I am Yves van Gennip (23), phd student in the Department of Mathematics and
Computer Science at the Technical University Eindhoven. My supervisor is
Mark Peletier. Last september I started my research which is concerned with
partially localised structures, i.e. stable structures which are localised
in some dimensions and extended in others. This research is inspired by and
deals mostly with (variants of) models for the behaviour of lipid bilayers.
These bilayers consist of molecules with a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic
tails. When you put them in water they will arange themselves such that the
tails are shielded away from the water. This leads to two molecules thick
surfacelike structures, which turn out to be stable under perturbations. If
for example you make a hole in this surface, it will close again. So
although the molecules are not chemically bounded, their energy
configuration drives them to a collective surfacelike behaviour.

I was born and raised in Sittard in the Netherlands, but since five and half
years I live in Utrecht, where I studied mathematics and physics. One of my
most time consuming hobbies lures me often back to Sittard however, since I
am member of a Scouting group there for almost 15 years.