Tyson Carter joined the Burrows lab first as a summer student in May 2014, then as a Master’s candidate in Sept 2014. His task was to investigate how the type IV pilus machinery becomes integrated into the multilayered gram negative cell envelope at the poles in the absence of dedicated peptidoglycan hydrolases. That work, which he successfully defended today for his Master’s thesis, showed that the components of the machine are pre-installed during the time of cell division, not retrofitted. This idea provides an energetically favourable explanation for establishment of large protein complexes at specific locations in the cell. Congratulations, Tyson on some very nice work! After completing his thesis paperwork requirements, he is off to Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, and we wish him the best in the next phase of his career.