Page 429 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

424 History and Science of Knots

Pieter van de Griend
Pieter responded as follows:
`I was born in 1959, in Airdrie, Scotland, and am of Scottish-Dutch de-
scent. I have enjoyed playing with knots ever since I can remember . Indeed, I
believe I acquired a love for Celtic knotting from the traditional Arran sweaters
worn in our family, and knitted by my mother. My first memories of these
were implanted when I was three or four years old.
Knots have certainly played a major part in my short life so far, bringing
me salty sea-adventures on racing yachts off-shore , and deep-sea fishing expe-
rience on trawlers on the North Atlantic Ocean . Knots have also earned me a
cand. scient. degree in mathematics from Arhus University. I am convinced
that they will demand the rest of my time, and I certainly do not mind happily
exploring the richness of the subject in the years to come. In fact , I feel very
privileged to live at a crossroads in time when the combination of Physics and
Knot Theory is enjoying a renaissance, with a consequent surge forward in
several mathematical fields.
Currently I am teaching mathematics at a grammar school in the Nether-
lands. For recreation I enjoy long distance running, racing large yachts off-
shore, and listening to Pink Floyd whilst playing with knots ...'

Gerre van der Kleij

Gerre responded as follows:
`I was born on 15 September 1962, in the town of Assen, province of
Drenthe, the Netherlands.
After my B.A. (four years) in Classics at the State University Groningen
on 1984, I graduated as an M.A. in Mediterranean Archaeology at the same
University in December 1987. By that time, my interests had already veered
towards prehistory and more anthropologically oriented archaeology; and in
1988 I started graduate studies in archaeology and anthropology at the State
University of New York at Binghampton (USA). I graduated there as an M.A.
in anthropology in 1990.
In the Fall of 19911 moved to Denmark, and started Ph.D. work in prehistor-
ical archaeology at the Department of Prehistory of the University of Arhus
specialising in the Northern Funnelbeaker Culture. Financial problems forced
me to cut these studies short in the summer of 1994, and I moved back to the
Netherlands. There, I worked, and still work, as a volunteer assistant of the
municipal archaeologist of Zutphen, while at the same time trying to obtain
paid employment. Besides excavation and find-processing, my archaeologi-
cal activities centre round bringing archaeology closer to the public through
courses, columns, lectures, articles etc.