Medial Spheres for Shape Representation - CIM - McGill University

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I feel extremely lucky to have had two wonderful supervisors: Kaleem Siddiqi and
Sue Whitesides. I want to thank Kaleem for introducing me to the fascinating world of
‘medial representations’, for sharing his faith in the utility of these representations, and
for his expertise in this subject matter. I would like to thank Kaleem for supporting my
endeavors, and for his intelligence in being able to follow my not always clear and rushed
descriptions of results from computer graphics and computational geometry and to offer
advice. I am also extremely grateful to Kaleem for his warmth, kindness, and attention to
all aspects of life, not just academics, making me feel very much at home in Montreal. I
would like to thank Sue for teaching me rigour in mathematical arguments and in scientific
writing. Sue found the patience to bear with me as I unraveled the mess that became the
contents of Chapters 3 and 4. Working with Sue, I never ceased to be amazed and inspired
by her great intellect, her unrelenting energy, and her passion for mathematics and science.
I want to thank Sasha for giving me support and a listening ear. These past 5 years of
PhD have been extremely trying at times, and there are few words to describe the thank-
fulness I feel that he stood by me through it all.
I am grateful to my mother for demonstrating her understanding of mathematics when
I was a child. I would like to thank my father for sharing his enthusiasm for collecting and
organizing knowledge, in his case, of historical and geographical facts. My deep gratitude
is to my sister Nadia for taking an interest in the “shrunken pear” and offering unlimited
encouragement.
ii