FACIAL SOFT BIOMETRICS - Library of Ph.D. Theses | EURASIP

AcknowledgementsThis thesis would not have been possible without the help, guidance and support of many people,who I would like to acknowledge here.I owe my deepest gratitude to my parents, Vessela Stoilova and George Pentchev, for theirunwavering encouragement, devotion and love.I am indebted to my thesis advisor Prof. Jean-Luc Dugelay for giving me the opportunity for a Ph.D.at Eurecom / Telecom ParisTech. Throughout my 3.5 Ph.D. years he provided ingenious ideas andencouraging support. He created a vastly positive and enthusiastic working atmosphere that fueled selfmotivationand ambition.I would like to express my deepest appreciation for Petros Elia, who shared his brilliance andcreativity with me. It was a pleasure to work and exchange with him.I would like to thank my committee members, the reviewers Prof. Abdenour Hadid and Prof. MarkNixon, and furthermore the examiners Prof. Arun Ross, Prof. Bernadette Dorizzi and Dr. Sami Romdhanifor their precious time, shared positive insight and guidance.My warmest thanks to my colleagues who supported me during my Ph.D.: Angela D’Angelo, CarinaSchmidt-Knorreck, Nesli Erdogmus, Christelle Yemdji, Carmello Velardo, Simon Bozonnet, MouradOuaret, Lionel Daniel, Neslihan Kose, Miriam Redi, Rui Min, Yingbo Li, Konstantinos Papakonstantinos,Thrasyvoulos Spyropoulos.Lastly, special thanks to my friends for decades, Barbara Kostner, Thomas Linder, Adela Marinescu,Jutta Unterscheider and Kathrin Marghani for their unwavering friendship, moral and infinite support.