and fantastic support staff of our department: thanks a lot for being always friendly, positive, and supportive.
My colleagues in sections of Geo-environmental Engineering and Petroleum Engineering: I truly enjoyed working with you. Please forgive me for never joining you for lunch. It’s always been impossible for me to talk and eat, or eat and talk, simultaneously.
There is a three-word sentence in an old Persian book, which is a response to the question “which one is better? a brother or a friend”. The answer can be translated to “brother friend better”, which means “the better is a brother who is also your friend”. How can I be happier for finding several friends, who are like my new brothers and sisters (or the other way around). I want you to know that I am so proud of being a small part of your life, and wholeheartedly appreciate all your kind support. Wherever I am, I’ll never forget you.
Parenting is by far the number one in the list of unappreciated jobs. I’m not saying that as a parent. It’s fully based on my experience as a child. Being the first child of my parents, and having an elephant memory for remembering the details of everyday life, I know how hard my parents tried to keep our family so strongly together and provide us with all means a child may need for a flourishing journey through life. My father was my friend, my greatest incentive, my superhero with no evident superpower, and the one who is responsible for my nightly novel-reading addiction. He always hoped that one day I become a real doctor, those who can prescribe medicines, until he saw me collapsing by looking at two drops of blood coming out of a small scratch on my skin. Nevertheless he was enthusiastically expecting my PhD defense, but he couldn’t stay longer. I will never believe that you are not here anymore.
My mother is the strongest person I have ever seen. To me, it is always a mystery how she manages to do so many things in a limited time. The only rational and reasonable explanation is that she has a time machine, a really good one, because she never fails. The only reason that she never tells us about her time machine is our own safety. When it comes to our wellbeing and safety, she can transform herself from a lovely compassionate lady to a lionhearted warrior. How lucky we are to live in a peaceful house fortified by your presence. “BabaAli” and “Mamani”, thank you for everything.
Most of the times, when we sit together with my brothers and sisters, we laugh so hard that neighbors warn us to stop it immediately or they will call the police. That’s the picture I have from my brothers and sisters: Elham, Amin, Omid, Arezoo, Javad, and Reza with a big beautiful smile on their face. I’m so sorry for not being there for you as an older brother should be. I am always proud of you and I will always love you.
When it comes to say something about Maryam and Aida, I simply run out of words. I cannot even use a cliché like “they are all I’ve ever wanted” or “they are my dreams coming true”. Even in my most optimistic dreamy imaginations, I couldn’t see this coming. It is not easy to explain, but I am going to share with you how I see my family:
To me, one of the most precious qualities, something that can make our life peaceful, is our ability to trust and be trusted. Now imagine the trust in its purest state, or its ultimate form. Then try to materialize it, give it a shape, something that can be touched and felt. There is a Persian word “Omid”, which can be loosely translated to “hope”, without the strongly implied sense of expectation and dissatisfaction that come with the word “hope”.
To me, Maryam is the Trust and Aida is the Omid. Without trust and hope, I could have done nothing. Maryam and Aida: I sincerely hope that I can be worthy of your unconditional trust and love.